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I'm black too, but I've had the opposite experience. Turned down at Google, Microsoft, and a few other Top N tech companies. Is it because I'm black? Probably n

I'm black too, but I've had the opposite experience. Turned down at Google, Microsoft, and a few other Top N tech companies. Is it because I'm black? Probably not. But throughout all of the interviews, I've never met or seen another black engineer on the teams, let alone interviewed by one. It's hard enough to get through the hackerrank-style "gotcha" questions, but it's even harder to feel connected to an interviewer who wants to talk about their team culture in terms of rollerblading or playing sandlot volleyball.

scarface74 6y ago
My virtual interviews with AWS were very structured and very much focused on soft skill questions and “describe your projects”. My only technical interview was the first one before I went through “the loop”. Anyone who studied for the AWS Architect Associate could pass it. Of course, I did have a resume that showed a lot of real world experience with AWS in particular and leading technical projects in general -thanks to working at small companies. I wouldn’t make it past the first 10 minutes of an algorithm style interview for a software dev position at $BigTech at this point in my life. I knew my way in would be through the consulting department.
- selimthegrim 6y ago
  Do you think you're too old to put the month in grinding leetcode or just don't have the time?
  - scarface74 6y ago
    Why would I? I got a job at Amazon (AWS Consulting) paying the same amount as a software engineer and it is a remote position that allows me to live in a relatively low cost of living area. I did nothing special to prepare to work for Amazon. I just did my job, gained experience, and made sure I could answer soft skill questions based on the “Leadership Principles”. I wasn’t even thinking about working at Amazon pre-Covid before my company had across the board pay cuts. My company made the announcement, the next day a recruiter from Amazon emailed me and I thought “Why Not?” They asked me to put in an application. I did it and a month and a half later I had an offer. I definitely didn’t spend months “grinding leetCode” like the fresh college grads over at r/cscareerquestions.
paradox242 6y ago
It seems one of the most insidious effects of racism is the nagging feeling when a job interview doesn't work out, or someone was rude to you, in the back of your mind wondering if racial bias had anything to do with it. Even if one could keep a relatively accurate accounting, just having to constantly process this being a real possibility would be exhausting.

scarface74 6y ago

My virtual interviews with AWS were very structured and very much focused on soft skill questions and “describe your projects”. My only technical interview was the first one before I went through “the loop”. Anyone who studied for the AWS Architect Associate could pass it. Of course, I did have a resume that showed a lot of real world experience with AWS in particular and leading technical projects in general -thanks to working at small companies. I wouldn’t make it past the first 10 minutes of an algorithm style interview for a software dev position at $BigTech at this point in my life. I knew my way in would be through the consulting department.

selimthegrim 6y ago
Do you think you're too old to put the month in grinding leetcode or just don't have the time?
- scarface74 6y ago
  Why would I? I got a job at Amazon (AWS Consulting) paying the same amount as a software engineer and it is a remote position that allows me to live in a relatively low cost of living area. I did nothing special to prepare to work for Amazon. I just did my job, gained experience, and made sure I could answer soft skill questions based on the “Leadership Principles”. I wasn’t even thinking about working at Amazon pre-Covid before my company had across the board pay cuts. My company made the announcement, the next day a recruiter from Amazon emailed me and I thought “Why Not?” They asked me to put in an application. I did it and a month and a half later I had an offer. I definitely didn’t spend months “grinding leetCode” like the fresh college grads over at r/cscareerquestions.

paradox242 6y ago

It seems one of the most insidious effects of racism is the nagging feeling when a job interview doesn't work out, or someone was rude to you, in the back of your mind wondering if racial bias had anything to do with it. Even if one could keep a relatively accurate accounting, just having to constantly process this being a real possibility would be exhausting.