Sahil Gaba

I have interviewed at Google 3 times. Here's my experience.

🗓️ 2016 - 5 months after I wrote my first “Hello, World!“
- Applied through referral.
- Got the standard recruiter call.
- Received online assessment. Solved 2 out of 3 problems.
- Moved to phone screen round.
- Passed phone screen.
- Went to Mountain View office for an onsite.
- Had 4 Coding interviews. Solved all questions with minor hiccups.
- Received a rejection call.

🗓️ 2018 - 1 year of work experience
- Applied through online portal.
- Got a standard recruiter call. Invited for a phone screen round.
- Got a hard problem.
- Rejected after phone screen.

🗓️ 2021 - Working for Amazon. 4 years of work experience.
- Google recruiter reached out on Linkedin.
- Passed phone screen.
- Virtual onsite with 4 Coding rounds and one Googleyness interview.
- Received the verbal offer but got lower level than expected.
- Did not accept the offer.
- Was asked to take 2 more coding interviews to reassess the level.
- Received the offer for the higher level.
- Talked to 4-5 different teams before accepting the offer.

If you toss a coin and call heads, your probability of winning is 50%.

If you toss a coin 7 times and keep calling heads, your probability of winning is about 99%.

Interviewing is part skill, part luck. Keep tossing the coin.

Good luck!

#codinginterview #softwareengineering #leetcode #LifeAtGoogle

The most valuable skill I learned as a Software Engineer has nothing to do with coding.

As a Software Engineer, you are constantly expected to solve new problems.

When I joined Amazon, I had never written a line of Python. But there I was, building my first project in Python.

Later at Google, I was put on a C++ project with no prior C++ experience.

Software Engineering teaches you how to learn ANYTHING quickly and efficiently.

It builds your confidence to dive into the unknown and figure things out.

This skill is invaluable in all aspects of life:

Want to start investing? You can teach yourself.

Interested in a new hobby like music or art? You have the ability to learn it.

Software Engineering empowers you with the ultimate meta-skill - the ability to learn anything.

Once you have that, your potential is limitless, both in your career and in life.

The code you write may become obsolete. But learning how to learn is a superpower that will serve you forever.

I spent 24 hours on 1 Coding Problem.

“Rotate Array“ was the first problem I tried on LeetCode.

I spent the entire day trying to solve it but couldn't.

I was extremely frustrated and went to the discussion section to read the most upvoted solution.

Another 2 hours passed and I could not even figure out why the solution worked.

At that point, my frustration had transformed into disappointment.

I somehow managed to put myself to sleep that night.

Next morning, I went to a friend and asked him to solve the exact same problem.

And that’s when I learned something really interesting about human behavior.

If you cannot solve a problem, you feel sad. But if your friend solves the exact same problem in under 15 minutes, you are heartbroken.

You will most probably struggle with your first problem.

Your 100th problem would feel easier than your first.

But you can't reach your 100th without solving your first.

What's the difference between a $70,000 and $300,000 Software Engineer.

5 years ago, every rejection from Big Tech companies felt personal.

“Maybe I'm not smart enough.“
“Maybe they're just different.“
“Maybe they know something I don't.“

I used to think Big Tech engineers were special. Until I became one.

Want to know the truth?

There's absolutely no difference between someone making $70,000 and someone making $300,000.

Same skills. Same intelligence. Same capability.

The only difference?

One group cracked the interview code. That's it.

After working at both Amazon and Google, I can tell you this with certainty: The interviews aren't impossible. It's just a game.

And like any game, it can be learned with 6 months of focus.

So stop questioning your worth.

Your current salary doesn't determine your potential. Your bank balance doesn't define your talent.

Btw, if you want to become a better engineer in 5 minutes per week, try my email newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gPjuaY9w

10 GitHub repositories every programmer must know

1. Build your own X: https://lnkd.in/gM6pEYvk

2. Developer roadmap: https://lnkd.in/gTkgk9Rk

3. Every programmer should know: https://lnkd.in/guA6iQer

4. Free programming books: https://lnkd.in/gyZ3EWVJ

5. The Algorithms: https://lnkd.in/gXuQ6x7z

6. Tech Interview handbook: https://lnkd.in/gUFnnSPh

7. Coding Interview university: https://lnkd.in/g5JGFpnW

8. System Design primer: https://lnkd.in/gaVjm6v5

9. freeCodeCamp: https://lnkd.in/gt5NaRG7

10. Public APIs: https://lnkd.in/gsgHf5em

#programming #softwareengineer

Before landing a job at Google, I have done
- 500+ applications
- 100+ interviews
- 15+ onsite interviews

Here's what I learned:

1. The first person who needs to believe in you is you. If you don't believe it, no one else will.

2. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. As a result of all the failures, I'm always interview ready.

3. You only need one job. I never mention 500+ companies that rejected me on my Linkedin.

#softwareengineering #programming

Google offers 100+ free courses for programming. Here are my top 10.

1. Crash Course on Python:
https://lnkd.in/gCUuqF-r

2. Introduction to Git and GitHub:
https://lnkd.in/g5hYh26Q

3. Troubleshooting and Debugging Techniques:
https://lnkd.in/g7RhuGg6

4. Tools of the Trade - Linux and SQL:
https://lnkd.in/gK-RD9Bd

5. Master Data Structures and Algorithms:
https://lnkd.in/gncfrj8u

6. Android Development for Beginners:
https://lnkd.in/gWT5nVNq

7. Firebase in a weekend:
https://lnkd.in/gw86vaei

8. Machine Learning Crash Course:
https://lnkd.in/gTX-AG28

9. Foundations of Cybersecurity:
https://lnkd.in/gVndvGgn

10. Introduction to Generative AI:
https://lnkd.in/gWuebErQ

If you know any other good Google courses, please leave them in the comments.

A day in the life of a Software Engineer at Google

8:45 - 9:00 - Respond to emails
9:00 - 12:10 - Focus time spent coding most days
12:10 - 1:00 - Lunch/Complain about free food because I'm spoiled
1:00 - 1:30 - More coding
1:30 - 3:00 - Stand up/Design reviews/Meetings
3:00 - 5:30 - Some more coding

If anyone tells you that Software Engineering is all food and games, they're lying.

#softwareengineering #programming

If I could do only 10 Leetcode problems, I would pick these.

These are the most asked problems in 100+ interviews that I've given.

1. Valid Parentheses: https://lnkd.in/gjfmc-sR

2. Merge Intervals: https://lnkd.in/gPMQWcKV

3. Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock: https://lnkd.in/gzyaCJeD

4. Combination Sum: https://lnkd.in/g8G7Ad69

5. Number of Islands: https://lnkd.in/gPhFiieJ

6. Group Anagrams: https://lnkd.in/gxUFWtaE

7. LRU Cache: https://lnkd.in/gG2CNNfN

8. Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters: https://lnkd.in/gAMzN3jV

9. Basic Calculator: https://lnkd.in/gXZQzQnK

10. Two Sum: https://lnkd.in/g9Vidkj4

#codinginterview #leetcode #softwareengineering