I agree, I was in the California market for 7ish years so my experience is heavily skewed for that culture. That being said, I’m NOT bashing those interviews.

I agree, I was in the California market for 7ish years so my experience is heavily skewed for that culture. That being said, I’m NOT bashing those interviews. I’ve been a hiring manager too, if I was able to offer double money and high prestige like a FAANG company I would have had a high filter too. I focused more on sourcing people through friends of friends so the interviews were more of a soft sale on my end than a leetcode grind.