‘Simple Tips to Get a Job at the Big 4’ by Sean Lee
Silicon Valley Big 4, Amazon, Facebook, Google & Microsoft
A massive shout out to this amazing guy, Sean Lee, for sharing the insightful talk. Go check them here, they are exceptional, and unlike any other tips n trick video.
I will recap what he mainly talked about, but I still strongly encourage you to watch the video unless you are here just for some leisure.
1. Get an interview…somehow
Prepare your relevant CV, by relevant means a CV which consists of relevant skill-set you are about to sell to the company. Computer science-related works are portfolio-based/skill-based works, they need some proof that you are actually able to code.
Every. single. line. should. deliver. the. answer. of : “ Why should we hire you??”
The great thing about CV is that they do not list how many times you have failed. Therefore, keep trying and be determined to enhance your skill by working on personal projects, course works, joining Hackathon, etc.
Quantity matters in this case, read this anecdotes that Sean shared with us.
He gave us an example of Jenn Dewalt. She, without any coding background, had succeeded to build 180 websites in 180 days. Indeed, as a CompSci student, making a mobile app in three months shouldn’t be a problem! I was horrified because nothing is truer than this.
2. Do well on the interview
There are two bibles of the coding interview:
- Cracking the Code Interview ( CTCI ): by far the best practices, several times Sean got asked questions from the book, use it if you feel comfortable with data structure and algorithm, otherwise…
- Programming Interview Exposed ( PIE ): It has a more detailed explanation by reviewing fundamental concepts first.
Skip the brain teasers, useless. Do not skip OOP and design (but don’t focus too much), arrays, trees, recursion, etc.
No behavioral interviews, 90% will be focused on “Can you code?”
Here is the most important takeaway for a successful interview:
- make a group (with the same level of experience)
- practice a different question and understand them thoroughly
- mock interview 3 times a week
Note that the best algorithm is not the fastest or what you think the simplest one, but the one your interviewer had already think of. Hence, they will tend to “guide” you to their favorable solution. If your solution is different and you think it is better, it’s okay as long as you can explain and convince him.
He said “It is simple, it is OBVIOUS, but I didn’t say it’s easy”.
“Stay foolish. Stay hungry. Never let go of your appetite to go after new ideas, new experiences, and new adventures.” — Steve Jobs
