Career advice
Bruh, tbh, this is kind of going to be a sad rant. tl;dr: LEETCODE THE FUCK UP AND GET INTO FANG. For all the people out there, just stop fucking around with small companies/startups early in your career. Leetcode up and get into FANG. Once you have that validation, these startups will be much easier to get into. I have gone through this first hand. After amazing on-sites with multiple startups, where everyone said that I'm the kind of person they're looking for (background wise: CS grad, startup experience, 2+ YOE as a fullstack Dev using Java, py, js and all the famous frameworks you could name), they rejected me. Heck, a company flew me out to SF from Seattle where I think I had had my best on-site ever. They rejected me today. The sad part is that I actually for once really believed in the mission of the company. At this point, I have wasted so much time reading about the xyz startup that's about to disrupt pqr industry (to prepare for behavioral/cultural interview), practiced for such shitty interviews like pair programming etc., worked on numerous take home projects (completing all those "bonus" parts) and deploying it and spending money out of my own pocket for that. I'M JUST FUCKING DONE WITH THIS SHIT. I have given mock interviews with ex bosses and friends and they told me that I'm good. Heck, I even solved a LC medium in 20 minutes (optimal solution) but still got rejected. I'm kind of writing this for myself and people who are on the same boat as I am: Get into FANG and then think about other shit. STOP looking for smaller companies and being scared of getting your ass kicked by a Leetcode interview. Any company who would not take LC interviews will prefer someone from FANG unless you're lucky as fuck. You don't want your career to be based on luck, man. That shit's not gonna take you anywhere.
Getting into FANG or any company with current interviews process is still based on luck to some extent. Getting into FANG earlier in career helps because the bar is higher for roles with more yoe.
Why do you think there are so many Indians and Chinese working at FANG? The leetcode interview exam style is perfect for them as they've gone through their entire life mastering this type of study grind back home. They might not be able to understand English well enough to understand a Dave Chappelle joke, but at least they can DFS a graph in their sleep.
I laughed way too hard.
Ya, someone please come up with a rap for this
Sorry to hear about your experience. But you need to fail a few more interviews before you land your dream job, it’s all in mindset. Rejection is the best teacher. You haven’t wasted your time, you are one step closer. You need to see interviews as practice runs, nothing more.
While reading your post, all I kept wondering is which A you’ve left out of FAANG and why.
This post just makes no sense. All having FANG on your resume will do is get you the interview and ensure your resume doesnt get filtered out. You still need to pass the interview. It sounds like youre getting interviews but not passing them, which is a completely different problem. Nobodys gonna give someone a job just because they have FANG on their resume.
Although I mostly agree with you, I've seen stupid idiot dumb dumb morons being hired just because they worked at FAANG or some other big known companies because they figured if this oxymoron was hired there, he/she is "obviously smart" which is totally wrong & hence they hire
It's more like "they obviously know the secrets of success and we'll get it by proxy" rather than they are "obviously smart". Which is dumb because the larger the company, the more likely the average employee is just executing a vision that they had no part in creating.
I do agree that a FAANG would help you get a interview but I don't see how it's the reason to not hire someone. The rejection could be other red flags.. I might try doing a full mock interview (behavioral and technical) or get critical feedback on why you got rejected. I doubt any company would reject someone thinking: because you didn't work at a FAANG.
Also, don't go for a paycut.... you'll never recover...sad story of my life: went from $53k to $75 in 6 months and but then recession happened (2007-2008) & ended up without a job for about a year & took a few temp jobs and finally in 2009 ended up with $60k for an awful company which I quit. Been trying to make it back up. Finally in 2015 I started making what I was making in 2007. Just filed 2018 tax return:TC with a side hustle is less than $100k...learn from my FML story 😢💔
You are making less that $100k at Hulu?
Agree with eBay. It sounds like you're really interested in startups, but you're only basing your candidacy on a checklist of technical merit. Totally valid approach for large companies, but startups are looking for more than technical competency. At a scrappy growth company, any individual employee has the potential to greatly shape the companies direction. Solving a LC in 20 min will not convince them that you bring the disrupt mentality (that they're obnoxiously obsessed with) to the table. Good luck and don't give up!
Bruh, u’re not alone in this