EM interview on Monday @ Google
I am kinda nervous about my onsite for Monday. 1 coding, 2 system design and 2 management sessions. I am fairly confident about SD and management. Very rusty on coding. I know my DS and Algos but not written code in the last 5 years. Googlers or anyone that recently went through an onsite for EM : Any advice for the last 3 days to boost my confidence. Recruiter just sent the itinerary for Monday and the reality is setting in lol. I definitely want to do well and get the job. YOE: 17 (7 as EM) TC: 320 mainly due to stock inflation.
Do EMs not write any code at all at Amazon? I would just say spend a few hours practicing.
Not a requirement. During my first year I forced myself to help my team out. But my Sr. SDEs preferred my focus elsewhere. And my scope has grown and I do management well.
Most of my code is bug fixes or POCs for features I want to pitch to leadership to get funded
The coding bar isn’t super high. They want you to show that you could once have passed their coding bar.
I don’t understand!! Like come up with an optimal solution in discussion and I could code pathetically on the whiteboard ?
Its ok to be rusty and make some syntax errors, not know the right api for something, etc.
Should I be focusing on something very specific like Trees, Graphs, DP? Or should I just brush up more on the System Design
The questions I was asked were very different from the kind you see on leetcode. More around computer science fundamentals than anything else.
Are you in Google ? What kind - OS, Networking , Bits ?
Please let us know how it went ..
Will do
Wait. What were ur numbers when you were hired at Amazon? Coz after so many years 320 sounds low
I was hired at Amazon 2.5 years ago. 155K base, 120k 1st year sign on, 100k 2nd year and 420 RSUs that has more than doubled. I have ~575K un vested. Due to 160k base cap, my base isn’t going up any faster.
Ah. So when you joined your total comp was around 300k for 1st year?
What is "management sessions"? Really curious since I am a lowly IC 😂
Behavioral in other words ;-) Either ask from the experience or give hypothetical situation is what my guess is.
I would practise writing recursive and DP programs. Good luck. Keep us posted.
Thanks for the tip. Will do. Have been trying the tree and graph traversals.
I'm going through the same thing now. I passed the coding phone screen. On site coming up soon. Super rusty. Hacker ranking about an hour a day.
How was the coding phone screen? LC medium?
Are you level 6 at Amazon?
TC 320k and you're nervous? worst case scenario..you fail all interviews Monday and still go to work Tuesday with a pretty good paying job -_- #stressful
True. I have nothing to lose. But I would like to do well. After all this is Google.
320K is really low TC for someone with 7 years experience as an EM. Your base + target bonus will be around 275K at other places. Without stock. Even if you don’t get the google job, I strongly suggest exploring other roles.