Leetcode may be the death of me
I got laid off earlier this year. I was getting burnt out pretty badly at Venmo, but I was making sure to take PTO to address it. Engineering leadership at Venmo told us we were safe from mass PayPal layoffs before it happened so it really felt like a shot to the back. Colleagues still there say things have gotten worse - like leadership threatening to take away on-call compensation, even though many in my org go on call 2 weeks every month. I've been grinding on the job search since layoffs and it feels like technical interviews have gotten so much more intense. I will admit I'm not the best when it comes to algorithms but it feels a lot like tech screens will only look successful if a candidate can solve 3 different arbitrary algos in the time span of 30 minutes. I've been studying as much as possible. I approach tech screens with talking through a solution with interviewer first and they'll either point out an issue or agree on it, pseudo code and then write out solution. I know this eats up some time but that's what I thought interviewers cared more about than getting thru x solutions in y time. This hyper leetcode-y approach is ruining my life right now. I'm running out of unemployment and being in an over flooded talent pool doesn't feel great. Every company seems to be holding out for their unicorn coder, or dissolving positions entirely. This may not be what's actually going on but I've been thru 50+ interview processes at this point and I get rejected for "not being senior enough for the role" or "we have decided to pause on hiring", and then I would see those same jobs get reposted over and over again. Wtf? I come from a non-traditional background. Found my way into web design and basic front end development, loved it so much and decided to go to bootcamp. After, I worked my way through multiple jobs focusing on learning new skills and have met such great people along the way. I got into this industry because I love creating and fixing things. But the constant grind of job search / interview process is wearing me down. I've even considered a new career path entirely to escape this hell but my assets have dwindled down so much just on student loans and mortgage. Every morning I wake up still unemployed and still in some interview pipeline, I grow a new knot in my stomach. I have lost my appetite and a lot of weight due to stress. I have to force myself to eat, even though it feels like I'm going to throw up. Every rejection is difficult to not internalize... I have cried a few times out of feeling utterly worthless. I feel like I have done a lot of good work and have a lot more to provide but can't show that in an interview process. I guess I wanted to post this to see if anyone else is feeling similarly, but mostly venting about the human toll of these mass layoffs. If you got this far, thanks so much for reading. YOE: ~7 TC: 170k & š„ -> 0
> "not being senior enough for the role" or "we have decided to pause on hiring" It likely isnāt you are bad at leetcode. You are just trying to get a job at a bad time (I experienced this in 2020). You got into Venmo, you have 7 yoe, youāll get a job eventually. It only takes one yes. Keep your head up and good luck.
Did you lower your bar for working at smaller or midsized company that do not ask you to LC? Some of them are based on take home assessments and others on knowledge and experiences. Get some easy wins under your belt, of course comp won't be the same or even on the lower end but should do great for your confidence as you get back into the game.
Yes, started targeting smaller & startups not too long ago - I'm in the pipeline for a couple that seem to be imitating FAANG style processes though. I'm currently in the pipeline for Webflow and their take home was my favorite one so far!
Startups still care about leet code. I suggest targeting companies that don't have tech as their primary focus. Think insurance, banks, defense, maybe entertainment companies
You will get it
Totally normal to feel this way. Itās the time in the job cycle where companies have the upper hand over the job seekers. This will change as well. It is highly likely that you are a great interviewer, but just bad timing rn. Keep at it and something will turn up. Remember that it just takes 1 yes!
Dunno how much you have been grinding but I also come from a self-taught background and grinding LC was tough with no formal education. You can DM me and maybe we can have an LC jam
I wish I could loose my appetite man. Canāt lose an ounce of weight no matter how hard I try. Look at the bright side
My advice for losing your appetite is to become absolutely terrified of becoming homeless I guess š«
If you donāt want to wait for a trauma look up Jason fung and intermittent fasting. It has changed my life and unlike dieting the weight doesnāt come back when you stop trying to lose
Iād skip the pseudocode and quickly discuss your approach with the interviewer. Make sure to code in a scripting language like python or JavaScript ā itās basically pseudocode. When youāre writing out your solution talk out loud and explain what youāre doing. That should help speed and communication. If you interview with fb you must solve two problems and test them in 45 minutes to pass. Other companies are less strict but generally there are two parts. Also use the compiler if available, I donāt think anyone dinged me for compiler debugging.
I've only had tech screens in Coderpad- main thing I've noticed is that it doesn't give much way in terms of debugging besides printing to their console
I do console print statements for debugging!
First, recognize that this is the market now until interest rates go back down Second, realize that you, your skills, and how you come across in interviews are the only part of this equation that you have the ability to change Take a deep breath and a break from applying for a time. Work out to relieve stress, study, and get your head right. You canāt go into the interviews being this freaked outā¦
Mostly have been meditating when I can. 10 minutes in the mornings have really helped with anxiety. But not sure if I can afford to take a break, will probably try to take a week off to detox after I wrap up a couple pipelines next week.
My friend got 2 offers last week after 7 months. You will be fine if you donāt have visa situation. Good luck!
No visa needs. But congrats to your friend, I'm glad to know there's hope out there yet!
You are right companies say they care about communication, approach to problem solving, collaboration with the interviewer ect but all those come into play only if you nailed the solution to coding problems. If you canāt solve it without bugs then bye bye. Try to set a timer at home and keep simulating interview setting.
Im interviewing around rn now I'm getting offers - dont practice LC much and usually need hints but get to a solution. So I dont think this is true. Communication + problem solving still seems like its king, likewise I focus on this in interviews I conduct. Also +1 to other folks statements, its just really competitive rn.
āWe care about good communication skillsā ***FOB H1B with a short temper who can barely formulate an intelligible English sentence gets hired instead of you***