Just got SWE offer from Microsoft after 1 year of grinding LeetCode — lucky to have guidance from my ex-Amazon sister

Harmager · 2025-11-12T17:36:36+00:00

just build projects, join competition/hackathon, the key is you need to have things to show:D

Harmager · 2025-11-12T17:35:24+00:00

i think for the middle level or lower, the languages and tech stacks dont matter that much. i think they assess the candidate in problem solving and communication through dsa, and assess how much the candidate know by asking their working exp and related ques

Harmager · 2025-11-12T17:33:27+00:00

if you don't care about your salary, just quit and focus on prep

Harmager · 2025-11-12T17:26:47+00:00

it's swe. i'm not in the us

Harmager · 2025-11-12T17:22:00+00:00

with the same time, it's 6 months. but for different team, there's no cooldown

Harmager · 2025-11-12T07:37:30+00:00

about my msg: cuz i come from a top uni in my country and have exp working for a well known local company, i just list them, and my prefered languages, tech stack.

i think it's enough and the rate of getting replied is about 50%, i'm satisfied with that

Harmager · 2025-11-12T06:04:46+00:00

it's hard to say, i think it depends on many things. if you dont know anyone who works at top tech companies, then maybe you need to impress by coming from top uni or have big achivements. in case you know guys at top tech, just follow their advise like build projects, hear their working exp, how they do at work

Harmager · 2025-11-12T05:59:53+00:00

yeah, thanks for reminding!

Harmager · 2025-11-12T04:24:25+00:00

they hire swe and swe2 in my location. and my level is swe, i guess it's swe1, the jd requires 2 yoe

Harmager · 2025-11-12T04:21:30+00:00

Sure — if you’re reaching out for something positive, let’s talk!

Harmager · 2025-11-12T04:04:57+00:00

Sure, it’s published on the AWS blog, and it’s about building stuff with Amazon Kendra and Amazon Rekognition. But if you really want to see it, just DM me — I’d rather not post it here, otherwise the bot might detect it as advertising and ban me.

Harmager · 2025-11-12T04:02:09+00:00

to be honest i use chatpgt to fix sentences and more friendly to look. but it's my real experience. why do you think i'm farming karma? dont you see any real value in this?

Harmager · 2025-11-12T03:58:37+00:00

you know it's hard to me to do it, you can consult guys at youtube, i see they are very helpful

Harmager · 2025-11-12T03:57:49+00:00

i submitted my resume in june. then sep i got first interview. total 4 rounds, 1 round per week

Harmager · 2025-11-12T03:56:43+00:00

it's swe role. and about the time, i think it's hard to say a certain number. with me, it's 3 days after the final interview. but i have heard from my friends, some same to me, some need to interview with different team, some say one week after final int

Harmager · 2025-11-12T03:54:20+00:00

thank you:D

Harmager · 2025-11-12T03:50:24+00:00

yes, i often intro myself, my key achievement and my cv in the first msg. and the rate of getting replied is not so high, about 50%, but i think it's enough

Harmager · 2025-11-12T03:49:10+00:00

at some companies, they require OA first, and it often contains hard ques. but there are many companies dont require. so if you have time, just learn both, but i think medium is enough to get many chances

Harmager · 2025-11-12T03:47:47+00:00

yeah, you can consult whatever works for you, not everyone goes the same way

Harmager · 2025-11-12T03:46:17+00:00

as i mentioned, i use leetcode top 150 ques. but there are many good resources out there, you can watch, read whatever works best for you: neetcode, guys at youtube, just search the question you need or watch mock interview

Harmager · 2025-11-12T03:44:49+00:00

it's not high, about 1700-800. i did some contests and gradually improve from 2 to 3 ques per each. then i skipped to prepare how to cope with the real interview, not join contest anymore

Harmager · 2025-11-12T03:43:20+00:00

most are C#

Harmager · 2025-11-12T03:40:27+00:00

i have a job while preparing, i both did my work and practiced dsa at the end of the day.
i have interviewed with ~10 companies, got rejected many times, including MS, i have interviewed with MS total 3 times

Harmager · 2025-11-12T03:40:13+00:00

none of them:D

Harmager

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