> FAANG companies are not dumb, they hire at scale and know how to find talented engineers using a rigorous/repeatable interview process. Eh... maybe some do.

> FAANG companies are not dumb, they hire at scale and know how to find talented engineers using a rigorous/repeatable interview process. Eh... maybe some do. My experience is that they hire people they already know. In fact that's how I got hired at a FAANG company. I had applied there many times and been rejected. Then I saw that a team where I was a great fit had hired someone I knew and had an opening. So rather than submit my resume through their job board, I sent it to him and he passed it on to the hiring manager. Most of the rest of the team got hired because they were all a team at another company that got cut. One of them got an interview and said, "Hey, I have about 20 coworkers who just lost their jobs and already know all the stuff you need for that new product you want to write. Why not hire them all?" And they did. Sure, there are a few who went through the regular recruiting path. But many did not. I'd say on my team, most did not. (And they're all good engineers, too.)