A Senior Engineer’s Guide to FAANG Interviews • Hacker News Board

Re: A Senior Engineer’s Guide to FAANG Interviews

#21

Post by CamperBob2 » Mon, Jun 26, 2023, 8:40 PM UTC

codr7 wrote: post #9

I don't know, I've walked into these interviews with zero preparation and succeeded. And I've failed FAANG-ish interviews where no amount of leetcode grinding would have helped me. In my opinion, it's getting rather silly. They're scaring off and filtering out excellent candidates with these excessive processes. None of them even cared about my Github repository that's full of code I write for fun. Software developer…

What kills me is that the developers they are hiring based on their encyclopedic knowledge of language minutiae and mad leetcode skillz are exactly the ones who will be first in line for replacement with ML-based solutions.

The fitness function used by these companies is so broken it's not even funny. The ability to get things done and ship product doesn't even seem to be on their radar. They are optimizing for dead weight, which is how they end up with these periodic 1000+-person layoffs.

Re: A Senior Engineer’s Guide to FAANG Interviews

#22

Post by kerblang » Mon, Jun 26, 2023, 8:40 PM UTC

codr7 wrote: post #9

I don't know, I've walked into these interviews with zero preparation and succeeded. And I've failed FAANG-ish interviews where no amount of leetcode grinding would have helped me. In my opinion, it's getting rather silly. They're scaring off and filtering out excellent candidates with these excessive processes. None of them even cared about my Github repository that's full of code I write for fun. Software developer…

I tend to put it this way: If you are entrepreneurially/leadership- minded and can develop a talent for identifying talent, you can be 10x, even 100x more valuable than any engineer because you become a force multiplier who recognizes real talent and empowers it - and the best part is that everyone else is dragging their knuckles on the ground and obsessed with pretentious gate-keeping. The opportunity level is wide-open.

Re: A Senior Engineer’s Guide to FAANG Interviews

#23

Post by snakewatching » Mon, Jun 26, 2023, 8:40 PM UTC

So the main factor for succeeding those so-called interviews is doing more of them? ie, it has nothing to do with your actual performance on the job.

We should think hard as a society on what we want to spend our time on. At some point in my career I drank the koolaid that joining a FAANG was the most prestigious thing you could do. But now I start to see people working at FAANGs as bureaucratic rule-follower that put their 50 hours of leetcode-grinding (I suspect that they are implicitly filtering for those engineers that will follow tasks without asking too many questions)

Re: A Senior Engineer’s Guide to FAANG Interviews

#24

Post by onlyrealcuzzo » Mon, Jun 26, 2023, 8:40 PM UTC

codr7 wrote: post #9

I don't know, I've walked into these interviews with zero preparation and succeeded. And I've failed FAANG-ish interviews where no amount of leetcode grinding would have helped me. In my opinion, it's getting rather silly. They're scaring off and filtering out excellent candidates with these excessive processes. None of them even cared about my Github repository that's full of code I write for fun. Software developer…

> In my opinion, it's getting rather silly.

It's luck of the draw. That's really how it's always been.

If you get bad interviewers, you're in for a bad time.

If you get asked questions you know, you're in for a good time.

It's possible your odds of getting bad interviewers has increased. But I doubt the increase is that substantial.

It's interesting to me how much stock these companies put into hiring, and then let countless terrible interviewers continue to interview.

You'd think they'd recognize high quality interviewers and get them doing more than 1 interview per week, and not let people interview until passing a pretty high bar in the quality of their interview.

Instead, they pretty much let anyone interview (as long as they've been at the company for N months and gone to some training).

Re: A Senior Engineer’s Guide to FAANG Interviews

#25

Post by taway234 » Mon, Jun 26, 2023, 8:40 PM UTC

jondwillis wrote: post #12

All of the FAANGs are various levels of unethical, or a net negative for society in my estimation. No more interviewing there for me.

>> All of the FAANGs are various levels of unethical, or a net negative for society in my estimation. No more interviewing there for me.

Feel the same way, until you realize you've cut out half the jobs in the process. Also, wait till you see how much it sucks when loser startups offer you 90kbase + XYZ illiquid options.

Re: A Senior Engineer’s Guide to FAANG Interviews

#26

Post by mihaitodor » Mon, Jun 26, 2023, 8:41 PM UTC

codr7 wrote: post #9

I don't know, I've walked into these interviews with zero preparation and succeeded. And I've failed FAANG-ish interviews where no amount of leetcode grinding would have helped me. In my opinion, it's getting rather silly. They're scaring off and filtering out excellent candidates with these excessive processes. None of them even cared about my Github repository that's full of code I write for fun. Software developer…

I have a public disclaimer in my LinkedIn profile intro saying that I refuse to do any algorithmic live coding. They’re top employers and whatnot, but one doesn’t need to torture themselves with Leetcode to get a good job in this industry

Re: A Senior Engineer’s Guide to FAANG Interviews

#27

Post by dpe82 » Mon, Jun 26, 2023, 8:43 PM UTC

mihaitodor wrote: post #26

codr7 wrote: post #9

I don't know, I've walked into these interviews with zero preparation and succeeded. And I've failed FAANG-ish interviews where no amount of leetcode grinding would have helped me. In my opinion, it's getting rather silly. They're scaring off and filtering out excellent candidates with these excessive processes. None of them even cared about my Github repository that's full of code I write for fun. Software developer…

I have a public disclaimer in my LinkedIn profile intro saying that I refuse to do any algorithmic live coding. They’re top employers and whatnot, but one doesn’t need to torture themselves with Leetcode to get a good job in this industry

Interesting; how has that worked for you?

Re: A Senior Engineer’s Guide to FAANG Interviews

#28

Post by majormajor » Mon, Jun 26, 2023, 8:43 PM UTC

lionkor wrote: post #20

codr7 wrote: post #9

I don't know, I've walked into these interviews with zero preparation and succeeded. And I've failed FAANG-ish interviews where no amount of leetcode grinding would have helped me. In my opinion, it's getting rather silly. They're scaring off and filtering out excellent candidates with these excessive processes. None of them even cared about my Github repository that's full of code I write for fun. Software developer…

All jobs I applied for that I interviewed for looked at my GitHub specifically, and my past projects, and that was their main topic of discussion in the interview, apart from usual coding questions and such. Im not victim blaming by saying you may just be applying to the wrong places, am I

I would love to talk about my github projects with an interviewer - hell, I'd also love to talk more about my past systems than their hypothetical ones - but like the parent post, I've found it pretty rare. Past projects maybe 15% of the time at medium-to-large companies (500+ person), and so far am batting 0.000 for "asked about personal projects", including at FAANG interviews.

Re: A Senior Engineer’s Guide to FAANG Interviews

#29

Post by rel2thr » Mon, Jun 26, 2023, 8:44 PM UTC

My pro-tip if you want one of these jobs and are not great at leetcoding, try to get another role at the company and then transfer over.

Apply as a data analyst, theres no leetcoding, you just need to demonstrate sql knowledge and experience working with the business. And faang data analysts are paid as much as many non-faang engineers.

Once you are in, you will be working with engineers, just do a good job, and express interest in working on the software team. The bar will be much much lower than an external candidate.

I would say 20-25% of engineers at these companies come from a non-traditional route like this.

Re: A Senior Engineer’s Guide to FAANG Interviews

#30

Post by snakewatching » Mon, Jun 26, 2023, 8:44 PM UTC

liuliu wrote: post #19

codr7 wrote: post #9

I don't know, I've walked into these interviews with zero preparation and succeeded. And I've failed FAANG-ish interviews where no amount of leetcode grinding would have helped me. In my opinion, it's getting rather silly. They're scaring off and filtering out excellent candidates with these excessive processes. None of them even cared about my Github repository that's full of code I write for fun. Software developer…

When you are hiring in volume, you are hiring for additive value, not for transformative value (nor multiplicative value). For additive value, conformance is essential. Most of the semi-successful companies don't need to be "the innovation machine".

I will agree with this. Leetcode style interviews identify the "rule-followers", "not-going to rock the boat" type of engineers. That's what FAANGs need, not innovators and leaders.