Anmol Agarwal

It took me 6 months to make a job switch and get offers from Google, Salesforce and a remote startup.

I was giving interviews every day going to office, coming back to flat and then going again back. I have migraine and anxiety problem so eating Combiflame every single day. My hairs also started falling, I also got admitted to hospital once. Not advisable though.

I was spending 3-4 hours after office work in studying. I applied to more than 100 of openings messaged more than 500 people for referrals. Going to office on weekend to study😂.

Switching job is not easy especially for SDE-2 and above positions. You will have to be good with DSA, System Design and domain knowledge. The market has also changed drastically companies are not offering sde2 roles with less than 3 yoe. You have to score perfectly in every round earlier that was not the case. Opportunities are still very less. I also faced a lot of ghosting and rejections too. I was seeing unnecessary hate in my post of salary increments so thought of addressing it (If you want to earn twice in a year of what you used to earn you will have to do all this).

Coming from a tier1 college and good product based company I didn’t expected such hardship I can completely relate with the freshers coming from tier3 colleges🫡.

The only piece of advice is keep applying. Thoughts?

#jobswitch

A Redditor Who Landed a FAANG Job Spills the Ultimate Interview Hacks!

Step 1: Dodging the Application Black Hole

Skip the portals! ATS systems filter out most resumes.
Instead, I reached out directly to engineers and hiring managers on LinkedIn for referrals.
My message was short & sharp:
“Hey [Name], I'm really interested in [Team/Company] and would love to apply. I have [X years] of experience in [Relevant Skill], and I believe I'd be a great fit. Would you be open to referring me?“
Result? Multiple referrals in a week — straight to recruiter screens, no more waiting in the void.

Step 2: Studying Only What Matters

Forget solving 500 random LeetCode problems.
I reverse-engineered interview patterns using Glassdoor, Blind, and LeetCode forums.
Most companies repeat 10-15 core problems — so I focused on:
- Top 30 questions per company (sorted by frequency)
- Recognizing patterns, not just solutions (“Oh, this is just a sliding window problem with a twist.“)
- Practiced mock interviews on Pramp and with friends for real-time feedback

Result? Solving questions in under 10 minutes, no brute-forcing needed.

Step 3: Mastering the Behavioral Interview

FAANG behavioral rounds aren’t about “personality“ — they want structured answers.
I prepped 5 strong stories using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) and adapted them as needed.
Pro Tip: Always highlight impact with metrics.
- Instead of: “I helped optimize a backend service.“
- Say: “I optimized the backend, reduced latency by 40%, and saved $500K in cloud costs.“

Hack: When asked about failure, spin it into a win — “I learned X, which led to Y success later.“


Step 4: Using Hiring Process Loopholes

I timed my interviews so companies knew I had other offers — they moved faster.
Targeted hiring events and systems like Amazon’s bar-raisers (they can override bad interviewers).
Built a solid relationship with my recruiter — they can fast-track borderline candidates and help with negotiations.


Step 5: Crushing Offers & Negotiations

Got my first offer and used it as leverage to speed up other companies.
Played it cool — companies love candidates who seem in demand.
Negotiated hard:
- “I’m excited about this role, but my other offer is at $X — can you match or improve it?“
- “I was hoping for a higher base/signing bonus to align with market rates.“

Result? An extra +$40K in total comp.


The Final Outcome
- FAANG offer with $300K+ total comp
- Less time wasted on pointless prep
- Lower stress, more control over the process

Work smarter, not harder. You’ve got this!

#faang #google #amazon #netflix

When NVIDIA came to my college campus for internship hiring, I didn’t apply.

My friends and I were joking around about the CSE and IT students applying😂😂.

I realize that was the moment I truly messed up. One of my friend who got selected then is paying taxes equivalent to my salary.

Lesson learned no matter how rich you become ultimately win would be of Nirmala tayi.

Also I’ve recently started posting content related to DSA and tech news on Instagram. Feel free to connect if you're interested! will help you and answer queries there.

Insta link - https://lnkd.in/gRvGcNXf

#nvidia #multibagger

After my first switch my salary(excluding stocks) got increased by 50%

And

My income tax by 64%. Government is enjoying more than me🥹🥹. Thoughts?

#incometax #meme #taxation

The biggest perk of WFH (Work From Home) which is very underrated and above all the perks of WFO (Work From Office) is that you get to see the smiling faces of your parents and grand parents whenever you woke up😀😀 provided you also do the same😅😅 and love them.

घुटनों पर रेंगते थे जानवरों की तरह,
जाने किस तरह इंसान बनना सिखाया,
अपने त्याग और बलिदान से निरंतर,
हमें सफलता की सीढ़ी चढ़ाया,
किस्मत वाले ही होंगे वो लोग,
जिन्होंने भगवान के रूप में मां बाप को पाया।

Comment your thoughts

#wfh #perks #life #parents #smile #happiness

#softwareengineer #people #projects #engineers #react #chemistry #humour #dsa #react #life #python #machinelearning #Networking #Workfromhome #google #microsoft #amazon #apple #facebook #jobsearch #opentowork #networkingtips #linkedintips #networking #entrepreneurship #india #workingathome #careers #startups #interview #job #recruitment #careers #Socialmedia #jobinterviews #openfornewopportunities #hiringengineers #softwareengineerjobs #jobopportunites #jobseekers #linkedin #recruiters #jobs #netflix #hiring #tech #career #marketing #leadership #softwareengineer #coding #tesla #memes #remotework