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Software Engineer Interview Experience

October 31, 2019
Negative ExperienceNo Offer

Process

I would use them as interview practice if you’re in the Bay Area, but probably not worth traveling for. There were some good and bad things along the way. Remember, we’re in an industry that loves to place a few companies on a pedestal, and LinkedIn is one of them. However, here is a fair assessment, and I recommend deciding for yourself and for your career if they are a good fit.

PROS

  1. 2 Nights of Hotels: This is great if you’re out of town and scoping things out for a potential relocation.
  2. Interviewers and Recruiters: They were generally affable people.
  3. Fair Technical Questions: No gotchas, just direct questions.

CONS

  1. Diversity: Diversity is great. Unfortunately, the majority of the interviewers were East Asian, and there was maybe one native English speaker on the loop. Nothing wrong with that per se; I’m all for diversity, and these employees are probably bright, but diversity is lacking here. The common American ethnicities are underrepresented. I saw maybe two black people in the whole building, and the only Latinos are the ones serving up the free coffee and food. Diverse, right? Don’t believe me? Look at their 2018 diversity report. Also, expect some communication issues if you’re a native English speaker.
  2. Location: Sunnyvale is probably the suburb of the South Bay, which is saying something since the South Bay is just one big suburb. If you want to live in SF, remember that a 90-minute commute one-way will be your life. I personally did not feel comfortable being in a work environment that looked not like a tech company but like a Midwestern suburb with more sun.
  3. Interviewers: While they were generally affable, you can tell a lot of them are young and inexperienced. There was no clear direction for the interviewers, and the shadows loved to interrupt and kill the flow of interviews. One of the hiring managers felt more interrogatory than curious, and once again, communication can be an uphill battle if you’re a native English speaker.

Questions

Leetcode Mediums and 1 System Design, as well as 1 Hiring Manager chat.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 285 interview experiences for the LinkedIn Software Engineer role in United States.

Success Rate

16%
Pass Rate

LinkedIn's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in the United States is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.

Experience Rating

Positive49%
Neutral26%
Negative26%

Candidates reported having good feelings for LinkedIn's Software Engineer interview process in United States.

LinkedIn Work Experiences