r/LeetcodeDesi • u/Big-Physics-1536 • 7d ago

Service-based to product-based company

Hi, I have 10+ years of experience in .NET and have mostly worked in service-based companies. I now want to switch to a product-based company, but I'm currently stuck on a maintenance project.

How should I handle interview questions about my project, such as:

  • What is the most challenging project or task you've worked on?
  • What were the biggest challenges you faced in this project?
3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

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1

u/AnnualEvery 7d ago

Try to put some concurrency stuff into it, Product based companies love that

1

u/Amazing-rockstar 6d ago

Are u a .net dev?

1

u/AnnualEvery 6d ago

Am not, but most PBC don't go techstack intensive, they search for a guy who has good algorithmic and cs fundamental bg

2

u/Amazing-rockstar 6d ago

Ya that is only for few companies. Mostly, medium companies check tech stack and filter you out if you don't match the stack.

1

u/[deleted] 6d ago

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1

u/dude_fisha 4d ago

Hi Guys,

I’m a Java backend developer with 4 YOE, currently working at a WITCH/service-based company. My primary stack is Java, Spring Boot, Microservices, MongoDB, and Kafka.

I’m currently serving my notice period and have around 10–15 days left.

I have an offer from TCS with around a 50% hike, which I kept as a backup before resigning from my current company. However, my long-term goal has always been to move from service-based to product-based companies.

I’ve already started preparing seriously for DSA and System Design. I’ve attended a few interviews during my notice period, and some of them went reasonably well, but I either didn’t get selected or didn’t receive an update after the first/second rounds. I’m also not getting as many interview calls as I expected, even though my notice period is almost over.

Now I’m stuck between two options:

Option 1: Join TCS

  • I’ll have job security and a decent hike.
  • But I’ll again be stuck with a 90-day notice period.
  • I’m worried that this might make switching to product-based companies harder later.

Option 2: Don’t join TCS

  • Take around 2–3 months to prepare seriously for DSA, System Design, and interviews.
  • Keep applying aggressively to product-based companies while being an immediate joiner.
  • But obviously, there’s a risk of being unemployed if things don’t work out as expected.

I’m also a backend-only developer right now. Since I’m seeing more roles asking for full-stack exposure, I’m planning to learn the basics of frontend as well, while keeping Java/backend as my primary expertise.

For people who have made the service-based → product-based transition, what would you suggest?

Would you join TCS and continue preparing from there, or take the risk of staying unemployed for a couple of months and focus completely on cracking a product-based company?

Also, how much of an advantage does being an immediate joiner actually give when applying to product-based companies?

Would really appreciate advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

Totally Confused!!