Fox clearly knows what he's talking about, the content is also angled as "you can game this" which got my attention. The sources intelligently picked, they're of the highest quality IMO. Designing Data-Intensive Applications is excellent.
this is 100% accurate. i'd point out the typical interview process goes like this:
1) general interview with HR to make your a "normal" person
2) 1st tech phone-screen/interview (1 or 2 of those leetcode questions)
3) (**potentially) 2nd tech phone-screen/interview (1 or 2 of those leetcode questions)
4) on-site interview (4-6 in-person/remote interviews). will cover 3-5 technical questions then 1 or 2 of those will be a social / how-you-work / communication / team fit
Great work Fox! Solid write up! Some reinforcements & other thoughts coming from a FAANG guy...
-Don't get too hung up some of the big picture pieces like "review calculus". The Leetcode truly is 80% for a new grad. Optimize for Leetcode if you're targeting FAANG.
- System design is a world unto itself. You need to know the basics of client -> network -> server interaction. A new grad is expected to know nothing about SD & it's better to demonstrate mastery of other skills than to go too deep here. That said, you need to know the basics of a web request.
- 40 - 60 hours to learn Leetcode questions is vastly underestimated for the majority of folks. If you can grep the material in that timeframe amazing, but if you can't know that 200 - 300+ hours is way closer to the average. Take what you need. Once you're in the club you're in for good.
- Don't do trivial, stupid shit with your personal projects. No one wants to see your fucking Pokemon collection. Use your internship (or your brain/observation skills if no internship) to build a technical solution to a small, REAL problem you noticed. Your code/project is likely dogshit & literally every applicant we hire can put together a site. What's valuable and UNIQUE is a demonstration that you can identify & solve problems.
- Referrals are the secret pathway to an interview. Do your leetcode first, then go on Blind and ask for referrals by showing how many leetcode problem's you've solve and selling yourself.
- Don't start your interviews at FAANGs...do 3 - 5 a companies you don't want to work at. You need the practice. Trust me on this.
- The etiquette section here is a little odd. I'm not sure about gargling hydrogen peroxide, worrying about "licking sounds" or cornstarch in the pits. Just don't act like a slob and you'll be fine. You can act like a slob once you get in, most engineers do :)
- Ask your interviewer if your code need to compile/execute. Remote interviewing environments with full editors have changed the game in this area ( harder now... ) but it varies from company to company & interviewer to interviewer. If you can sub pseudo code for stupid shit like "swap these" you'll open up more time to discuss the meat of the question and you won't be worried about syntax.
- I'd recommend not making any jokes at an interview. You never know how folks will take it and this particular situation is just too risky. YMMV
- You'd be amazed how many people shit talk their old company, boss, coworkers etc. The is a giant NO NO. If you're a new grad you don't have enough judgement to understand company dynamics at a level that is going to convince the interviewer of anything other than your bad judgement. Frame any issues as area of improvement & problems to be solved. If you didn't take steps to solve it then don't bring it up.
- Don't drink before your interview. If liquid courage is the answer then you're not ready to interview, much less work at a FAANG. Trust me... its better to not get the gig than to get it and not be able to do the work. Do mock interviews until you're not nervous. People want you to do well!
- DON'T START CODING IMMEDIATELY. I care about how you think and what you think about, not your code. Correct code is a requisite anyway. Make sure you are answering the question you're being asked.
- Testing is more about identifying WHAT you should test than how you are testing it. If you're running out of time, optimize for completing the code & then make sure to discuss WHAT you would test and why.
If I wanted to get part time remote jobs as a side hustle and being to automate them does all this information apply to learning the necessary skills? I love my main career and def not interested in working for FAANG. Sorry if stupid question, I’m a construction guy not a tech guy.
Good guide but from what I've heard FAANG are mandating the vax and on-site work. If anybody knows otherwise, please let me know. I'd love that sweet TC but I'll keep remote & personal freedom over a salary bump.
Solid substack! Great resource for getting someone from "I code a little" to actually having a career in software.
As someone who has interviewed >100 candidates at tier 1 companies, can confirm the info here is accurate
Fox clearly knows what he's talking about, the content is also angled as "you can game this" which got my attention. The sources intelligently picked, they're of the highest quality IMO. Designing Data-Intensive Applications is excellent.
He earned the spotlight
this is 100% accurate. i'd point out the typical interview process goes like this:
1) general interview with HR to make your a "normal" person
2) 1st tech phone-screen/interview (1 or 2 of those leetcode questions)
3) (**potentially) 2nd tech phone-screen/interview (1 or 2 of those leetcode questions)
4) on-site interview (4-6 in-person/remote interviews). will cover 3-5 technical questions then 1 or 2 of those will be a social / how-you-work / communication / team fit
Great work Fox! Solid write up! Some reinforcements & other thoughts coming from a FAANG guy...
-Don't get too hung up some of the big picture pieces like "review calculus". The Leetcode truly is 80% for a new grad. Optimize for Leetcode if you're targeting FAANG.
- System design is a world unto itself. You need to know the basics of client -> network -> server interaction. A new grad is expected to know nothing about SD & it's better to demonstrate mastery of other skills than to go too deep here. That said, you need to know the basics of a web request.
- 40 - 60 hours to learn Leetcode questions is vastly underestimated for the majority of folks. If you can grep the material in that timeframe amazing, but if you can't know that 200 - 300+ hours is way closer to the average. Take what you need. Once you're in the club you're in for good.
- Don't do trivial, stupid shit with your personal projects. No one wants to see your fucking Pokemon collection. Use your internship (or your brain/observation skills if no internship) to build a technical solution to a small, REAL problem you noticed. Your code/project is likely dogshit & literally every applicant we hire can put together a site. What's valuable and UNIQUE is a demonstration that you can identify & solve problems.
- Referrals are the secret pathway to an interview. Do your leetcode first, then go on Blind and ask for referrals by showing how many leetcode problem's you've solve and selling yourself.
- Don't start your interviews at FAANGs...do 3 - 5 a companies you don't want to work at. You need the practice. Trust me on this.
- The etiquette section here is a little odd. I'm not sure about gargling hydrogen peroxide, worrying about "licking sounds" or cornstarch in the pits. Just don't act like a slob and you'll be fine. You can act like a slob once you get in, most engineers do :)
- Ask your interviewer if your code need to compile/execute. Remote interviewing environments with full editors have changed the game in this area ( harder now... ) but it varies from company to company & interviewer to interviewer. If you can sub pseudo code for stupid shit like "swap these" you'll open up more time to discuss the meat of the question and you won't be worried about syntax.
- I'd recommend not making any jokes at an interview. You never know how folks will take it and this particular situation is just too risky. YMMV
- You'd be amazed how many people shit talk their old company, boss, coworkers etc. The is a giant NO NO. If you're a new grad you don't have enough judgement to understand company dynamics at a level that is going to convince the interviewer of anything other than your bad judgement. Frame any issues as area of improvement & problems to be solved. If you didn't take steps to solve it then don't bring it up.
- Don't drink before your interview. If liquid courage is the answer then you're not ready to interview, much less work at a FAANG. Trust me... its better to not get the gig than to get it and not be able to do the work. Do mock interviews until you're not nervous. People want you to do well!
- DON'T START CODING IMMEDIATELY. I care about how you think and what you think about, not your code. Correct code is a requisite anyway. Make sure you are answering the question you're being asked.
- Testing is more about identifying WHAT you should test than how you are testing it. If you're running out of time, optimize for completing the code & then make sure to discuss WHAT you would test and why.
Thank you BoxTiedFox - Great post! I'm trying to make the transition from Healthcare into Tech and this is exactly what I needed.
In tech long time. Interviewed hundreds. Can confirm this true l33t shadowy super coder advice.
holy shit. the sly fox tips alone are worth a paid sub even if you're not in tech. great read
It’s BowTiedBull worthy for this alone.
“If you have zero computer science background, take Harvard’s CS50.
Then, complete Stanford's Algorithms specialization on Coursera….
That’s it.”
Whoa. Perfect timing! Just was looking for courses to break into tech. Thanks so much
Solid, good references. Definitely BowTied level.
This is the push I needed to transition from an engineering to a tech role
Great content. I would say it is “BowTied” level.
If I wanted to get part time remote jobs as a side hustle and being to automate them does all this information apply to learning the necessary skills? I love my main career and def not interested in working for FAANG. Sorry if stupid question, I’m a construction guy not a tech guy.
Appears to be a good article based on the comments, however not a topic I'm interested in personally.
This is good
Good guide but from what I've heard FAANG are mandating the vax and on-site work. If anybody knows otherwise, please let me know. I'd love that sweet TC but I'll keep remote & personal freedom over a salary bump.