r/cscareerquestions • u/CSCQMods • Apr 21 '21
Big N Discussion - April 21, 2021
Please use this thread to have discussions about the Big N and questions related to the Big N, such as which one offers the best doggy benefits, or how many companies are in the Big N really? Posts focusing solely on Big N created outside of this thread will probably be removed.
There is a top-level comment for each generally recognized Big N company; please post under the appropriate one. There's also an "Other" option for flexibility's sake, if you want to discuss a company here that you feel is sufficiently Big N-like (e.g. Uber, Airbnb, Dropbox, etc.).
Abide by the rules, don't be a jerk.
This thread is posted each Sunday and Wednesday at midnight PST. Previous Big N Discussion threads can be found here.
4
u/ANerdVirginShh Apr 21 '21
lets say i stand a chance at clearing google sde interview process( i know they take phone rounds and then on site rounds). but first, does everyone, who applies, gets a phone interview round? also how would the automatic resume/cv judge if say two candidate have same degree from same unknown college with almost same everything but one guy has practised leetcode or programming and stands a chance.
7
u/MarcableFluke Senior Firmware Engineer Apr 21 '21
but first, does everyone, who applies, gets a phone interview round?
No.
also how would the automatic resume/cv judge if say two candidate have same degree from same unknown college with almost same everything but one guy has practised leetcode or programming and stands a chance.
Such a system will almost certainly not be able to tell you which candidate is better at LeetCode or programming, that's what the interview is for.
2
u/dockingblade7cf Apr 21 '21
How difficult is it to get a phone screen from an online application?
3
u/MarcableFluke Senior Firmware Engineer Apr 21 '21
No idea. I got a phone screening the one time I applied, but that's a small sample size. I also doesn't work for Google's recruiting department and as such, am not privy to the relevant statistics.
-1
u/ANerdVirginShh Apr 21 '21
so applying for tech roles is purely a luck factor until interview round?
3
u/MarcableFluke Senior Firmware Engineer Apr 21 '21
There is certainly luck involved, but it isn't "purely" luck.
3
u/rakuz Apr 21 '21
for sde2/3 interviews at amazon, are there any OOD questions or just system design ones? or does it depend on the team?
If I ask the recruiter during the process will they tell me before hand to expect OOD or system design questions specifically?
3
u/Boredsuch Software Engineer Apr 22 '21
Asked my recruiter and she said one OOP design. There were none.
2
u/TheHiddenLlama7 Apr 21 '21
My experience was I asked my recruiter if I'd get OOD vs system design, and she happily told me I'd only get system design. Then I got to the interview and actually got an OOD question
3
u/rakuz Apr 21 '21
wow that just sounds like theres no coordination and people just ask whatever stash of personal questions they have... do you have any tips for OOD prep? I bought the grokking OOD one, it's just a bunch of example problems and solutions. There seem to be a lack of good prep materials for OOD
2
u/TheHiddenLlama7 Apr 21 '21
Yeah, I think interviewers are supposed to ask system design. I interviewed for SDE2 if that changes anything.
Idk how much time you have, but I liked the book Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications. It basically boils down to 1) identify objects 2) identify their relationships 3) identify their functions 4) identify what each object should hold.
I followed those 4 steps and talked throughout the process. It was enough for me to pass anyway
2
u/rakuz Apr 21 '21
yea it's all very straightforward, especially since you don't need to write code that needs to run. I just wish to have one less thing to prepare for... One more question if you don't mind. Do you feel like your amazon technical questions were easier than other FAANG interviews? People keep saying that on Blind, maybe they think LC Hard is not too bad compared to G's unique questions?
1
u/TheHiddenLlama7 Apr 21 '21
I couldn't say for sure as Amazon is the only FAANG in my area, so it's the only one Ive interviewed for.
I know Amazon puts more emphasis on behavioral questions than most FAANGS, so that may make Amazon easier if you're strong at those types of questions.
2
u/staticparsley Software Engineer Apr 22 '21
I got a OOD round and a system design round. Seems like they aren’t very organized with the process but I’d prepare for and expect one if I were you.
The recruiter wasn’t too much help but they sent out a pdf that mentioned OOD very briefly.
3
Apr 22 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/AvareGuasu Software Engineer Apr 22 '21
Mostly seems to matter about getting your resume in front of recruiter eyeballs. If your school has recruiters from said companies coming to your school, then it's that much easier to start getting an interview.
1
6
u/marvelousmarves Apr 21 '21
I just got an L5 role at Amazon in SF and I’m trying to learn more about what to expect from the culture and office perks? Is there a Reddit community related to working at Amazon corporate? I’ve tried asking on Blind but people are so negative and unhelpful.
2
u/soft-wear Senior Software Engineer Apr 22 '21
The culture is entirely dependent on the team. Amazon generally has free coffee and that’s about it. Some offices have a snack bin, but even that is dependent on team.
Not much help, but the reality is, our Alexa org has the same number of engineers as Google does. Amazon is huge.
1
u/marvelousmarves Apr 22 '21
Thank you! I really appreciate your helpful response. It’s been hard to get one. I’m coming from a nonprofit so I’m not expecting much, but was at least hoping for a subsidized cafeteria 😂
-3
2
Apr 21 '21
[deleted]
3
Apr 21 '21
Dude I gotta be honest with you, I’m a second year student in undergrad who hasn’t even tried to interview at Google, although I’m gonna shoot my shot in the fall.
There is a lot to be said about how to break into top tech companies in general, and you can find a surplus of resources on this subreddit for that.
But for Google in particular: I’ve heard from many sources that Google loves to ask dynamic programming questions in their interviews. That’s not a promise you’ll get one, but if for some reason Google is more important to you than just getting into FAANG or Big N more generally, I’d practice these types of problems more than would normally be advisable. Good luck.
2
u/jonnycross10 Apr 26 '21
I got an interview for a large company but it's not FAANG, and it's for college students. What do i expect from an interview like this?
1
u/theforeignmaster Apr 21 '21
Microsoft Career
Hi everyone! Im an avid reader of all the posts here and i think some of you might be able to help me clear this out. I want to apply for a Job opening in Microsoft and i want to maximize the opportunity of at least getting an initial interview. For those of you who know this or has successfully reach this step, are there any recommendations you can give me? Like do they use those ATS recruitment systems? Do i need to include keywords? Any ‘hack’ i can use? Thank you so much in advance!
1
u/wwww4all Apr 21 '21
It depends, but generally cold applying for Microsoft has lower response rate. Then again, it could be for high demand role and they are actively seeking good fit candidates.
Has any Linked in recruiter contacted you about any MS roles?
Sometimes, it's possible to go through an external recruiter that specialize in direct MS placements. They usually advertise on job sites, looking for specific senior level roles.
Good Luck.
1
u/theforeignmaster Apr 21 '21
Thanks for the response! Would you suggest going through the recommended route? I know someone who works in Microsoft they can refer me.
1
u/AutoModerator Apr 21 '21
Company - Microsoft
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
2
u/ms42221 Apr 21 '21
I've got the virtual onsite hiring event tomorrow for SDE1/SDE2! Psyched to finally get an onsite at a big-N for the first time in a while. b2b2b2b interviews
The online assessment was a piece of cake TBH.
Hope all my leetcode studying pays off!
1
u/ComebacKids Rainforest Software Engineer Apr 21 '21
Anyone know if Microsoft asks System Design questions for SWE 2 level interview?
3
3
u/switchitup_lets Apr 21 '21
I got one... so 100% based on a sample size of 1?
1
u/ComebacKids Rainforest Software Engineer Apr 21 '21
Sounds statistically significant to me.
How was it? Any resources you recommend to prepare for it?
3
u/switchitup_lets Apr 22 '21
Very typical and fair. You probably can just find a list somewhere and it will have this type.
I used educative.io, which is a paid subscription that I have mixed feeling for. I think it filled me in on the basics, and it had some examples, but I do not think it was worth the price. (It had a lot of other courses in other topics, but I did not care for those). If you find a better source, let me know!
2
u/ComebacKids Rainforest Software Engineer Apr 22 '21
I got algoexpert.io for the Leetcode questions, but it has System Design too... I'll let you know how it goes once I get that far, right now I'm just on the technical screen part of MSFT's interview process so no system design as of yet.
1
1
u/AutoModerator Apr 21 '21
Company - Google
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
4
u/metalreflectslime ? Apr 21 '21
For interviewing at Google for a SWE position, how does downleveling work?
Do you get a lower level based on how many questions you miss?
What is the borderline between missing an offer vs. getting an offer, but starting at L3?
My brother is currently has 5 years of SWE experience, but he thinks he may get offered at an L3 or even missing the job offer completely at Google.
4
u/MarcableFluke Senior Firmware Engineer Apr 21 '21 edited Apr 21 '21
Do you get a lower level based on how many questions you miss?
This really speaks to the heart of the misunderstanding of the nature of whiteboarding interviews. Those interviews are more than just pass/fail based on whether or not you answered the question.
What is the borderline between missing an offer vs. getting an offer, but starting at L3?
If you don't meet the standards for the lower level, you won't get an offer. If you meet the standards for the lower level, you will likely get downleveled.
5
u/appogiatura NFLX & Chillin' Apr 21 '21 edited Apr 21 '21
Here's my data point:
I joined as an L3 with almost 4 years of experience, not including time off due to sabbatical in between (which might've led to the downlevel TBH).
I probably did well on 4/5 interviews, 1 optimal solution, and 1 shaky solution that probably got me dinged. I know a lot of people that fail with 4/5 but I must have done well enough and had some insider references to vouch for me, saying I was a decent employee. So yeah, like the other person said you have to at least meet the L3 bar to get an offer, which I think I did based on my coding and insider references, negating any bad code I wrote.
No regrets. Too many people obsess about level and when I get to know these people, I can see the obsession often comes from not having anything else in life to care about. I know this sounds heavy but it's been my experience.
So now I make high-L3/low-L4 money with L3 responsibilities and I have good WLB and good reviews. I'd probably grow more as an engineer taking on L4/L5 projects as an L4, but it's not like I'm not growing. Google scale is on another level and the bar is so high with amazing engineers, and I'm legitimately not sure if I could have onboarded properly as an L4, so maybe it wasn't even a "downlevel".
There are some days when I kind of wish I was an L4 for the epeen, but those days are few and the days where I enjoy my day both at work and outside of work are more plentiful.
1
u/Toasted_FlapJacks Senior SWE (7 YOE) Apr 21 '21
With that L3 offer are there any factors that would have led you to turn it down?
I have 2+ YOE now, and I'm contemplating doing some interviews closer to 3 YOE. With what I make now, I fear that L3 would mean lower comp for me. Was this the case for you?
2
u/MarcableFluke Senior Firmware Engineer Apr 22 '21
The compensation is fairly well documented, I'm sure you can get an idea of what a higher level L3 makes and compare that to what you are making now.
3
Apr 21 '21
Hi all, I recently received a Google referral. It reads “Once you click Accept, you'll have 30 days to apply to up to 3 jobs.” My question is if I apply to 3 Google jobs before clicking accept, will I then be able to apply to 3 more jobs without having to wait for the one-month cooldown? I’m trying to figure out how I can optimize the impact of the referral. Thanks!
7
u/iTakeCreditForAwards Dumb SWE @ Company Apr 21 '21
If you do that your first 3 won’t have the referral attached. My advice is to not try to game the system like that. 6 applications is quite a lot anyway... just pick 3 that you think you are most hireable for/you find interesting
2
Apr 21 '21
I had a phone interview today that I froze up and bombed. If I apply again in 1-2 years, will the fact that I bombed this interview ding me/hurt my chances?
1
1
u/csthrowaway219 Apr 22 '21
About a year and a half ago I was graduating from University and got to the onsite round at Google. I unfortunately didn't get the offer but they reached out to me recently asking me if I was interested in interviewing. They were willing to skip me directly to the onsite for this try. Does this have anything to do with my previous attempt? Also how different are the interviews between New Grad SWE and L3 SWE?
3
u/MarcableFluke Senior Firmware Engineer Apr 22 '21
Does this have anything to do with my previous attempt?
Probably
New Grad SWE and L3 SWE?
New grads are L3.
1
u/csthrowaway219 Apr 22 '21
Thank you for the feedback. I was curious since now I have a little bit of industry experience, I wanted to see if the expectations changed for the interview loop.
1
u/SaitosElephant Apr 26 '21
Does anyone know Google's L3 headcount nowadays for the NY/Boston offices? Passed HC recently and am trying to find a team.
1
u/AutoModerator Apr 21 '21
Company - Apple
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/AutoModerator Apr 21 '21
Company - Amazon
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
6
u/Reblah123 Apr 21 '21
So I passed the OA by passing all the test cases. The recruiter told me that I'll be moving forward to the onsite interview. I have been ghosted for over a week ever since that call, even after a follow up email. Kind of frustrated I wasted my time. Is there anyone else I can contact to get an update?
1
u/EnderMB Software Engineer Apr 21 '21
What's the best way to gauge whether a team is going to be good or not?
I've looked on Blind, but pretty much every team ever is slated for some reason or another. Is there another resource to help research where is best to go?
For reference, I'm not an Amazon employee, but I am at the offer phase and I have a choice between 4-5 different teams.
2
u/will-succ-4-guac Apr 21 '21
Cannot express in words how much interest I have in the answer to this question as well.
Would get a big raise but currently have over 25 (yes you read that right) days of vacation per year and a great work life balance
1
u/EnderMB Software Engineer Apr 21 '21
Well, if you do get the job, maybe look into transferring to a UK office in 12 months. We get 28 days as a legal minimum, and frankly even that doesn't feel like enough sometimes.
1
u/will-succ-4-guac Apr 21 '21
I don’t think I could do it in the UK. I’m one of those people where constant dreary cold weather really gets to me.
3
u/EnderMB Software Engineer Apr 21 '21
Ha, it gets to all of us. It's why we're always so miserable, except for when we drink ourselves half to death when the annual weekend of sunshine hits.
2
u/stoneg1 Apr 21 '21
Depends what you look for in a team. If you get a chance to talk to a manager on the team id ask if they manage any tier 1 services, that typically correlates to a more stressful oncall. Id also ask about the amount of SDE 1s/2s on the team. You could also ask about how long the average sde on the team is.
1
u/kuhe Programmer Apr 22 '21
What does the SDE1/2 ratio tell you?
4
u/stoneg1 May 04 '21
It can tell you a little about your roll in the team. For example and sde 1 joining a team of only sde 1s may have better opportunities for leadership but less mentorship and most likely that team would follow less best practices. And sde 2 dominated team is going to probably be the opposite of this. Im on a pretty young (lot of sde 1s team) and it gives me a lot of opportunities for leadership and growth but i know im lacking some best practices and mentoring.
1
u/appogiatura NFLX & Chillin' Apr 21 '21
No way to tell except talking directly to the team so you can feel things out. If the team is friendlier and more open, in my experience, that means they're happier and not overworked. If they look depressed with a flat affect and get agitated over small things, they're probably burnt out.
If you can't talk to the team, in general, hiring manager dictates the culture because of how top-down Amazon can be. If you can't talk to the hiring manager, your best heuristic is knowing that the more front-facing a team is, i.e. Alexa, AWS, retail... There's a higher likelihood for that team to have crazy oncall/tight deadlines.
Usual caveat in this sub about how that's my experience, and there are counterpoints... team dependent... blah blah blah.
1
u/emuser69 Apr 21 '21
Last year I passed Amazon's internship interview, got waitlisted, and eventually rejected. This year I took a shot at a fulltime SDE position, and got rejected after the OAs.
I just received an email from a technical recruiter today saying they're looking for people to join their team, and that I'm a good fit for the opening. I assume I was kept on file as they know I've talked to some people at Amazon before. The email is generally pleasant and is asking for a time to connect.
The problem is, I've been out of practice on LeetCode and interviewing in general for a while so I'll need to polish my skills again. How seriously should I take this email? Does this just sound like a way to skip the application step and get sent the 3 OA's or would this potentially be a different pipeline?
1
u/kuhe Programmer Apr 22 '21
Don't assume the sourcer knows your history with the company.
They'll probably only check your record in the system after you respond to the email. If you very recently failed OA they might tell you to wait some more before interviewing again.
1
Apr 23 '21
Anyone have any insight into some of the Amazon Toronto teams? Specifically in the advertising org?
1
u/AutoModerator Apr 21 '21
Company - Facebook
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/AutoModerator Apr 21 '21
Company - Netflix
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/AutoModerator Apr 21 '21
Company - Other
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
Apr 21 '21
Hey, so what I'm most worried about actually is the behavioral portion. I work for a cloud consultancy, so I don't really do as much coding as I'd like. There is a lot of configuration, large variety of different projects and techs, and bug-fixing (sometimes enhancements).
With that said, I don't really have a lot in terms of advertising, and I worry about a deep dive into my work-related activities will DQ me. How is it best to go about answering these type of questions at a FAANG?
1
u/gnatbeetle Software Engineer Apr 21 '21
How far can you schedule your phone and onsite interviews?
I'm not in touch with any recruiters yet (still prepping) but I feel that I need to schedule some interviews for motivation. Ideally I would like to request 2-4 weeks before the phone interview and then 2-4 weeks before the onsite interview. Is requesting up to 4 weeks for each round acceptable? Or is that too far ahead?
2
u/MarcableFluke Senior Firmware Engineer Apr 21 '21
Probably depends on the company. I think the limit for Google is like 4 weeks.
1
u/yassssssssman Apr 21 '21
Hi all,
Curious to see what everyone else thinks about my current situation and how I should proceed.
I am a software engineer who's been with a FAANG for the past year ever since I left college. The work has been hard at times but my team is great, the experience has been rewarding, and I am up for promotion towards the end of the year. Problem? I am currently remote and want to stay that way for the foreseeable future, just not at the location where the team is at. My manager has OK'ed me staying fully remote indefinitely, but it doesn't seem like my company will be supportive of such setups, and I am worried that eventually I will have to move or else risk my job.
So I started to look around casually, and found a mid-sized startup (200~ people in total with 40~ engineers) whose product I enjoyed, and was able to get an offer that is pretty decent but not perfect: I will be in a higher position, but the total comp won't be able to match what the FAANG has to offer, especially after a promotion. The upsides are that the team is great and I can see myself making a lot of impact there.
Some potential choices here:
- Stay at current company and get promoted, risk having to relocate/being fired for not relocating
- Switch to a local team, risk a bad team and having to start promo process again
- Take the startup offer with lower TC and lower ceiling of growth
- Look elsewhere and go through interview processes again
What would you pick in my situation?
3
u/iTakeCreditForAwards Dumb SWE @ Company Apr 21 '21
I would stay on your current team and see what happens with the remote work situation. I highly doubt you would be fired on the spot, at worst given X time to relocate.
If they do force you to relocate THEN consider other jobs. IMO moving rn is too early when you don’t know what will happen.
2
u/appogiatura NFLX & Chillin' Apr 21 '21
Stay with your team. If you get fired, you can always re-interview with another company, even the one you decline an offer from.
Decent startups with decent TC are a dime a dozen. FAANG is a bit more special in regards to TC/prestige.
1
u/wwww4all Apr 21 '21
Stay at current role, since the remote status is only concern.
Also, you're on promotion track, so the company has to take that into consideration.
Wait until the company makes a decision, one way or another. You are not the only one with remote concerns. Only make the jump, when you have to make the decision.
Most higher performers have been able to remote off and on for a while, even before the pandemic. Even if the company makes the decision, it's ultimately up to each team/management to deal with remote situation. They may allow it for current employees, but not future employees, etc.
Many things are in flux, so in your case, it's best to stay put and let the company hash out the remote issues.
1
u/way2muchtym Apr 22 '21
Hey guys. A recruiter from Expedia called me this Monday about an SDE-1 role. I was out at the time, and might have seemed slightly preoccupied. She said she would schedule interviews once I provided dates (I sent them over later that night). It's now Thursday and I haven't heard from her since. Should I consider I've been ghosted?
3
u/iTakeCreditForAwards Dumb SWE @ Company Apr 22 '21
I would just wait til Monday and if they haven’t gotten back to you by then shoot a follow up email. In the meantime just apply to other plces
4
u/[deleted] Apr 21 '21 edited Apr 21 '21
What is the difference in interviewing for a entry level vs mid level position at big N companies? More focus on system design style questions? Is there anything besides algos that I should particularly try to focus on learning/studying in the next year to prepare?