@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ Over 500,000 people have benefitted from this handbook! I have lost count of the
## Who am I?
I'm [Yangshun](https://twitter.com/yangshunz), a Staff Software Engineer at Meta/Facebook. In 2017, I was frustrated at my job at Grab, a regional ridehailing company and wanted to break into FAANG but I didn't know how to. After few months of research, studying and practicing, I interviewed at 11 companies and managed to get [9 offers from top tech companies in the Bay Area](https://www.teamblind.com/post/Sharing-my-offer-numbers-from-big-companies-for-your-reference-yNgqUPQR) - Facebook, Google, Airbnb, Palantir, Dropbox, Lyft, and some startups.
In 2017, I was frustrated at my job at Grab, a regional ridehailing company and wanted to break into FAANG but I didn't know how to. After few months of research, studying and practicing, I interviewed at 11 companies and managed to get offers from top tech companies in the Bay Area - Google, Airbnb, Palantir, Dropbox, Lyft, and some startups.
It was a tedious process which I don't ever want to go through again. **I went through that process but with this handbook, you don't have to.** This handbook contains the essence of technical interviewing which will benefit you in your job hunt.
@ -28,17 +28,32 @@ Before anything else, you need to pick a programming language to do your intervi
There are some languages which are more suitable than others for coding interviews and some languages you absolutely want to avoid. From my experience as an interviewer, most candidates pick Python or Java. Other commonly seen languages include JavaScript, Ruby and C++. I would absolutely avoid lower level languages like C or Go, simply because they lack many standard library functions and data structures and some may require manual memory management.
Personally, Python is my de facto choice for algorithm coding interviews because it is succinct and has a huge library of functions and data structures available. One of my top reasons for recommending Python is that it uses consistent APIs that operate on different data structures, such as `len()`, `for ... in ...` and slicing notation on sequences (strings/lists/tuples). Getting the last element in a sequence is `arr[-1]` and reversing it is simply `arr[::-1]`. You can achieve a lot with minimal syntax in Python.
Personally, Python is my de facto choice for algorithm coding interviews because it is succinct and has a huge library of functions and data structures available. Python also uses consistent APIs that operate on different data structures, such as `len()`, `for ... in ...` and slicing notation on sequences (strings/lists/tuples). Getting the last element in a sequence is `arr[-1]` and reversing it is simply `arr[::-1]`. You can achieve a lot with minimal syntax in Python.
Java is a decent choice too but having to constantly declare types in your code means extra keystrokes which results in slower coding/typing speed. This issue will be more apparent when you have to write on a whiteboard during onsite interviews. The reasons for choosing/not choosing C++ are similar to Java. Ultimately, Python, Java and C++ are decent choices of languages.
Java is a decent choice too but having to constantly declare types in your code means extra keystrokes which results in more typing which doesn't result in any benefit (in an interview setting). This issue will be more apparent when you have to write on a whiteboard during onsite interviews. The reasons for choosing/not choosing C++ are similar to Java. Ultimately, Python, Java and C++ are decent choices of languages.
- Recommended: Python, C++, Java, JavaScript
- Acceptable (but prefer recommended if you are familiar): Go, Ruby, PHP, C#, Swift, Kotlin
- Avoid: Haskell, Erlang, Perl, C, Matlab
- You must be mad: Brainfuck, Assembly
## Use a language you are familiar with
Most of the time, it is recommended that you use a language that you are extremely familiar with rather than picking up a new language just for doing interviews because the company uses that language heavily or just because you want to show that you are trendy.
Most of the time, it is recommended that you use a language that you are extremely familiar with rather than picking up a new language just for using in interviews.
If you are under time constraints, picking up a new language just for interviewing is hardly a good idea. Languages take time to master and if you are already spending most of your time and effort on revising/mastering algorithms, there is barely spare energy left for mastering a new language. If you are familiar with using one of the mainstream languages, there isn't a strong reason to learn a new language just for interviewing.
If you have been using Java at work for a while now and do not have time to be comfortably familiar with another language, I would recommend just sticking to Java instead of picking up Python from scratch just for the sake of interviews. Doing so, you can avoid having to context switch between languages during work vs interviews. **Most of the time, the bottleneck is in the thinking and not the writing**. It takes some getting used to before one becomes fluent in a language and be able to wield it with ease.
Valid reasons to learn a new language:
- The interview requires usage of that language (domain-specific roles like mobile/front end/data science)
- You are not in a rush to start interviewing
If you are under time constraints, picking up a new language just for interviewing is hardly a good idea. Languages take time to master and if you are already spending most of your time and effort on mastering algorithms, there is barely spare effort left for mastering a new language. If you are familiar with using one of the mainstream languages, there isn't a strong reason to learn a new language just for interviewing.
Poor reasons to learn a new language:
If you have been using Java at work for a while now and do not have time to be comfortably familiar with another language, I would recommend just sticking to Java instead of picking up Python from scratch just for the sake of interviews. Doing so, you can avoid having to context switch between languages during work vs interviews. Most of the time, the bottleneck is in the thinking and not the writing. It takes some getting used to before one becomes fluent in a language and be able to wield it with ease.
- The company you are interviewing with uses that language heavily and you want to impress the interviewer/show that you fit in
import YangshunResumeURL from '@site/static/img/yangshun-resume.png';
Here's a sample resume (mine). I like using Google Docs as the portability is great and also comes with version control. Feel free to clone my resume and use it as a starting point for your own.
Here's a [Google Doc template](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DQ5SKNrm1hb1BRS40ejovLxhyEKXiuTGsDEXIiZSW0o/edit?usp=sharing) of my resume if you're interested. **Do not request to edit, click "File > Make a Copy"**.
@ -29,6 +29,6 @@ From my experience as a FAANG interviewer as well as my discussions with countle
:::tip Expert tip
To maximize your chances of being shortlisted, I recommend getting your resume reviewed by [FAANG Tech Leads - a team of ex-FAANG hiring managers](https://www.faangtechleads.com?utm_source=techinterviewhandbook&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=resume_guide&aff=1e80c401fe7e2). I personally used their service during my applications and it helped me get shortlisted at multiple Bay Area FAANG companies (and more). It is currently **70% off as part of a limited time promotion**.
To maximize your chances of being shortlisted, consider getting your resume reviewed by [FAANG Tech Leads - a team of ex-FAANG hiring managers](https://www.faangtechleads.com?utm_source=techinterviewhandbook&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=resume_guide&aff=1e80c401fe7e2). It is currently **70% off as part of a limited time promotion**.
@ -66,15 +66,15 @@ Prepare a self introduction that follows the following outline (inspired by "Cra
## Examples
### Example 1: Front End Engineer at Facebook
### Example 1: Front End Engineer at Meta
#### Self introduction
> "Hi I'm Yangshun and I graduated from National University of Singapore in 2015 with a degree in Computer Science. My interests are in Front End Engineering and I love to create beautiful and performant products with delightful user experiences.
> "Hi I'm XXX and I graduated from National University of Singapore in 2015 with a degree in Computer Science. My interests are in Front End Engineering and I love to create beautiful and performant products with delightful user experiences.
>
> Back in school, I designed and built a web application, NUSMods which solves a huge problem of class and timetable planning every semester. It receives over a million pageviews a month and is used by over 40,000 NUS students and even some professors. It is built using a modern web technology stack - React, Redux, Jest, Babel, Flow, webpack and is mobile-responsive."
>
> I'm interested in the Front End Engineer role at Facebook because I have been using Facebook Open Source Front End technologies for a while now and am inspired by Facebook's mission and Open Source culture.
> I'm interested in the Front End Engineer role at Meta because I have been using Meta Open Source Front End technologies for a while now and am inspired by Meta's mission and Open Source culture.
#### Breakdown
@ -83,13 +83,13 @@ Prepare a self introduction that follows the following outline (inspired by "Cra
- "It receives over a million pageviews a month and is used by over 30,000 NUS undergraduates and even some professors."
- Mention something about the project which stands out
- "It is built using a modern web technology stack - React, Redux, Jest, Babel, Flow, webpack and is mobile-responsive."
- Facebook tech stack! Also hints that you keep yourself updated with modern web technologies
- Meta tech stack! Also hints that you keep yourself updated with modern web technologies
### Example 2: Front End Engineer at Lyft
#### Self introduction
> "Hi I'm Yangshun and I graduated from National University of Singapore in 2015 with a degree in Computer Science. My interests are in Front End Engineering and I love to create beautiful performant products with delightful user experiences.
> "Hi I'm XXX and I graduated from National University of Singapore in 2015 with a degree in Computer Science. My interests are in Front End Engineering and I love to create beautiful performant products with delightful user experiences.
>
> I previously worked at Grab where I led the Grab for Work project. Grab for Work was a service for companies to make corporate transportation expenses convenient. Companies can create employee groups, set ride policies and share corporate payment methods with their employees. I built the project with another engineer over the period of 3 months on a React/Redux and Golang stack."
Yangshun
3 years ago
