Status: Unemployed since Feb 2020, BS in Comp Sci from a UC school
I have about 1.5 years of experience. I was honestly ready to quit tech because of the shitty experiences I had in the past experiencing sexual harassment. But that sweet, sweet tech money + the fact I'm not super good at anything else lmao is what got me to give it another chance.*
Easy (82/450), Medium (70/885), Hard (9/358)
Microsoft position
L61 for Redmond on Dec 1, 2020 for Azure Security
I just applied to the 5 most recently posted for SDEII on Microsoft's sites and then got reached out to by a recruiter.
[Onsite]
My interviewers were very friendly. For two of the interviews, my interviewers and I chatted about our lives and our hobbies and such, which was really nice!! It was too bad I couldn't go on campus and be enamored with everything. The interviews weren't too difficult; there was maybe one LC hard thrown in as a bonus but the rest were easier than that.
I got offered L60 because my work experience is like 90% frontend, and this Azure role was going to be a backend role. They said they wanted to ramp me up quickly and they would want to promote me to L61 in one year.
Google position:
L4 for Los Angeles/Irvine on Dec 4, 2020
Honestly a miracle; I got referred and applied to NorCal positions, and then I got rejected. But an LA recruiter saw my application and noticed I went to a school in SoCal, so she asked me if I'd be open to moving to SoCal. Hell freakin' yeah I would. As a whole, my Google recruiter was insanely cool and she let me talk to two Google employees to shoot the shit and see if I would like working there.
Also, she told me that I would be doing the L4 interview, which was for 3-5 years of experience, and then level me as needed. I had only 1.5 years of experience so... hmm. It was gonna be a tough one.
[Onsite]
Holy BALLS this was the most difficult interview I've ever had. I felt like I was drowning and dog paddling for my life as I went through 5 one hour-long interviews meant for 3-5 years of experience. I had also done my Microsoft onsite a couple days before this Google one, so my brain was fried like an onion ring at that point. Everyone who works at Google says to look at CTCI, but I'm 100% sure that CTCI is not enough for the stuff they're going to throw at you.
The interviewers were less friendly than Microsoft, though there was this one guy who was SUPER chill. Dig him, would recommend, 10/10. And then there was another one that felt like I was wasting his time, lame.
I ended up failing the interview, but my recruiter told me that over half of the people who reach the onsite don't get in the first try so... hey, I tried. Also, I can't complain--Google's TC for that role is like 30% more than Microsoft's, and was also about 30% harder. Makes sense to me.
Closing thoughts
I had been interviewing since February, and I'm glad that I held out to get a FAANG-level job. I had reached the onsite with a couple companies but the onsite would get cancelled due to the pandemic or whatever. I did get an offer from a startup, but I just had this feeling that I wanted to hold out. My patience and the temporary strain on my health, thankfully, paid off.
I also want to state that no matter how many times you've been fired, harrassed, or discouraged from coding, you can surpass it!! Earlier in 2020 I was really hating tech and all the in-office politics, but now I was able to pass security clearance and work at Microsoft. [Not to say that I will never encounter in-office politics again, that's impossible. But having gone through what I went through, I know I can always rebound and no one will really give a fuck.]
ALSO always negotiate; saying one or two sentences can get you an additional 45k which is what happened to me haha. Recruiters are basically expecting you to ask at this point.
* This sort of thing doesn't get talked about often, but I DO know people who quit tech for good for the things I have gone through. So I just wanna say... please support your local non-male thanks :)