Senior Quality Assurance Engineer at Unemployed

How do you assess the Financial Health and market stability of a startup before applying for a job there?

How do you assess company’s market position (especially startups)? 

Entry-Level Software Engineer at Unemployed

Are there any book recommendations I can listen that are fun? Are there any books that helped you in your career that you recommend?

I have some Audible credits - How should I use them?

Hello, everyone. It is March 29, 2024 at the time I am creating my first ever post on Taro. This is the Friday night where as of now, I am no longer an employee of a Fortune 500 company I used to work for. I was, how one says in corporate talk, "impacted by a layoff". I was given news of this on March 7th that I had a few weeks before I needed to return all my work technology and leave. This is the night of my last day in the company. People in the company liked me, so they told me to apply and come back again. A LOT of people were willing to let me use them for referral. It was one of the top 10 worst feelings of my life. But, it should not be one of the top 10 worst things to happen in my life. It's on me to make sure of that. I'm only 24, so I'm confident I can bounce back. I was also given a severance package to last me until the end of July. My company provided me outplacement benefits (resume writing, interview prep, etc), but I heard they honestly weren't too helpful. That's why I'm here.

What I've done in the meantime is update my résumé. I also have a plan of action for how I want to handle this upcoming first week of the job search. I want to build small-scale projects of each programming language on my resume which showcase understanding of mid-level to advanced topics of the skills I list in my stack. I want to treat my job search like a 9-5 job, where half the work day is spent building meaningful connections, applying strategically, and interview prepping (I need a LOT of that now), and the other half is spent on coding, be it refining what I think I know and adding new skills: hopefully getting chances to contribute to open source and giving back to the community.

I think I need to work on things such as making my résumé stand out, ensuring my interview prep is rock solid, and finding opportunities to show what I can do.

In the meantime, I'll check out some content that Alex and Rahul have on Taro, but I want to ask everyone else how I can refine the best way to begin my approach. What do you all think I can do?

Thanks!

Recently laid off. I want advice on what to do next in my job search! Can someone help?

Hi all,

With Google Play’s new policy requiring testing by at least 20 people for two weeks before launching an app, many of us will face a new challenge, particularly for those publishing projects for our resumes. What strategies are there for approaching this requirement, and where can we even find 20 willing testers? 

<https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2023/11/ensuring-high-quality-apps-on-google-play.html?m=1>

How to deal with Google Play’s new 20-person testing rule for publishing Android apps?

As a software engineer, I am obsessed with doing quality work, and I have found that applying the TDD technique has helped me a lot in building quality software products.

But despite my personal experience, I have found that TDD is not really a popular practice in the industry, from what I can see from my LinkedIn network and my last few colleges at work.

Since I see here on Taro that there are a lot of really professional software engineers (I want to be like you guys!), I would love to read your opinions about it

- Does TDD work for you?
- Does TDD work in a big tech company?
- Does it really not matter?

Thanks for reading me!

What are your thoughts about Test Driven Development? Do you think it adds value in your career?

Hi all, I'm currently job searching after being laid off (junior engineer with 2.5 years of experience) and I know after browsing around here that side projects are heavily encouraged (especially Android apps) to boost up your portfolio and chances of getting an interview.

What are your opinions on doing certifications? I am making my way through an AWS Solutions Architect course while doing side projects - is it a complete waste of time or is it worth balancing along side project work?

Thank you!

**Context**\
I have a potential offer from Google. The job description mentions the following

"*The US base salary range for this full-time position is $221,000-$314,000 + bonus + equity + benefits*"

I was under the impression that this will be an L5/L6 role. The recruiter didn't really give that information away in the phone-screen. However, just before the team-match call (happens after the onsite), the recruiter told me that the HM had hinted them that this will most likely be an L4 role. During the team-match call, I made sure I demonstrated L5 signals when they asked me about my current job and past experience. The HM even told me that they really see me succeeding on the role and I should hear back from the recruiter shortly on the next steps.

**My Question**\
I am preparing for negotiating with the recruiter. Is this a common low-balling tactic by Google recruiters? Otherwise why is there a mismatch between what is mentioned in the job posting and what they are saying?

Is Google recruiter trying to low-ball me?

Entry-Level Software Engineer at Taro Community

Hey, I just posted a question related to me considering to quit my job here: 

[Should I leave my company due to effects of commute? (](https://www.jointaro.com/question/SGpd7h8RnPNm27YuiqxD/should-i-leave-my-company-due-to-effects-of-commute/?revalidate=true)[jointaro.com](http://jointaro.com)[)](https://www.jointaro.com/question/SGpd7h8RnPNm27YuiqxD/should-i-leave-my-company-due-to-effects-of-commute/?revalidate=true)

**TLDR:** I am seriously considering quitting my job due to the commute, I live in SF, have 1+ years of experience and am looking to work in the city/remote. I have 6+ months of savings and am a U.S. citizen. Effectively, I'd say there's a 95% chance I'll quit my job in Jan 2024. 

Considering this, I'm evaluating the current tech job market. 

**Generally, my impressions are that while the overall economy is doing quite well, the tech market is in a bit of a lull w/ potential layoffs in 2024-2025.** We had the major overhiring of 2021-2022, then the layoffs in early 2023 and now are in a period of stasis relative to the bull market of the past 10 years+. I believe this is also due to the end of zero interest loans making capital expensive. This then leads to profits being more emphasized, then cost-cutting in large corporations (employees being a major cost, so layoffs occuring) and then difficulty for startups to raise money. 

Additionally, I recently read The Pragmatic Engineer's take on [Spotify's recent 17% layoff](https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/the-pulse-72-spotifys-shock-cuts). \
\
*"**Unfortunately, I suspect Spotify is early in having a realization which other tech companies will also have, next year.** With the zero interest rate period (ZIRP) over, it’s expensive to borrow cash. Spotify making a loss meant it was effectively borrowing money in order to operate. Turning a profit is more urgent than when capital was cheap. But how do you turn a profit if you cannot significantly increase revenue? You cut costs, and the biggest costs for most tech companies are employees, sadly.*

*As a result, Spotify could well become profitable, assuming it generates similar revenue in future. And this is exactly the plan; to keep doing the same as before, but with fewer people.*

*In this way, Spotify’s cuts make business sense in the context of business growth slowing, persistent loss-making, and a hiring spree in 2021-2022 which didn’t boost revenue. These cuts may be surprising for many at Spotify, but probably not for the leadership team. The only question is how many other companies are in the same position as Spotify, but with leaderships yet to draw the same conclusion from the economic conditions.*

*This is probably a good reminder that the tech jobs market remains volatile. If you have a stable job, it could be a good time to put aside some earnings for a nest egg, stay engaged with your network, and to position yourself to work in areas seen as profit centers, not cost centers."* \
\
What are your impressions of the tech market right now? \
Any recommendations of how to navigate the market or resources to utilize?\
Anything advice years-of-experience specific (Junior engineers vs. senior engineers vs tech leads vs. etc)?

How is the market right now for junior engineers?

Mid-Level Software Engineer at Unemployed

I want to ask a question that may sound controversial but I really want to know what the "Hiring Managers" look for in a resume to shortlist for telephonic round. After applying for jobs non-stop for 4 days and receiving the rejections from Big-Tech or Rising successful startups, I came to a conclusion that:\
\
**Entry level:** \
To get into FAANG & similar Big Tech as an entry level is possible only by the university name(Top 10 to 30 from US, IITs from India). I mean atleast they get the chance to shortlist their resumes. If your are not from atleast Top Tier1/2/3 universities, forget about any FAANG. The normal college students never even know of the existence of leetcode, let alone thinking about FAANG and applying for it. if you are one of those exceptional candidate who built an app or something that became famous or viral, you might get 1 or 2 chances at startups(In this AI era, I highly doubt it)\
\
**Mid/Senior level:**\
You should have FAANG or Well Known Big Tech company names on your resume from your past work experiences or you are out. One chance for others is that you might get InMails from BigTech while you are still working(The Company names on your resume doesn't matter here) and you should be well prepared and ready to crack them when such opportunity knocks your door. I highly doubt if there's any other possible way to turn their attention towards you. Especially if you are un-employed and there is a gap due to any reasons, your chances are next to none.\
\
**Conclusion:**\
Either study hard to get into the top most colleges or pay big bucks to get into Top Tier colleges(India) to get notified. Work hard in job + study, prepare and be ready, that someday an opportunity may knock on your door. Expecting a referral from LinkedIn won't work, I mean even I'd just ignore the messages from strangers on linkedin.\
\
This is the analysis I sum up from my experience with job search. Thinking to quit the job and prepare for the BigTech is the worst idea your brain could ever give to you. No matter how motivated you are, you will lose it and there are distractions everywhere and most/all of them are free and they give a comfort that makes you forget your dreams/goals. The digital world is a big lie and it masks the reality by making you laugh and forget your real problems. Don't fall into this trap.\
\
At the end you'd end up as me frustrated, knowing you have the capability to succeed but you failed, don't know how.

I just graduated college this May and have no job lined up struggling in this really tough market.

Struggling to land a job in this market has me feeling like a failure/I'm doing something wrong even though I did all the "right" things when starting college (get good grades, do LC, get internships, do projects, network)

So fellow members of Taro, do you have any advice on how not to feel down during these trying times? Especially when seeing few classmates land jobs and I'm still struggling here

I hate to make posts like these since its depressing but there's people with far more wisdom than me and I would really appreciate any wisdom you can part :)

Hi all, I'm prepping for a behavioral interview and have gone through the courses on behavioral interviews and communication. They were both super helpful, so thank you for that! 

I was wondering if anyone has developed any ideas for how to respond to a great weakness. Often, it feels like people use this as an opportunity to humble brag (e.g. "I don't take enough breaks", "I can fixate on a problem too hard", etc.). Maybe these are terrible examples... 

In the past, I've gone with "I don't multitask" because I mostly try to focus on one task before moving on to another. But I also don't want this to land poorly when interviewing at a startup. 

Any thoughts or suggestions? 

Behavioral Interview Prep - "What's your greatest weakness?"

I am working on a cool side project (full stack web app) which can genuinely be used and is quite helpful based on feedback I've gotten from friends who have used a prototype version. I want to actually get it out to a user base, and had a few questions:\
\
1\. How and where do I host it to keep the costs down?\
I've built the backend REST API in Golang and Gin, and it uses a postgres DB to store the data. The frontend I have not started but, it will be built with React with Vite. I'm not sure what the best cost effective way of hosting it is, especially since I am planning on making this app free to use (or perhaps it is time to find a way to monetise it to cover costs). It was originally on AWS but the monthly fees were too much and I had to take it down.\
\
(also note that I am only an intern / grad level engineer, with most of my experience in frontend, so my infrastructure knowledge is very limited)\
\
2\. How do I promote it and let people know about it?\
How do I market it for free, and let people know about it and try to use it? I have some knowledge in SEO, but that is about it. Social media, Reddit and things like that come to mind, but I don't have a following on anything.\
\
The goal is to build something genuinely helpful for people while having something cool to show off to potential employers, while not costing much money as I have no income right now.\
\
Thank you!!

How do I host and promote my side project?

Hi, I hope to join at meta as a MLE for ads rankings team (E4)? now, I am a recent Phd grad, I have worked with efficient ML algorithms for my Phd and mostly used Pytorch for work (but no experience with ads). Now, what other technical things (frameworks/tools/whatever you think it'll be useful) can I learn to better equip myself for success?

As a grad student, I was mostly focused on a small project at a time, so I don’t really have large scale design/distributed systems experience. Please share resources (code/just knowledge-wise, any books/papers or links etc?) that you think as an incoming MLE, I should know. Thanks a ton.

An exception is if you talk to them such as asking a question. Sometimes I get a connection request from someone with no message that can lead into a conversation. 

What is the value in connecting with someone I will never talk to?

Hot Take: Connecting with someone on Linkedin who you don't know dilutes your connections

Hi, I'm from India. I have been unemployed since February 2024 following a layoff from my last job as a Full-Stack Developer (4+ years of experience). After that experience, I decided it was time to move away from startups and their unbalanced lifestyle. My goal is now to secure a role at a FAANG company (only in the U.S.) and nowhere else. I have savings that will last me about six months to support this transition.

Initially, I planned to focus on Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA), an area where I had very limited knowledge. After reading a few posts on LinkedIn (mainly from influencers), I mistakenly believed that three months of preparation would be sufficient for technical interviews. I now realize I was wrong. It's been 10 months, and while my DSA skills have improved to an "OK" level, I still don't feel confident. My System Design skills are also at an OK level.

I've been applying to FAANG and other companies, but I keep facing rejections. I suspect this may be due to the employment gap or the lack of big-name companies on my resume.

**What I'm doing to bridge the gap:**

- Working on side projects that demonstrate my skills in System Design, Databases, Programming Languages, Distributed Systems, and Microservices.
- Building a mini-startup that I can showcase on my resume, allowing me to highlight my Full-Stack development knowledge.

**My goal:**\
I'm aiming for at least an L4 role at Netflix or a Full-Stack position at Google or Apple.

With this employment gap, is it bold or foolish to still aim for FAANG?\
I’d love to hear any suggestions that could help me get shortlisted.

Unemployed for past 10 months, any slightest chance for consideration into FAANG?

Hello, I'm doing a rewrite of my resume. I'm having trouble describing some parts I did for my job. Specifically, I was given a sink or swim I had described earlier which got me terminated. I had to develop a microservice and node API with unit tests without any guidance from senior developers. What is the best way to describe this experience in the best light?

How to create my resume with tricky-to-describe projects?

Hello, I just wanted to get some advice last month I was terminated from my job after being placed on PIP/probation. When I first joined the company I had successfully completed training in React but was put on the team that didn’t use it. When the first review cycle came one of my teammates described my learning as flat and my technical skills as inadequate. There was even a time when I was ignored and tasks were passed over and one where I couldn’t come up with a plan. The junior who they assigned it afterward had the same issue couldn’t find and also didn’t need to come up with a plan but was allowed to work on it. Also, I was given noncoding tasks for a time or generic unit test tickets for functions that didn’t need it. 

Eventually, I and the other junior got a task that was basic and miscommunication led to a delay and they complained about us both because of how it took. Then the assignment that sealed my fate was I had to implement a microservice and node API with a unit test in 2 weeks. There was a reference code but we couldn’t ask for help from senior developers. When my manager saw my progress he PIP'ed me and then when saw the demo he was underwhelmed and said I couldn't justify the code had a poor understanding of restful API concepts and my test didn’t meet functional requirements he wrote up the paper to basically have me fired.

Bouncing Back After Termination. What can I do to move forward?

I was laid off on November 15 2022 and since then, I have been tinkering in different stacks building small projects in C#/.NET and Java / SpringBoot based on job demand from postings. Professionally, I used JavaScript / TypeScript and React as well as Python, Ruby on Rails, some Docker and AWS for 1.5 years.

However, somehow, because of anxiety over getting a job, I have strayed from getting good at any stack and revising Django to build a MVP of a URL link sharing app and building just because I don't know if I'll ever get users or scale as I never did something really impressive hitherto in my career. Because I wasn't really targeting big companies, I have been casually leetcoding etc. this past year and a half and am decent enough to do easies and some mediums in Python.

However, recently, I haven't been really applying as much, but got reached out by Google and Meta based on yolo applying mainly; I failed my Google early career phone technical and have my Meta screening 45 minute round for an IC4 role I applied to in 2 weeks. I am preparing as the recruiter sent me some resources after our call, but I don't know what my priorities should be. As I don't have high hopes, I assume I should still try to go deep in a stack, use more of Taro's resources such as its jobsearch tool etc. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

How can I go about getting back into the industry?

I was unfortunately let go from my previous company in mid November of last year. Took Nov/Dec of last year off to rest and fully cope. Now that the new year is here, I'm starting the job hunt.

Recently, I found out that a previous employer - not the most recent one - has an opening right now. I left that company on very good terms so I can easily get the job, but I'm not interested at all in that role for the long term as I'd like to work at a US company (preferably big tech, but even startups / midsize would be fine to start). All my experience has been at small companies.

I am extremely confident of my interviewing ability especially with the ability to prep full time. But will I have any difficulty in getting interviews if I don't have a job currently? Should I take the job at the old employer, wait it out 6 months, then start applying to better companies then? Or should I ignore the old employer, take a month to prep, and then start applying to the roles I want now?

Some other potentially relevant info:

- Currently based in Canada. Visa won't be an issue
- 6 YOE, have been Senior for the last 2 years
- Will be applying to L5 roles at the bigtechs, with the expectation of getting downleveled
- Money isn't a huge issue, I have savings to last me through the summer and can borrow more from family if needed (although I would like to have things wrapped up by May 1st)

Apply for jobs without a job or take a guaranteed job?

Hello, I've seen a lot advice on here about doing side projects that are front-end focused and visible to recruiters, and it seems that Android/ iOS apps are a great way of doing that.

I'm in a position right now where I have about 3 years of web development experience and so most of the positions I'm applying for are web dev related, although I'm open to any. I decided to start working on an iOS app because I thought it'd be fun and the app would actually be useful to me + others.

I do have a side-project on my resume I did involving TypeScript/React, and so I was wondering if creating an iOS app with Swift and putting it on my resume would kind of hinder my chances at web dev jobs or would it still be something that could help land me an interviews for those jobs?\
\
Thank you,

Hamza

Also how to make sure you clear grasp of said fundamentals. I just say this cause it's never really keeping with all the latest technologies it's all about understanding said fundamentals. Also is there some learning path to follow I feel as if I never felt like I'm learning  and to be a successful junior I need to find the best way to learn for me.

What are the essential fundamentals someone needs to be a good coder?

Hi there, 

I would like to know your thoughts and advises about getting a job being immigrant in the USA. 

Context: 

- I live in México with my wife, who is a software engineer (SWE) and got an offer from a USA company (visa sponsorship) and we want to take the opportunity.
- Since I'm a SWE too (8 YoE), I want to get a job in the USA too! 
- But my visa will not let me work in the USA. 

I'm thinking that I could:

- Start looking for jobs with visa sponsorship. 
- Prepare for interviews.

What do you think about it? 

Are there resources that you would recommend me (about anything related)?

Thanks for reading me! 

What are your advises for looking a job from an immigrant in USA?  

Software Engineering Intern at Unemployed

For Workplace posts to be impactful at Meta, what should the standard template be? Could you please give an example. (P.S. speaking in terms of a meta intern here)

Hi, I last posted here: <https://www.jointaro.com/question/cDRnq7HznIAyJBpcKnoJ/how-can-i-go-about-getting-back-into-the-industry/> . I’m a junior since I have 1-2 YOE and my bachelors in comp sci from NYU is outdated from 2019. Some people think I should go for a masters maybe in AI / ML or security or some other specialization to try to get back into the industry. Since I mainly worked with JavaScript / TypeScript and React and some Python / Ruby on Rails, do you recommend sticking to that stack or picking up something new altogether like mobile (I prefer iOS over Android) when it comes to implementing my ideas?

I recently completed some free hire train deploy program over 10 weeks that uses Java SpringBoot mainly in order to land a job via one of there clients. I last worked at Civis Analytics, a data collaboration company from November 2021 to December 2022 before getting laid off due to company downsizing using JS / TS on the frontend and some Ruby on Rails, Docker, and AWS on the backend. As a web dev at West Point, I utilized tech such as Vue and Flask but I didn't get to do much as they didn't have version control set up so I quit after working on some mocks after 6 months. I haven’t really been getting interviews since failing the Meta L4 interview. Thanks.

Stick with my current full-stack background or pivot to mobile for side projects / job search?

Hello I wanted to get some advice. I noticed I can make it to the recruiter, but I keep failing when it goes to the hiring manger side. I'm not interviewing with any engineers - Any ideas on how I can improve this?

How to improving my chance at passing interviews with the hiring manager?

I unfortunately reached a year gap in my resume. But I recently finished up an accelerator called iga in which develop a game and realise on itch io or steam do you think this will be a solid experience to list in my experience section or go in my project section 

Hi there, everybody. I was aiming to build a few applications to present in interviews. Last week, I was building a small-scale Spring Boot application with the help of a tutorial. The project I was working on was meant to retrieve data from a database using PostgreSQL to provide multiple choice DSA questions. I was creating an automated study buddy for technical interviews. Unfortunately,  I've been trying to figure out some technical issues and database connectivity mishaps for some days, unfortunately to no avail. Currently, I'm working through a Node.Js tutorial to build an application geared to help me keep track of the things I'd like to do during my job search, so I can always stay on task. I don't know if I'm going to run into some more issues that plague me.

The thing is, I'm learning a LOT from both experiences. Now I feel I can have an educated conversation on the trade-offs of monolithic and microservice architectures... and I LOVE what I'm learning. I'd really like to have at least 3 small-scale projects handy that I'm using to automate my own life and make this job search easier for me. 

Of course I'm going to continue to try to plow through these issues, and I'm not here to necessarily ask for help with my applications (although I won't say no if someone wants to help). It'd be great if I can explain how I solved  these problems, because I know the challenging problems I've solved are what I'd want to highlight to people in an interview.

But let's say if the day comes where I have an interview and DON'T have a "finished" product, yet I still have these code samples that I can defend and show that I've gained a great deal of experience from... would it be a good idea to present these in an interview?

Thanks for the help,

Evan

Would an "unfinished" project(s) be worthy to present in interviews?

Hey everyone! I just transitioned to software engineering. I got an internship at Meta and Tesla. What courses and projects should I focus on to develop my skills as a software engineer. I currently know basic data structures and how to solve leetcode problems.

What are good courses and projects for beginner to entry level software engineers?

Hello, few questions which the resume video didn't answer for me (for context i'm a senior engineer with almost a decade of experience including some years working at FAANG):

1. Should I put months for each year for all my experiences or is it okay to just put the years? For example if this hides a 6 month gap? I've heard very conflicting opinions on this!
2. If I'm in a city in California that's not super close to San Francisco, is it okay to just put California and leave my city out so I'm not auto rejected for positions that are in San Francisco, since I'm open to relocation? Also should I say somewhere on resume that I'm open to relocation?
3. Pretty sure the answer to this is no but figured I'd ask! Is it worth going from 1 to 2 pages to list a few side projects that are over a few years old now and didn't really get a lot of users?

I applied for a position and didn't get it but the recruiter said I could send him the role I'm interested in. I have sent him a position I was interested in and he responded earlier but when I reached out again I didn't get a response. Do you think it appropriate to call/ email him again when it has been a few months?

Reaching out to recruiter who may have ghosted you

Hi, a little bit about myself: I am an entry-junior level software engineer. I just graduated from a coding bootcamp 2 months ago. But before that, I had been doing self-studies. I mainly build with JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Express, HTML, CSS, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB. However, I have knowledge in Python, Redux, OAuth, Jest, Docker, Kubernetes, and some services in AWS. I have been sending out a resume that has a long list of technical skills, but I'm concerned that the very long list might make me appear overreaching and amateurish. That said, I wonder if I should make different versions of my resume.

P.S. I have sent out almost 500 applications, and only 4 reached out to me. I made it to the final round with one company, but didn't make it past the final round.

Should I make different resumes for different positions?

Hello I wanted to ask anyone whats a good place to look for hackathons Im looking for event so I can really get the grasp of working with others and across meeting new people

As a founder of an early-stage startup, what are the top things you look for in your first five engineering hires? Are you searching for people who can handle a bit of everything, or do you prefer specialists in key areas? How do you balance technical skills with ensuring they fit well with your company's culture and vision?

Besides their technical know-how, what personal qualities are most important to you in these early hires? Do you value problem-solving skills and creativity over past experience in similar roles or industries? How crucial are soft skills like communication and adaptability, given the fast-paced and ever-changing nature of startups? And finally, how do you make sure these first hires will not only meet immediate project needs but also grow with the company as it expands?

Early Stage Startups: What are you looking for most in your first 5 engineering hires?

I wanted to ask you how do you normally break up doing vs study when learning something new in software development.

In general I want to be better coder and learn to how better apply my learning and I wanted to make sure I'm not going down a rabbit hole when doing either and most importanly making sure I'm not stagnant.

Hey everyone, I am going to apply to jobs soon and I'd really appreciate any feedback on my resume. Any suggestions would be helpful!

<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S7RUoM8Fd2ubgLj7SKGkFoO2dcDf-jXR/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=112036936699290568594&rtpof=true&sd=true>

I have an interview with PayPal next week for a Senior Software Engineer role. Since many of the PayPal engineers in Taro are currently unavailable, I'm posting here for advice.

The interview consists of four rounds: coding, system design, object-oriented programming (OOP), and behavioural questions. While I am confident about the Software Engineer 2 level, I view this Senior role as a more ambitious challenge.

Initially, I was hesitant to ask for guidance, but after reviewing "Acing the SE Interview," I gained some confidence and decided to reach out. Any insights or advice on preparing for these rounds would be greatly appreciated.

PayPal Interview prep for Senior Software Engineer 

Today I fumbled a technical interview.

I was told by the company I interned at previously to apply for a job posting. The person who knew the role is my manager from my internship there. That same manager I knew in there is now one position under the CTO. He told me it was a role that uses Spring Boot, Docker, and GraphQL. He said there’s a big effort to get GraphQL into the company’s architecture. It said “5+ years experience”, and didn't mention GraphQL, so I didn’t take it seriously. After I applied, the posting disappeared. My manager said the job posting I applied for was “probably just one of those ghost postings”. I had the behavioral where I spoke with the manager: I aced that. Today was the technical. The recruiter I was talking to was telling me this was an interview where I could show off projects, so I took the “prep some projects” approach. Did 3 projects. One using mern and GraphQL, one using typescript and express with rest architecture, and one using spring boot.  So I do that. I also prepped a Google doc with a list of common interview questions for all that I’m expecting. 

When I get into the interview, I get asked about my prior role. They said that showing projects wouldn’t be necessary: and that GraphQL wasn’t in the role. The first 20 minutes went well. I was asked about API stuff. I hear them say “good” sometimes, so I know something is right. Then I start getting asked simple questions I didn’t think to prep for. One was literally “what’s the difference between JDK and JRE”, and I knew what JDK was, but not JRE, and the difference between @override and @overload. I was then asked what Node is, so I tell them it’s a runtime environment (idk how I didn’t piece together what JRE was at this point), but I made a mistake because I should of delved into themes that made node.js incredible, like its event loop. Although I knew the basics of a microservice, it was only the basics. The interviewers were kind, and told me that although I articulated myself well, they’re looking for someone who knew more about microservices, and can code right now. 

Luckily, the company told me prior to this that even if this doesn’t work out, they’d still want to hire me. There'll be another chance, but I realized I need mock interview help. I know I’ll need to review the Taro course on getting into and succeeding in interviews, but I also want to find people to do mock interviews with. How can I do that with Taro?

Thanks,

\~Evan

I need interview prep help... how can I get that on here?

I have an interview coming up. It comes with a engineering process interview, which is Q&A to learn about your approach to common situations that occur as an engineer, followed by a values and leadership interview, which is about problem solving and team interaction.

How can i prepare for the engineering process interview? Can I interpret it as behavioural interview or more on technical Q&A? But I see some overlapping with the values and leadership interview so im a bit confused.

How to prepare for engineering process interview?

TLDR: How to pick side projects\
\
This might have been answered multiple times and a very well-known answer would be working on side projects but I want the answer to be more in-depth so it can be helpful for many engineers. \
\
Please don't answer in a generic way but try to answer this by posing in my shoes\
\
Let's say you have 1.6 years of experience as a Software engineer and 3 years of experience in IT but not in development now if you want to stick to the SE career. This market is very challenging for me to get a job with 1 plus year of experience. I have to convert my IT experience into developer experience and try. But when I give interviews I tend to fail the Hiring manager rounds because they can see the depth of my SE career. \
\
So how to convert my IT experience to SE experience? I have put a lot of effort into Leetcode and now I have gotten to a decent stage the same thing applies to System design as well I have read books blogs etc and getting the depth would be my next target.\
\
We can hear a lot of stories in the past where a person who started his/her career as a tester or a QA and got it converted to Senior software engineer etc by working on problem-solving skills but I don't think this works in the current market.

So I felt I was missing depth. How to achieve a mid-level engineer status where I can effectively tell a lot of stories and challenges I have faced in my career and show bias for action etc \
\
The most simple answer would be to do side projects but selecting a repository and a project is very hard as there are countless repositories and projects. \
\
All I need is a small ignition to start on the side projects then I think discipline would take care of the rest as I was at zero questions at LeetCode a few months ago and now I have solved 250 plus with discipline.

How to add depth to my career and profile?

Hey Everyone,

I’m currently working on an iOS application, that has already been deployed on the App store. I’m still experimenting with it internally with a few friends, but I noticed that for some of them, when the app is installed it is just displayed as a blank screen or with missing icons or default font colors.

The app passed through App store screening before it was deployed, but I suspect that there is a compatibility problem. I was wondering if anyone has suggestions on what the cause might be, and how I may resolve it.

Link to see the screenshots of the normal and buggy versions of the app: <https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vR6r3lqu-tbI88UH8Q9NLFmRZ_QM9bOCpf9PExGZvtWTMWoZR87nN8vVPmjkgwSA5cf4BVAVlyibz6q/pub>

Link to download app: <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anyamessenger/id6475115468>

A little about the application --&gt; It is a security surveillance iOS app that aims to minimize criminal illiteracy by providing citizens with technology for staying aware, secure, and connected. It includes features such as direct messaging, rapid alert system, sensory data monitoring, and a siren observability module.

I'm open to sharing my code too for a review, but only privately. Thank you so much in advance!

How do I deal with compatibility issues on a deployed iOS app ?

Hey everyone! 👋

I’m currently on the hunt for my next adventure as a software engineer, and I’m looking for some pointers! What’s the best way to apply for jobs these days? Got any secret URLs or magical portals to send proposals? 🔮✨

A little about me: I’ve been coding up a storm for the past few years, working on everything from travel apps to data orchestration platforms. I love using tech like React, Angular, Python, Node and even dabbled in AI/ML! Whether it's optimizing backend processes or making websites shine, I'm all about that tech life. 🚀

Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn ([linkedin.com/in/arrian-curry-software-engineer](http://linkedin.com/in/arrian-curry-software-engineer)) or drop your favorite job hunting tips in the comments! Thanks in advance for your help! 🙏

Let’s make this job search fun! 😄\
\
Linkedin: [linkedin.com/in/arrian-curry-software-engineer](https://linkedin.com/in/arrian-curry-software-engineer)

Got any secret URLs or magical portals to send proposals?

When doing personal coding challenges like maybe creating your data structures and algorithms and or just working on your personal projects. Is it bad to set a condition for yourself like you can't ask for help or no ai tools. Really only relying on Google searching or videos/documentation

Hi everyone. I posted a couple of weeks ago about a job interview I had with the company that laid me off. As a follow up to that post, the interview consisted of a manager, a senior software engineer, and a mid level software engineer. The senior and mid level devs played front end cop/back end cop with me, and then proceeded to ask behavioral questions towards the end. We all had a lot of fun, we laughed together sometimes, we kept smiling at one another, it was a really good interview. And I got every question thrown at me correct. I came up with a couple answers where I admit I had a textbook-esque response, but many more that was based on my experience. It was one of those interviews where you had a feeling that you just knew you got it.

Given the interview prep course here, I knew to tone down my expectations from an "I know darn well I got that" to "I think I got it". As the week progressed, I started to get a feeling that I didn't get it. Well, that feeling was right. And it wasn't anything to do with the interview itself. Apparently, there was gonna be a new manager for the role, and from what I was told, "the new manager is repurposing the requisition". 

I can't believe it. I nailed the interview on the head, and I still got screwed out of the job. I left them on a high note, but I'm still so furious. Whatever happens, I know for a fact that I have it in me to crush an interview, but I don't deserve to still have to interview, and still be jobless: I feel entitled to the role! I proved that I deserve to work, both to myself AND them. The best I can hope for is the possibility they'll remember I'm a great candidate for a mid level role in the future, but that company is only going to be the place I fall back on if I don't have anything else in the future.

I don't think I have a proper word for the sheer frustration I feel. The same company that laid me off, played me AGAIN. I know not to trust this company, but I thought this would at least end in a job offer. Not that some random manager thought the role I applied to wasn't gonna be good for business.

How do I deal with this feeling?

How do I deal with the pain of an interview that went perfectly, and the job being taken away anyway?

Hello everyone,

I have created website <https://www.mano-nt.lt> .It's a real estate listings website. I'm feeling of quitting it, because of a poor SEO. Currently I have no users and I don't know how to improve it. Also, because of poor SEO, it doesn't solve the main problem: real estate listing, that should be findable via search engines. Another thing is that I'm competing with market leaders like [aruodas.lt](http://aruodas.lt) and other. So main question is: should I quit and focus my energy on other simpler ideas ?

Hi everybody. Last time I posted on here, I was laid off. I'm still laid off, BUT I got an interview where I interned at! It's a medium-sized financial company, looking to expand soon. The people I know in there are pretty high up. I told the recruiter that I was interested in making an impact on the business, and he really liked that about me. They said that no matter what happens with this interview, they're still gonna try to get me a software engineer job within the company. I think it was in a Taro course I saw when I first signed up where Alex said this, but the recruiters are looking for trust that you'll be able to ship production-level code. I've already done this within the company as an intern, and given my manager there at the time is now one guy under the CTO and CIO (the CIO remembered me and approved getting that position open!), I got that company trying to get me back in. Fingers crossed it works, but I'll have a hard time typing if I keep them crossed rather than code to practice beforehand. 

The team is trying to modernize APIs. In the behavioral/vibe check interview, the manager told me that he has a bunch of awesome APIs he'd like to convince other areas in the company to use, but they're stubborn because their current processes work as they are, and they don't want to put themselves at risk by implementing the new awesome APIs. I'd be expected to act as someone who can have these conversations with these groups about the code and APIs they currently work with, and get them to buy in on the said new awesome APIs. It was originally a senior software engineer role, but they're interviewing me to see if they'd like to lower that to a mid-level role, and then (hopefully) hire me.\
\
The role itself uses Node.js, SpringBoot, GraphQL, and Docker. I want to know what plan you guys think I should implement to study this next week and a half before it's technical interview day. I've been building some Node/GraphQL projects, and just worked on a SpringBoot project yesterday, too. A project approach is what I'm doing for this. I can also ask ChatGPT for some good interview questions on these things, but is there anything you guys can lob at me that will help me achieve proficiency (if not mastery) of those technologies in a week's time? Advice, tutorials, strategy planning, etc.

I'd really appreciate whatever y'all can throw at me. Thanks so much!

Evan

API interview in a couple of weeks... what's the best course of action to take?

Hi all,

Recently, when I come across hiring posts on LinkedIn, I apply through the given link as well as send a message to the author of the post. Would it be better to wait for a response from the author before applying through the portal, or should I apply through the portal in parallel?

I wonder if there is any incentive for the author that they might miss when I apply through the portal, making them less interested in following up on my profile. Also, I think it could be tricky to apply through the portal later, after waiting for x days without receiving a reply. I think if the author is an engineer, they might be interested in a referral bonus. Would the same apply to managers or directors in the company, or do they care more about building a good team than the referral bonus?

Any thoughts/suggestions? Or am I overthinking this?

Thanks.

Applying through company portal vs Sending message to Hiring Manager

I'm looking to deploy my project to get some users. I wanted to ask what the best way services to use as I'm only trying to show off the work mainly and maybe get some users once I get unity app on the stores.

Best Tool to deploy Unity/Full-stack application

Hi everyone!

After 14 years of mainly working as a Java backend developer (with about 2-3 years of Node.JS experience), I’m currently taking a few months off due to family reasons and don’t have a job at the moment. I want to make the most of this time by preparing for interviews and finding a good job. Right now, there’s no pressure on me to find a new job quickly.

However, I’ve grown tired of backend development and was doing it just out of necessity. **Inspired by your community, I wrote a first version of a mobile app in React Native (while learning React Native), and I absolutely love it.** I’ve worked as a senior and mid-level developer so far. I think I would need about three more months to refine my app a bit and get ready to apply for React Native positions.

**What do you think? What level of positions should I aim for besides junior, maybe even mid-level? My plan is a bit risky,** but I realized I really want to work with UI, mobile, and UX, as it’s much closer to my heart. The market in Hungary is different from the USA; there are plenty of job opportunities, but Java + Angular is still dominant here.

Thank you,

Lajos\
**PS: I wish Taro had been around earlier so I could have learned with you from the beginning of my career. You are amazing, thank you!**

Transitioning from Backend to React Native: Taking Time to Follow My Passion for Mobile Development

Can someone share the slack channel invite with me? (And also any other communication platforms Taro uses)\
\
I just joined a couple days ago and want to be on all Taro's communication platforms.

I am new to react and .net and sql. The codebase in my internship uses all 3 for front end, backend and server side. 

Now, I saw some videos on how react works. But I keep on struggling with even fixing the smallest problems like styling one component inside another.

How do I learn the languages and technologies in an unfamiliar code and what would you do do learn fast and create impact in the codebase (solving the tickets assigned to you). What are some things I should be doing daily/hourly and what questions should I be asking?

I feel like I do not understand anything as I am overwhelmed with how the codebase works. Also how do I understand it in a way easy to relate to and remember what the components inside the codebase does and also learn the languages? 

Thank you for helping with this! 🙏

Intern: How to learn and execute in unfamiliar codebase

Hi,

I recently received this coding question in an interview:

Compute median in a distributed system. The data is stored on multiple nodes.

How would you approach it? How would you ensure that you can code up a basic solution during an interview? Please provide a pseudocode.

Thank you for your answers in advance.

Interview question: median in a distributed system

Hi, I am going to have a final round interview at meta next month and just wanted to see what the best courses on the platform would optimize my preparation?

I'm looking at the following courses: communication , behavioral, ml systems design. I think there may be an upleveling course from L4 to L5 but also want to gather any additional suggestions. Thanks!

What courses should I prioritize to prepare for a level 5 mle full-loop interview at meta next month?

Hey guys, I’m 25. I graduated in 2021 as a business major. I was an AI coder last year. This year, I started taking CS courses online, primarily CS50x and MIT’s Intro to Python. Now, I’m doing DSA prep and building side projects.

I am planning to apply for jobs starting in November. I have 6 months to study. Please advise how I should tackle this in the current job market.

I live in Bengaluru, India, but I’m open to getting a remote job. I have a chance to interview at my friend’s startup. The tech stack is primarily TypeScript and React, so I have to learn these as well.

I am also planning to learn the fundamentals of CS the right way. How would you guys advise me to study during the next 6 months? What should I focus on?

My idea:

- Fundamentals, DSA, LeetCode – 30% of my time
- TypeScript, Next, React – courses for nailing the interview at my friend’s startup – 30%
- Side projects – building a fully functional app – 30%
- Open source – 10% of my time

I have no clue how to start with open source. How should I approach it?

Please be critical about my plan and advise me back. I will take advice from this community very seriously. Thank you in advance!

What to focus on to get my first job in tech at 25 years old, non-CS degree

Hi,\
\
I'm currently looking for a new role and would find it helpful if members could share their recent interview timelines with Big Tech or Big Tech-adjacent companies. Given the diverse backgrounds in this community and the anonymity it provides, I believe this information could benefit many who are planning their job search strategies and study schedules. Thanks in advance for your insights!\
\
If you are willing, could you please share:

- Company and level 
- Application type (referral/cold application/other)
- Application to Recruiter Screen : time in days/weeks
- Recruiter Screen to Tech Screen : time in days/weeks
- Tech Screen to Onsite : time in days/weeks
- Onsite to Offer : time in days/weeks

Big Tech interview timelines in current job market

In [one](https://www.jointaro.com/course/ace-your-tech-interview-and-get-a-job-as-a-software-engineer/how-this-course-works/) of Taro's courses, **Alex** teaches building side projects as a practice during the job search, and he is right (IMHO). Since I have a strong background in OCaml open source, I initially felt frustrated to keep building side projects in OCaml yet OCaml jobs are scarce. When I asked in the Taro premium Slack channel, **Josh Lindsay** offered some insights into switching to promising languages.

Following Josh's guidance, I translated my project idea to TypeScript and React Native, which has allowed me to build skills aligned with more job opportunities. Again, Many thanks to Josh for the encouragement and insights!

Currently, I’m progressing on this project in a private GitHub repo, but it is far from pleasing. I'm kindly seeking advice on enhancing my resume to be competitive for non-OCaml roles. I've attached a link to my resume and would greatly appreciate any feedback.

<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHipi9tjMpCq43nNX8G8qlXHTyAPDXcr/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=108873740594273074939&rtpof=true&sd=true>

Seeking Advice for Transitioning from OCaml to Broader Tech Roles

Hello, I wanted to ask - I'm reading on my Google Analytics and SEO between January and now. I managed to have 184 total users - Is this good?

And for SEO I have 15 web search clicks - Is this good progress? Just trying to measure the performance of my side project.

Seeing how things don't seem to be getting better, is it a valid route to join the military and be placed as a software engineer somewhere to get the needed experience? Being a junior in this market feels impossible, and I'm kinda deeply in debt. It's a struggle finding another job.

Hello everyone, for Meal Forger, I'm looking to implement a feature that will allow u to take pictures of food and simply add them to your "pantry" to improve your search. Also, feel free to check it out if I'm currently suing using for calorie calculation and validation. I'm specifically looking for something cost-effective or even free, or could simply train a model myself, which could be an amazing learning opportunity. \
[Meal Forger](https://mealforger.org/)

Hi,

Does anybody know of a good resource with numpy vectorization exercises? Something like leetcode but for numpy vectorization. The reason why I'm asking about this is because I had several companies asking these sort of questions in the coding interviews. You are given a math formula, and you have to rewrite it in numpy/pytorch/tensorflow vectorized form, so that it is computationally efficient. I need basically some exercises to practise broadcasting, converting operations to matmul, masking, and other tensor tricks.

I appreciate your help in advance.

Numpy vectorization exercises for interviews (ML coding)

I have mailed to [alex@mail.jointaro.com](mailto:alex@mail.jointaro.com) regarding this last week but haven't received any reply. My intention is not to pollute the the discussion forum but need to get this issue resolved. Apologies If this offends anyone.\
\
I'm not receiving any emails regarding live events that are gonna happen. I live in a different timezone and I do have the taro app but I rarely use my phone. I mostly check the emails and if there are anything important I'd add them to my calendar. I don't receive any emails about upcoming live events just at least 2 days before and I only see the live event notification just when they are about to start. When I get back to my phone later that event will be over. This email notification thing is not there or do I need to modify any of my settings to get the emails that I'm missing before?\
Please resolve this query.\
\
Thanks.

No Emails about Live Events Before hand!!

Hi Tarodactyls! It's been a while since I posted here. Last time I posted, I just started a contract job months after being laid off, and was looking for advice. Last week, my manager and I had a talk where he said everyone is impressed with what I can do, and wants to hire me full time. Nothing's set in stone yet, so I have to keep the pedal to the metal. In the meantime, I have a question for when negotiating comes around...

An engineer friend and I were talking about how we’d like to get a 2% cut of all the money we save for a company using AWS. I thought that’d be a really good deal. I think I found AWS service that can save the company a bunch of both time and money. And since the company is growing and will be making more money, there’ll be a lot of ways for me to grow in AWS and help them save more money. Imagine getting a small cut of six figures of what they save from what you implemented once a year, just because you implemented it? Maybe I was just thinking very excitedly, but have you ever heard of something like this being offered in a negotiation? If so, how would I best be able to negotiate something like that into a deal?

Since it's almost time for me to get a full time job, I'm gonna have to peep that negotiation course from Taro. I have a feeling someone will link it in the comments. Thanks, everybody!

Can I negotiate a cut of cloud savings into my yearly salary?

Hey Taro Community,

Let’s say you are working on building a new project/feature. For accomplishing such a deliverable, I learnt that planning is really important than just starting to code. How can we maximize effective planning and then execute flawlessly for pushing quality code and shipping the feature? Here are some additional questions I have about this issue.

- How do can you start understanding different components of the code and what it does. Like what are some important questions you need to ask yourself before working on the coding.
- How do you plan to execute writing and finishing the feature along with thinking about edge cases.
- Another thing I saw is that when a codebase has multiple parts, I often mix up the parts due to my lack of organization. How do I make meaningful notes or what template can I start following that will help me connect the pieces together.

Organizing and writing as a software engineer

Hey team,\
\
Sr SWE with 10 years experience here. Keep seeing ads for Jimmy Koppel's Mirdin course with crazy testimonials (FAANG hires, big salary bumps, etc.) but can't find any real discussion about it on Reddit or forums.

I want to get better at articulating design decisions instead of just having a "gut feeling" something's wrong with an architecture. The course looks expensive but has a refund policy.

Anyone actually taken it? is it worth it ? Open to other suggestions for advanced software design training too.

Thanks!

Has anyone taken Jimmy Koppel's Advanced Software Design course?

Hello, I'm focusing on building right now since I'm not getting many, if any, interviews, but I want to be prepared for the occasional assessments like HackerRanks that I do get. How should I split up my study time?

For those who were laid off, taking a career break, or any another reason why they're not working right now. It's good to be unemployed every once in a while!

Senior engineers have proven themselves to be extremely capable at shipping high-quality, complex software efficiently. This collection breaks down how they operate and how you can get to this level too.

Has anyone taken Jimmy Koppel's Advanced Software Design course?

Other Great Discussions