I received an offer from one of these companies not too long ago - here's my two cents on the subject: • I was reached out to, rather than applying for a job.

I received an offer from one of these companies not too long ago - here's my two cents on the subject: • I was reached out to, rather than applying for a job. In the past I'd tried applying for jobs at some of the companies but didn't hear back - so I focused on going as far as I can without a job somewhere like this. Start a blog, create some great side projects that receive some attention, etc - eventually companies might start approaching you (and even if not, your resume will look more appealing, and you've grown/learnt a lot which is helpful for any job you're in). • There's a lot of resources out there on interview type programming questions. Yeah, they're helpful, and you should do them - even if just to learn more and become a better developer. There's much more to the interviews than a binary yes/no whether you solved the question or not though: being able to share your thought process, quick thinking, showing creativity and good intuition etc are all just as important. • Experience, great social skills, and in depth knowledge is worth more than a few days cramming for a coding interview. It shows during the interview process (especially architecture or cultural interviews). I think interviewers are looking for those things as much as they're looking for someone that's smart and can solve a few tough questions on the spot. Summing that up - focus on being a better developer, learning more, and becoming an expert at what you do. Don't make your end goal a job at one of those companies. If you don't get a job at one straight a way, it's no big deal - who knows, in a few years you might, and if you didn't, you learnt a lot which will help you anywhere you are.