Is It Difficult To Get Into Google, Facebook, Or Apple
one year ago4327 views
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Facebook∘Last activity one year ago
I don’t know about Apple, but as others said, Google and Facebook, get millions of applications a year, and hire just a few thousands at best.
Worse than that, Google and Facebook seem not satisfied with those millions of applications. In fact, both employ tens, if not hundreds, of technical-sourcing professionals, tasked with reaching out to people that did not apply, hoping they’ll agree to interview with them.
So if you compute an “average applicant success rate” as “number of hires” divided by “number of applicants”, bear in mind that the real number may be significantly lower since many hires did not come from the applicant pool at all.
Facebook∘Last activity one year ago
That depends on what you mean by “difficult”. Do they only take good programmers who have the the potential to become great programmers? Sure. Does that mean that you shouldn’t apply? Of course not.
One reason that getting jobs at these companies appears insanely difficult is that hiring statistics are inherently biased by the size of the applicant pool. Highly sought-after jobs tend to attract a much higher percentage of bad applicants who wouldn’t pass a technical interview at any company.
In a way, it’s like playing the lottery; people who are smart enough to realize that they aren’t going to win the lottery tend not to play when the jackpot is a million bucks, but when it hits 300 million dollars, suddenly everybody wants to play even though they know they wouldn’t have a chance, just because it would be so cool to win.
I don’t think either company has a tendency to reject a high percentage of good candidates. It happens from time to time, because no interview process is perfect (or even close, really), but the reverse is also true.
What all these companies reject in large quantities are people who can barely code at all. These folks, ideally, should be discouraged from applying, but it is hard to do that without also discouraging a lot of people who are capable but lack experience, out of fear that they’ll wash out. I’m not sure what the solution to that problem is, but if you have ideas, feel free to suggest them.
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Author of Omalicha Of No Nation - A Novel. As long as you get something wey better pass your neighbor, abe...
Facebook∘Last activity one year ago
Getting into any FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) company is difficult, as tech interviews at these companies are significantly challenging and difficult.
It is, however, very possible to land your dream offers at these companies - by preparing extensively to crack these interviews.
Technical interviews at FAANG companies are essentially centered around questions pertaining to data structures, algorithms, and systems design. All you need to do is polish your programming skills and solve several coding problems.
A lot of the time, candidates practice hundreds of problems on Leetcode, but still end up in the throes of rejection.
The catch here is that simply solving problems isn’t going to cut it. Recognizing patterns in problems, and approaching questions based on identifying inherent patterns within them is key to cracking these interviews. By approaching coding questions this way, you essentially become an effective problem solver - which is precisely what these top companies look for in candidates.
Getting help with your preparation is the best way forward, and Interview Kickstart
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- An exhaustive curriculum covering hundreds of problems in data structures, algorithms and systems design.
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Author of Omalicha Of No Nation - A Novel. As long as you get something wey better pass your neighbor, abe...
Facebook∘Last activity one year ago
Yes. Google gets millions of applications a year and only hires a few thousand. I would consider that hard in absolute terms. Facebook and Apple are roughly an equal draw. If you don't have someone in the company who will vouch for you and you cold call them, consider yourself lucky if your resume even gets read by a person.
That being said, if you build something amazing or simply work at a well-known competitor those companies will call you. Sometimes several times a year. They will woo you and pull at all the stops to convince you to work for them.
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Google offered a friend a job several times and he turned them down. Why? He was working at Google as a Financial Systems contractor and it would have been a huge pay cut. He may have considered it if he was younger, but he was in my late 40’s, so it didn’t make sense for him. However, this can be a backdoor way into Google. You still need to do interviews, but everyone knows you and your work, so it’s more of a formality. One of the mangers he worked with, in fact started at Google as a contractor and then became a FT employee. So if you really want to work at one of the FAANG companies, there are other roads in besides the front door. This is just one example, creativity and perseverance go along way. If you do get an interview, look them in the eye, be yourself and tell them what you really think. Don’t go down the normal check list of do’s and don’ts, they’ll see right trough it.