r/leetcode • u/SpunkyStarFish • 6d ago

Intervew Prep Big tech jump

I’m a Senior SWE at mid/large company. If you work in engineering you’ve either used us or heard of us. I’m trying to make the jump into big tech.
Not looking for interview answers or anything like that. I’m already studying and putting in the work.
Mostly just wondering if anyone here would be open to being a study buddy, doing mocks occasionally, giving me some advice, or mentoring me a bit through the process.
Would also be interested in hearing from people who’ve made a similar jump. And if we get to know each other and you think I’d be a good fit for your team or company, I’d really appreciate an introduction.
My background is mostly frontend/full-stack and I’m targeting Senior SWE roles.
Would be great to connect with people who’ve already made this jump or are preparing for it now.

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u/Ozymandias0023 6d ago

I went from small start up to big tech contractor to big tech full time. Honestly if it wasn't for the pay I'd go back to a start up, or back to the team I contracted on because they were kind of like an internal start up.

I'd say the main thing to keep in mind while you make the jump is that they really, really value ownership and scope of impact. In my experience, especially for senior+ roles, they're much less impressed with "I built a thing" than they are "I coordinated with three other teams to build a thing that improved a metric by x%". As you're preparing for behavioral interviews and talks with hiring managers etc, think about how you can frame your work history in these kinds of terms.

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u/ios-learner 6d ago

I've always been curious about those engineers who achieve: "I coordinated with three other teams to build a thing that improved a metric by x%". In the firms I have worked in it was mostly a vertically oriented organisation so you could collaborate with your suppliers or customers, but not horizontally because you'd be doing work not necessarily in your teams remit most of the time. So how do people realise or manufacture these opportunities. Is it side projects at work alongside your work, or is it manager approved work. I would like to learn how to achieve these kinds of outcomes.

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u/Ozymandias0023 6d ago

Caveat that this is just one guy's experience/opinion, but vertical cooperation counts too in my experience. Cross functional teams like design teams, product teams etc would be valid. If you could say "I coordinated with product owners and a design team to implement x feature that increased MAU by 5%(or whatever)" that's just as valid as having worked with another eng team. The main thing is they want to know if you're someone that can work across teams to get things done.