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Sure but you are forgetting a key factor. Once you get Google/FB/Amazon (or to a lesser extent even a unicorn like Netflix/Airbnb/Dropbox etc) on your CV, that

Sure but you are forgetting a key factor. Once you get Google/FB/Amazon (or to a lesser extent even a unicorn like Netflix/Airbnb/Dropbox etc) on your CV, that will help you tremendously in your career. You will get shortlisted for top jobs and bombarded by opportunities by recruiters forever and you will be able to skip any screenings and phone interviews and just go for final onsite interview mostly. Investing several weeks or couple of months once might be worth it as you will reap benefits for a long time, perhaps until retirement. You need to consider this before you decide not to spend the time to go through CTCI etc.

hocuspocus 9y ago
I've had interviews with most companies you mention. Getting in touch with a recruiter and passing the phone screenings hasn't really been a problem. Maybe I'm not smart enough, but on-site rounds are a different story. I've practiced CTCI and solved my fair share of questions on Leetcode. Yet I find pretty hard to get back into it on a short notice. It's not a one-time investment. I assume I'm not the only one since - The on-site to offer conversion ratio is typically between 6:1 and 8:1 at such companies. - Most people do better with practice. It implies that a standardized process is biased towards people who have the opportunity and time to interview a lot for fun. (Some companies let teams do their own hiring though, where this is less of an issue). Not everyone lives in the valley or in a place with a high concentration of tech companies. At least the Microsoft-era questions such as "how much would you charge to clean all the windows in Seattle" were more equally silly and unfair to everyone, including outsiders.
- richardknop 9y ago
  Well I applied for a job at both Netflix & Twitch and never heard back from them. I think if I had Google/Apple/Facebook/Amazon on my CV I might have gotten more recognition. Just my personal opinion, I could be wrong. Funny thing is, I have been called by Google, Amazon and FB recruiters in London couple of times. But I never went for onsite interview. I figured they can't really match contractor pay and they only outsource "shitty" jobs to London (I told recruiters my contractor rate and asked them if they can match/beat it and answer was no).
  - hocuspocus 9y ago
    FB London has many teams doing interesting stuff. I'm not sure about Google (Zürich is bigger and pays more anyway) or Amazon. Netflix got back to me within a couple hours after a one-click application on their careers page! Unfortunately I had to prioritize other companies at that time, we put things on hold due to the visa situation in the US and I never got the chance to have a technical interview. Before I left Berlin, Twitch seemed to be hiring engineers there.
    - richardknop 9y ago
      Yeah, but pay in London is mediocre compared to contracting (for FB and GOOG). I applied to US. I was never interested in moving to Berlin.

hocuspocus 9y ago

I've had interviews with most companies you mention. Getting in touch with a recruiter and passing the phone screenings hasn't really been a problem. Maybe I'm not smart enough, but on-site rounds are a different story. I've practiced CTCI and solved my fair share of questions on Leetcode. Yet I find pretty hard to get back into it on a short notice. It's not a one-time investment. I assume I'm not the only one since - The on-site to offer conversion ratio is typically between 6:1 and 8:1 at such companies. - Most people do better with practice. It implies that a standardized process is biased towards people who have the opportunity and time to interview a lot for fun. (Some companies let teams do their own hiring though, where this is less of an issue). Not everyone lives in the valley or in a place with a high concentration of tech companies. At least the Microsoft-era questions such as "how much would you charge to clean all the windows in Seattle" were more equally silly and unfair to everyone, including outsiders.

richardknop 9y ago
Well I applied for a job at both Netflix & Twitch and never heard back from them. I think if I had Google/Apple/Facebook/Amazon on my CV I might have gotten more recognition. Just my personal opinion, I could be wrong. Funny thing is, I have been called by Google, Amazon and FB recruiters in London couple of times. But I never went for onsite interview. I figured they can't really match contractor pay and they only outsource "shitty" jobs to London (I told recruiters my contractor rate and asked them if they can match/beat it and answer was no).
- hocuspocus 9y ago
  FB London has many teams doing interesting stuff. I'm not sure about Google (Zürich is bigger and pays more anyway) or Amazon. Netflix got back to me within a couple hours after a one-click application on their careers page! Unfortunately I had to prioritize other companies at that time, we put things on hold due to the visa situation in the US and I never got the chance to have a technical interview. Before I left Berlin, Twitch seemed to be hiring engineers there.
  - richardknop 9y ago
    Yeah, but pay in London is mediocre compared to contracting (for FB and GOOG). I applied to US. I was never interested in moving to Berlin.