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Job Hunting in 2022

mhlakhani.com

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Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#3
Thanks to the author for taking the time to write this up. I think it is a fairly realistic description of what the process is like for an engineer who has spent several years working in Silicon Valley at a well-known company.

The key takeaways, coming from someone with a similar background:

* Rely heavily on your personal network to both identify worthwhile opportunities and for referrals which, in the Before Times, pretty much guaranteed an interview

* It's worth thinking through what type of job would make you happy _before_ you get an exploding offer

* They had a _full_ pipeline, interviewing every day for three weeks straight. It's a grind, but you definitely get "in the zone". Additionally, setting this goal ensures that you are being properly proactive/aggressive in pursuing opportunities.

* You will probably see a design interview at any FAANG or hot startup. The classic one I've seen like 5 times is "how would you design a social media feed?" I still do not know the "correct" answer to this question.

I don't have hard evidence for this but it seems that the demand is still very strong for experienced engineering managers. I am curious to hear if the author interviewed for SWE positions or engineering manager positions have they have filled both roles in the past.

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#4
post #3

Thanks to the author for taking the time to write this up. I think it is a fairly realistic description of what the process is like for an engineer who has spent several years working in Silicon Valley at a well-known company. The key takeaways, coming from someone with a similar background: * Rely heavily on your personal network to both identify worthwhile opportunities and for referrals which, in the Before Times,…

author here - glad to see this post on HN, and glad you liked it!

re: your last question - I interviewed for both SWE and EM positions, depending on what was available at any given company. At companies that had both roles open, I talked to folks to understand what they expected out of EMs vs engineers, as it varied a lot - and then I picked whatever was more appealing to me. In aggregate I went for 70% SWE / 30% EM roles (roughly)

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#5
post #3

Thanks to the author for taking the time to write this up. I think it is a fairly realistic description of what the process is like for an engineer who has spent several years working in Silicon Valley at a well-known company. The key takeaways, coming from someone with a similar background: * Rely heavily on your personal network to both identify worthwhile opportunities and for referrals which, in the Before Times,…

> The classic one I've seen like 5 times is "how would you design a social media feed?" I still do not know the "correct" answer to this question.

There is no "correct" answer to it. It is an investigation into how you break the problem down and approach it. When presented with a challenge to it, how do you then look at it and consider how to solve it.

The Codeless Code - Case 83 Consequences http://thecodelesscode.com/case/83?topic=interviews

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#6
Sounds about expected even in current conditions.

If you are fairly skilled programmer, somewhat senior. These layoffs don’t matter.

I assure you that you won’t die of hunger if you quit/are laid off. Plenty of demand for non-coasters.

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#7

Sounds about expected even in current conditions. If you are fairly skilled programmer, somewhat senior. These layoffs don’t matter. I assure you that you won’t die of hunger if you quit/are laid off. Plenty of demand for non-coasters.

Yeah if you're good and have the resume/experience to back it up, you won't have any issues getting great offers even in this market. Great candidates are not easy to find in any market.

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#8
Thanks for sharing. Congrats to the author. 11 offers is amazing I doubt one can get so many in today's market but the good thing is you dont really need so many, 1 good one is enough. Ideally you have 2 so that you can nagotiate more easily.

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#9
That first impression (and how you tackled it) of system design interviews makes me question their usefulness. Like, how good of a signal can companies really be getting if it's too different from real world systems?

Feels like an artificial wall too - many companies don't approach the scale where this stuff matters, so getting that experience is hard.

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#10
Granted I've only attempted the Amazon interview of the FAANGs, but good job to the OP for cracking the FAANG interviews with only 60ish leetcode questions. I'm at 150 and have yet to crack any.
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