What I learned failing to get into FAANG after trying for 2 years

Two years ago, I set out to land a role at one of the prestigious FAANG companies we all hear so much about. Coming from a small university on the East Coast and having worked in fintech for about five years, I knew the road wouldn't be easy but I felt ready. Or so I thought. Over these last two years, I interviewed extensively with companies like Google, Meta, and Amazon. Despite intense preparation and feeling confident in my coding skills, each interview ended without an offer. It was frustrating, demoralizing even. Initially, I doubled down on LeetCode, convinced that if I just practiced more, I'd get through. I just checked my profile and I have solved 688 questions. But interview after interview, the result was the same. Something wasn't clicking and I didnt get it. That's when I decided to index more on the behavioral and system design rounds, these are tricky to prepare for so I ended up paying for some mentorship sessions trying different platforms like https://easyclimb.tech and https://www.hellointerview.com/. Through these communities (especially the insightful system design battles on easyclimb's YouTube channel), I quickly realized my blind spots were in the system design and behavioral rounds—not my coding skills - I got some pretty bad feedback from mentors during system design and behavioral rounds. I was able to learn about how to communicate my design choices clearly, structure my behavioral responses compellingly, and present myself confidently during the interview. Within months, this targeted focus paid off—I finally landed a job at LinkedIn, effectively doubling my previous salary. Here's the key lesson I learned: Don't over-index on LeetCode alone. Technical skills can get you into the room, but poor system design answers or ineffective communication in behavioral rounds will cost you the offer. Balance your preparation to succeed across all aspects of the interview process. I hope this helps anyone who's been struggling or feeling stuck. This process sucks but if you prepare correctly the feeling of getting the offer makes it kind of worth it.

Mar 28, 2025 - 23:49

What I learned failing to get into FAANG after trying for 2 years

Two years ago, I set out to land a role at one of the prestigious FAANG companies we all hear so much about. Coming from a small university on the East Coast and having worked in fintech for about five years, I knew the road wouldn't be easy but I felt ready. Or so I thought.

Over these last two years, I interviewed extensively with companies like Google, Meta, and Amazon. Despite intense preparation and feeling confident in my coding skills, each interview ended without an offer. It was frustrating, demoralizing even.

Initially, I doubled down on LeetCode, convinced that if I just practiced more, I'd get through. I just checked my profile and I have solved 688 questions. But interview after interview, the result was the same. Something wasn't clicking and I didnt get it.

That's when I decided to index more on the behavioral and system design rounds, these are tricky to prepare for so I ended up paying for some mentorship sessions trying different platforms like https://easyclimb.tech and https://www.hellointerview.com/. Through these communities (especially the insightful system design battles on easyclimb's YouTube channel), I quickly realized my blind spots were in the system design and behavioral rounds—not my coding skills - I got some pretty bad feedback from mentors during system design and behavioral rounds.

I was able to learn about how to communicate my design choices clearly, structure my behavioral responses compellingly, and present myself confidently during the interview. Within months, this targeted focus paid off—I finally landed a job at LinkedIn, effectively doubling my previous salary.

Here's the key lesson I learned: Don't over-index on LeetCode alone. Technical skills can get you into the room, but poor system design answers or ineffective communication in behavioral rounds will cost you the offer. Balance your preparation to succeed across all aspects of the interview process.

I hope this helps anyone who's been struggling or feeling stuck. This process sucks but if you prepare correctly the feeling of getting the offer makes it kind of worth it.