Joining Google as an L3 next week. Any helpful tips for me to succeed. I have 5 yoe and got downleveled. I am joining a team where all tech stack including the programming language will be new to me. This is not too important though as I am pretty sure I can pick things up quick. I got downleveled by HC, my goal is to succeed in this role and get to L4 ASAP. Any tips for me to succeed in this role. I will be in Android org, productivity engineering. Thanks in advance. TC 205
Sorry I don’t have tips but can you help me with my interview prep? I have onsite in a month and can use help with the following qs 1. How many leetcode had you solved n breakdown? 2. Can you share your interview experience? 3. Why do you think you got downleveled? 4. Can you dm me? Im out of credits :( Thanks!
Lmao this is like the most selfish response I've ever seen
Yeah, agree to ☝️, but I will try to be helpful anyway 1. Leetcode solved around 10/100/10 easy/med/hard, but I have glanced thru about 250+ 2. Standard interview exp, nothing too out of ordinary. Interviewers were all really nice 3. I come from smaller company and Google has reputation for down levelling non-fang people. Also maybe I missed some edge cases during interview. Feedback was mostly very good. 4. Sorry too busy now, and I don't have anything more to share than what is already available here in blind
What is productivity engineering?
First tip: don't say you got downleveled. You got an offer you performed for and accepted. Make your peace with that and you will feel less unhappy.
If he's coming from another company with comparable levels, it's totally possible he was objectively down-leveled. That said, I've never heard of OP's company.
I actually wanted to get into something new as I felt I was stagnating at my current role/skills. The hiring manager was open to the idea as well. I don't think they look for too much relevant exp for L3s anyway. And I also didn't wanted to gamble and wait forever to get that "ideal" match after hearing stories from some who couldn't get matched.
The main difference between a L3 and L4 at Google is autonomy. Give yourself some time to ramp up - Google is a Tech Island meaning that it uses very little tooling, libraries, or frameworks that are generally available to the rest of the industry. You will need time to learn and your manager knows this - so focus intensely initially on learning and small initial tasks. Even basic things like how to commit code will be new. After that focus on being autonomous. You should be able to take larger, less well defined pieces of work, flesh it out, and complete it without overly relying on others. Senior devs are expected to be able to carry fairly abstract tasks to the finish line, resolving ambiguities and holes as needed. You should also be in the habit of proactively seeking work within the mission of your team - if you see something that should be a project but isn't yet, pitch it. Creating one's own work is also part of the expectation for senior engineers.
Thanks for this write up. Can't agree more.
Welcome to the tech island..
Focus on your work delivered, and not on the level and promo.
You should have negotiated your start date for December 2019. Expect no refresh for two years
There was yet another change to the policy and if you have EE+ you will receive a refresher
Stop talking about being "downlevelled" because Google sees you as an L3. Embrace it, and use the time with fewer expectations to explore everything.
Congrats and good luck!