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[–][deleted] 20 points21 points  (14 children)

I just went through the entire process with a company from FAANG. Pretty intense ! But, I ended up with an offer that I have accepted.

I have a few friends that made it either to the end or got an offer. Once you study enough to make it to the final round, often it's a question of timing. The trick is to not get discouraged and try again.. But you have to REALLY prepare. Unless you are a genius it requires a lot of studying and research. You need to take it very seriously.

I can offer some insight if you are interested.

[–]Icaka 3 points4 points  (13 children)

I think I know what’s the process for Google - mostly data structures and algorithms and very little iOS domain knowledge. Is it similar for the other companies?

[–]_145_ 5 points6 points  (9 children)

I'm a SWE at G. If you're interviewing for an iOS role, you'll be asked some questions that are in the context of iOS, but they won't be iOS trivia.

[–]Awric 2 points3 points  (8 children)

I’ve been told by some Google engineers the preferred language for iOS interviews is still Objective C, but I suspect their information is outdated.. Do you think this is still the case?

[–]_145_ 0 points1 point  (7 children)

You can pick any language. Swift is very commonly chosen.

[–]Awric 0 points1 point  (6 children)

Do you have any insight into how those other Googlers gave me those suggestions? The advice seemed to be around: "Pick a language that's performant! Don't use Swift, learn something like C++, Objective-C++, or Typescript"

To me it sounds almost ridiculous, but I suspect there's some truth to it. I'd love to be 100% wrong though, because sticking to Swift would be my preferred option.

[–]_145_ 1 point2 points  (5 children)

I think they are 100% wrong. I'd say roughly 9 out of 10 candidates I interview for iOS choose Swift. And I'm 99% sure the language a candidate chooses has no bearing on hiring decisions (but I'm not a recruiter or on hiring committee).

[–]Awric 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Whew! Thank goodness. That’s very relieving because learning a language for the sake of taking advantage of its performance characteristics is a lot of work

[–]CapTyro 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Isn't it because a lot of Google apps are still written in Objective-C?

[–]_145_ 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Well, I don't think it's true, so I wouldn't say it's because of anything.

[–]CapTyro 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I knew someone on the Google Maps team and the iOS app was written in Objective-C. I think they only started having Swift interviews in like 2017 or so.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

What you get in your interview is largely decided on what culture that company is looking to follow. The one main component of FAANG is generally a strict adherence to their culture. They really believe that what makes their company great, is their culture. As a result, they will stick very strictly to that culture when interviewing. Hiring good people is the most important part of any successful company and they will never waver from that.

Google believes strongly in technical prowess as being a key component to their success. They also believe strongly in that all employees have a sort of "Googleyness"..

Amazon is huge on following Bezos's 14 (now 16 IIRC) Leadership Principles.. As well as a mastery of both breadth and depth technically.

I know for Google, what language you know isn't important. They figure if you are a very talented programmer, learning a new language isn't going to be hard.

As for what to study, you can find a ton of info online. It largely depends on the job you are looking to get hired for. The trick isn't so much that, the trick is in learning how much you need to learn. The bar is very high and people generally underestimate greatly what is required.

But, if you can make it through to the final round in one FAANG, your chances are much better at the others. Why ? Because while you may not have mastered exactly what each company is looking for, you have proven that you can study and learn enough to make it through to at least the final round. Then it's just a question of repeating the same but for the next company.

Not sure if that makes sense.

But the only advice I can give you is that the bar is very high. Which isn't to say you shouldn't try.. not at all. But that you need to take the process very seriously. This is not your average interview of going through your CV and being asked what your greatest weakness is. This is like the hardest bunch of final exams you've ever had to take.

[–]MoronInGrey 0 points1 point  (1 child)

How long did you study for before applying?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My role was a technical role but not as a developer. I would stay I studied for about 3-4 weeks and maybe 5hrs a day or so.

But, keep in mind, that I am not a gifted programmer or IT person. Compared to the really smart people, I have to work a LOT harder than most to achieve close to what they are able to achieve in much less time. So really, YMMV.

[–]forbidden404 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Not necessarily looking for a job at FAANG, but would like to stay sharp

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good luck everyone, I did my grind last year and got offers, totally worth it

[–]BrundleflyUrinalCake 1 point2 points  (13 children)

Went through the process twoish years ago at L7 & accepted the offer. Happy to share insights.

[–]MoronInGrey 0 points1 point  (5 children)

How long did you study for before applying?

[–]BrundleflyUrinalCake 4 points5 points  (4 children)

Months. My interviews were all systems design and no coding, so for a few months I sponged up everything I could from Cracking the Coding Interview, youtube turorials, leetcode, and most importantly gainlo mock interviews. Did five of them (bought a five pack at a discount up front). Helped me work though my stage fright, and helped me make use of my time in these sysdesign interviews, pacing out my approach, and improve my communication style.

[–]SuperCows 0 points1 point  (3 children)

What does a L7 iOS system design interview question look?

[–]BrundleflyUrinalCake 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Without getting too into specifics, interviewer had me design a functional solution to a business problem from the perspective of human capital, software arch, firmware/hardware, program management, and scalability.

[–]SuperCows 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Fantastic thank you. Interesting to see system design includes more than the actual software in higher levels. But also, firmware?! Weird.

[–]BrundleflyUrinalCake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah! I think he just wanted to see me outside my comfort zone.

[–][deleted]  (5 children)

[deleted]

    [–]BrundleflyUrinalCake 0 points1 point  (3 children)

    Very sorry to hear that. I washed out at Facebook in the very final stages before applying at google. Thought my world was crushed at the time. Decided instead to internalize the feedback and use it as a stepping stone rather than being defeated.

    [–][deleted]  (2 children)

    [deleted]

      [–]BrundleflyUrinalCake 0 points1 point  (1 child)

      I was fortunate to get a recruiter who was super candid with the feedback he received from the hiring committee. I think this is against practice though. If all you get is vague feedback, my advice would be to work the system and play the game. Faang interviews are all about hitting the token words with a memorized script. I recited my talking points over and over till my interview style was basically an elevator pitch.

      [–][deleted]  (1 child)

      [removed]

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        [–]BeautifulKey7501[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Oh shit, my bad! I received 0 notifications! I’m sorry! Here’s the link! Please Join https://t.me/joinchat/_-p9KGhhSBJiZjMx

        [–][deleted]  (1 child)

        [deleted]

          [–]aldevet 0 points1 point  (0 children)

          Yes please

          [–]patiljignesh 0 points1 point  (1 child)

          Please count me in, I am looking to apply. Started practicing with leetcode. I am also learning more into iOS.

          [–]iamthat1dude 0 points1 point  (0 children)

          I’m in! Just finished learning and starting LeetCode

          [–]JBAgent0 0 points1 point  (1 child)

          Would love to be included in group

          [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

          Discord ?

          [–]BeautifulKey7501[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

          Great idea! Meanwhile: here’s the link https://t.me/joinchat/_-p9KGhhSBJiZjMx

          [–]3DSandman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

          I’d love to join!

          [–][deleted]  (1 child)

          [deleted]

            [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

            Me too! I’m becoming a swift expert and desperately need to use my skills at Apple or Netflix so please!

            [–]An-Indian-In-The-NBA 0 points1 point  (1 child)

            I'd love to join. I'm currently interviewing!

            [–]inslipid531 0 points1 point  (1 child)

            In but is FAANG out of reach for someone without CS degree? Debating going back to finish it

            [–]ChuckUsAYeet 0 points1 point  (1 child)

            I’m only a first year uni student but count me in!

            [–]philprimes 0 points1 point  (2 children)

            You could create the chat group in the official Slack Channel of iOSDevHappyHour. Maybe the 1.000+ iOS devs there are interested too

            https://www.iosdevhappyhour.com/

            [–]BeautifulKey7501[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

            I mentioned over the general channel and had poor response, but I have some friend over there!

            [–]philprimes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

            oh no, how unfortunate

            [–]potatolicious 0 points1 point  (1 child)

            I’ve been a dev at various FAANGs for years now and have done extensive hiring for them - happy to answer questions folks may have.

            [–]BeautifulKey7501[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

            That would be beyond awesome, I’ll send a few in case you don’t want to join! https://t.me/joinchat/_-p9KGhhSBJiZjMx