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Ask HN: How do I prepare for an interview for AMZ/GOOG/APL/FB?

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Re: Ask HN: How do I prepare for an interview for AMZ/GOOG/APL/FB?

#51

Post by pmulv »

creek567 wrote: post #43
angarg12 wrote: post #33

A couple of years ago I was in your position. I went through the whole process with Google and Amazon, just to get rejected at the end. I prepared by cramming Cracking the code interview in 2 weeks and reading classic algorithms books; it wasn't enough to meet the bar (anecdotally I remember Google being much harder than Amazon). Fast forward another couple of years and I got contacted by Microsoft and Amazon recruit…

Right yeah, I see this preparation as longer term and not something I can do in 2 weeks. Since I already have a job I enjoy, I'm not in a time or cash crunch so I can take my time. I hope that it takes me 3~4 months to be prepared, but I guess I never plan on stopping practicing (doing LeetCode questions for example). I realize that interviewing is a skill that needs to be kept sharp throughout ones career, so even i…

If you don't mind me asking, if you already have a job you enjoy, what's driving you to the FAANG companies? I know there are a ton of valid answers to this question but I'm curious anyway!

Re: Ask HN: How do I prepare for an interview for AMZ/GOOG/APL/FB?

#52

Post by joshuakcockrell »

creek567 wrote: post #40
joshuakcockrell wrote: post #35

I've worked at Microsoft, Adobe, and Twitter over the past few years. I've also received offers from (or interviewed with) Google, FB, Dropbox, Uber, etc. I would recommend: https://www.pramp.com - 1 hr online interviews where you interview someone and they interview you back. Go through ~20 of these to get really comfortable solving problems while talking through them. They also give you the optimal solution at the…

This sounds like a great advice! Any specific tips on getting the most out of Leetcode? For example. Should I do the questions on paper first, then the editor? Should I have multiple solutions to each (n2 and nlogn) if it exists? How do you guard against just memorizing the questions? I feel like if i can't do a problem and look at the solution, then going back to it later will be useless since I already have memoriz…

> How do you guard against just memorizing the questions?

I don't think you need to worry about this. A simple search for "binary search" shows 20 different questions. If you can't do the 1st bst problem and you look at the solution then that's okay! You have 19 more to try it on. Even if you do all 20 then come back in a month and try them again. There's no way you're going to be able to memorize that many variants. And that's just 2% of their entire set of questions.

To really answer your question, I prefer to just hit the "random problem" button and see if I can solve it in 15 minutes with an optimal solution. If I struggle, then I just go read the solution (to understand how I should have solved it) and try a couple related problems to make sure I'm not just memorizing it and I actually understand the methodology behind solving it.

Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: How do I prepare for an interview for AMZ/GOOG/APL/FB?

#54

Post by wingerlang »

creek567 wrote: post #40
joshuakcockrell wrote: post #35

I've worked at Microsoft, Adobe, and Twitter over the past few years. I've also received offers from (or interviewed with) Google, FB, Dropbox, Uber, etc. I would recommend: https://www.pramp.com - 1 hr online interviews where you interview someone and they interview you back. Go through ~20 of these to get really comfortable solving problems while talking through them. They also give you the optimal solution at the…

This sounds like a great advice! Any specific tips on getting the most out of Leetcode? For example. Should I do the questions on paper first, then the editor? Should I have multiple solutions to each (n2 and nlogn) if it exists? How do you guard against just memorizing the questions? I feel like if i can't do a problem and look at the solution, then going back to it later will be useless since I already have memoriz…

I've read "cracking the coding interview" over Christmas. One of the suggestions it had was to write the code on paper. Then write that exact code into your computer. Only when you've fully written it in, fix the errors.

Re: Ask HN: How do I prepare for an interview for AMZ/GOOG/APL/FB?

#55

Post by creek567 »

pmulv wrote: post #51
creek567 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right yeah, I see this preparation as longer term and not something I can do in 2 weeks. Since I already have a job I enjoy, I'm not in a time or cash crunch so I can take my time. I hope that it takes me 3~4 months to be prepared, but I guess I never plan on stopping practicing (doing LeetCode questions for example). I realize that interviewing is a skill that needs to be kept sharp throughout ones career, so even i…

If you don't mind me asking, if you already have a job you enjoy, what's driving you to the FAANG companies? I know there are a ton of valid answers to this question but I'm curious anyway!

Don't mind it at all. I work remotely so I really enjoy my current job, but this is why I'm thinking about going for FAANG:

1) My current company is a startup so things can go sour rather quickly. I want to keep my interviewing skills sharp in case I need to switch jobs.

2) FAANG is great for a career advancement. I'll learn a ton working for the best tech companies in the world and working with extremely smart people. Interesting technical problems and also upwards mobility later on. Also applying to any other job after that will be much easier as smaller companies don't screen nearly as hard as the big ones for their software positions.

3) Great for networking. You meet tons of other smart people who know tons of other smart people. In the Bay Area when you say you've worked for Google doors open much easier and you gain other people's respect much faster.

4) Lastly, FAANG companies will pay more than what I'm currently making.

Re: Ask HN: How do I prepare for an interview for AMZ/GOOG/APL/FB?

#56

Post by skylark »

I currently work at Google and have received offers from Facebook and Amazon. I don't have a CS degree.

Interview Cake should be your first stop - the questions are the closest to what you'll actually see in a tech giant interview, so the effort to reward ratio is good.

LeetCode is your bread and butter. With any remaining time, grind these problems.

Cracking the Coding Interview is both too easy and too difficult, very few questions hit the sweet spot. Read the section on behavioral questions though. Elements of Programming Interviews is too challenging, I'd skip it.

Optimize for number of problems solved, which means coding in the site's online text editor. I wouldn't code in your own personal text editor because you do want to avoid autocomplete. If you feel like you need practice actually writing on a whiteboard, you can do that a few days before the onsite.

Re: Ask HN: How do I prepare for an interview for AMZ/GOOG/APL/FB?

#57

Post by ballajis »

acconrad wrote: post #36

Prepping for these interviews is much like studying for the SATs - it's not about measuring how smart / talented you are, but how good you are at taking these tests. I say this as a primer only because rejection sucks, but knowing that it's not a dig on you personally, that it's more of a numbers game, can help you stay positive through this whole process. I've heard a lot of success with this method: 1. Start with h…

Do you have a referral for interviewing.io? They're in closed beta rn.

Re: Ask HN: How do I prepare for an interview for AMZ/GOOG/APL/FB?

#58

Post by marktangotango »

joshuakcockrell wrote: post #52
creek567 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sounds like a great advice! Any specific tips on getting the most out of Leetcode? For example. Should I do the questions on paper first, then the editor? Should I have multiple solutions to each (n2 and nlogn) if it exists? How do you guard against just memorizing the questions? I feel like if i can't do a problem and look at the solution, then going back to it later will be useless since I already have memoriz…

> How do you guard against just memorizing the questions? I don't think you need to worry about this. A simple search for "binary search" shows 20 different questions. If you can't do the 1st bst problem and you look at the solution then that's okay! You have 19 more to try it on. Even if you do all 20 then come back in a month and try them again. There's no way you're going to be able to memorize that many variants.…

This is how I used solutions manuals to ace calc 1 and 2 in college. I went through every problem in the book at least twice. Some people say 'don't read the solutions' but it worked for me, going back and testing myself to make sure I "got it" was the key.

Re: Ask HN: How do I prepare for an interview for AMZ/GOOG/APL/FB?

#60

Post by andymoe »

Facebook recruiter (and people I know who worked there) literally tell you to buy and study “cracking the coding interview.” I did buy the book but I’ve never moved forward with the interview because I really didn’t like to commute south when did it for a year and I like pairing too much.

Cracking the Coding Interview: 189 Programming Questions and Solutions

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0984782850/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_OiRw...

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