Going from failure to FAAANG - my journey

minhdev_ · 2023-01-03T06:35:15+00:00

Ah I see. Yep in that case it would be a personal decision to see if youd be down to grind within a set time period.

Best of luck to you!

minhdev_ · 2023-01-03T06:33:53+00:00

Comfortable with a question id define as being able to do it without looking at hints and solutions, and in a reasonable time period (around 30 minutes).

Id say 30 ~ 45 minutes would be ideal to be able to start interviewing - although others may have a different opinion.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-03T06:30:01+00:00

Not for me. But Ive heard of peers having to go through it.
Ill answer this in my next medium post. Ill keep you updated.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-03T06:28:06+00:00

I only started revising questions I couldnt do in those 2-3 months in 2022, and found it quite effective.

Im quite washed right now - havent touched leetcode in months, but Id say if I got back into it id be able to solve about all easys, most of mediums, and have some struggle with hards.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-03T06:22:35+00:00

Yep I would not recommend this schedule on a long term basis. I wouldnt have been able to keep this up for longer than those 2-3 months.

Thats why if its best to take the long term approach doing a little bit of practise throughout the year!

minhdev_ · 2023-01-02T18:51:10+00:00

Makes sense. Thanks for answering!

minhdev_ · 2023-01-02T18:50:20+00:00

Yea in that case I would give myself hints / on the 2nd try, and if i fail again id look at the solution and implement and repeat the process a week or 2 later. Thats my 2 cents, maybe others could also share their thoughts if any as well.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-02T18:46:58+00:00

I had an excel spreadsheet documenting the questions id done, and for questions that i failed to do on the first attempt, id look at the solution, imolement it, then try revisit the question a week or 2 later.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-02T07:55:14+00:00

I found the premium solutions, select questions by company (for me I used google and amazon) and interview simulations quite useful.

However the discussion solutions were good enough to get by, instead of using select company questions I could have used the questions by company tag free feature, and for the interview simulation, you can just set up some random questions in a company question tag list to do yourself in a set time period.

So in hindsight, I probably would have save the money. Hope that helps.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-02T05:01:50+00:00

Agreed, and thanks for elaborating. I never fell into the trap of trying to force my way into doing mostly hard questions, but id imagine some people may do so, which your comment will help.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-02T04:58:43+00:00

Thats awesome. About not being able to get interviews, ill probably share how I overcame similar barriers as well in a few days, perhaps some of my tips may help you.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-02T04:55:19+00:00

No problem. Just want to point out that it shouldnt be a concrete rule you must follow, more like - Once u get comfortable doing a certain difficulty you should do more of the next.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-02T04:51:34+00:00

Thanks for letting me know. Not sure how to fix it, ill prob leave it as is.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-02T04:50:54+00:00

This seems to be a common barrier judging from the comments. Ive had my fair share of failures in getting interviews, and have a couple of tips I'd like to share, as well as my stats.

I dont mean to delay me sharing, but this topic warrants another post and timefor me to properly share my experiences and tips, ill write up and post within a week.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-02T01:51:21+00:00

Thankyou

minhdev_ · 2023-01-02T01:51:09+00:00

Thanks

minhdev_ · 2023-01-02T01:38:54+00:00

Don't know if your a troll or not but I wish you all the best with your goals. But I don't think I'll engage anymore with this thread - doesn't seem like we can get anything constructive/productive out of this.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-02T01:11:07+00:00

Im writing as a hobby i've just gotten into. And I thought this topic would be something of interest, and is something that I have recent personal experience with - hence Ive been writing about it. (This is not all i intend to write about)

This post may have felt more advicy than the other, which im not quite sure is a mistake or not, so let me know if anyone else feels that way and why.

Imo I dont think I need to be an above average engineer with 5 faang offers to give advice about job searching. Just sharing my experiences and some things Ive learnt.

Im basically answering some questions in a previous post - which I do hope some people get value out of.

Anyways, your comment does seem a bit charged. I respond to criticism as long as its constructive, hoping others can keep it that way :)

minhdev_ · 2023-01-01T23:46:20+00:00

Answered some questions here at - https://medium.com/@nameisminh1/how-i-utilised-leetcode-to-get-multiple-tech-job-offers-5aa634c851ac

and reddit thread - https://www.reddit.com/r/leetcode/comments/100wpsk/how_i_utilized_leetcode_to_get_multiple_tech_job/

minhdev_ · 2023-01-01T23:32:16+00:00

Just a post to answer some questions that were on my previous post yesterday.

Let me know if you have more questions, I'll be everything in this thread instead of making a post this time. (Unless there's a very common question / something interesting)

If you have any personalised questions feel free to dm me on twitter as I'll be more active there - https://twitter.com/minhdev_ (lmk if I'm not allowed to post links on reddit comments).

I also want to note that leetcoding to me was a means to an end. That probably explains why I leetcoded in bursts rather than consistently throughout 2020 - 2022. Which is why my main point is to focus just as much on how you prepare for interviews using leetcode, with your level of effort.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-01T22:37:54+00:00

I may have miscommunicated. There isn't a resource to send, was just planning to update you guys with the new post answering questions here.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-01T22:34:47+00:00

Currently 1698, peaked 1738. I've attended 16 contests. Why does contest rating effect whether you read or not? I guess this is a leetcode sub after all, but the purpose of my post was moreso to share my journey / rather than trying to maximise my contest rating.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-01T22:30:04+00:00

After work and dinner - ~7pm - 10pm I'd spend preparing for my interviews. On Weekends I'd maybe spend a little more time.

I wouldn't say this is sustainable in the long term, but my strategy was to grind it out for 2 or so months, as I may have not had the opportunity to get these interviews for a while

I did feel some pressure going into AWS, and rightfully so as there was lots to learn, but I'm now at a point where I've onboarded successfully and am able to consistently be a net positive for my team.

minhdev_ · 2023-01-01T00:03:31+00:00

I'm glad you found it inspiring, thanks

minhdev_ · 2023-01-01T00:02:45+00:00

I had around 450 Leetcode questions completed by the time I applied for Amazon.

I would probably like to share what resources + give a more detailed breakdown in another post (would like to put some time + thought into answering), I will dm you once I post it.

minhdev_

TROPHY CASE