Effectively Learning Data Structures And Algorithms (DSA) For Software Engineer Interviews

Which of these is the core building block of data structures and algorithms problems?

True or false: The most effective way to be prepared for data structures and algorithms interview problems is to memorize the code of each problem's solution line by line.

Why should you comment your solutions to data structures and algorithms problems?

True or false: When you are completely stuck, you should just look at the entire solution in order to learn it.

Why is it healthy to struggle on data structures and algorithms problems?

**Data Structure and Algorithm (DSA)** questions are a core part of the interview for most software engineering roles. These questions, sometimes called "Leetcode problems", are essential to master if you want a reasonable pass rate in your interviews. 

However, so many engineering candidates struggle to truly understand these questions, resulting in lower confidence and worse performance. Here are the best tips when it comes to passing these types of interviews:

- The key to mastering DSA is to learn patterns and not memorize code. The "drill and kill" style of studying is really badly suited for DSA.
- 80% of asked DSA problems will use 1 of ~15 different patterns. So rather than focusing on individual problems, your goal should be to connect the problem to a broader, recurring pattern.
- Examples of patterns: binary search, graph traversal, sliding window, tail recursion. Being able to understand problems of the same type is essential. Being able to *name the pattern* is even better. 
- Extensively comment your solutions, primarily with the key pattern behind the problem. When you get started, it will be painstakingly slow to understand each line of code, and potentially comment it. That's ok! You will feel frustrated, but your goal is to deeply understand the problem and solution, instead of simply solving as many problems as you can.
- When you can't figure out a problem, read 10-20% of the solution and see if you can come up with the entire solution from there. Build the muscle of converting high-level points into fleshed out solutions

Related resources:
- ["Mock Interviews vs. Leetcode?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/U4kohSE8g5LR7GD9cqYH/mock-interviews-vs-leetcode/)
- [[Masterclass] How To Ace Your Big Tech Interview - Data Structures And Algorithms](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/V4sTACzfOh22nMVcUV3w/masterclass-how-to-ace-your-big-tech-interview-data-structures-and-algorithms/)
- [[Masterclass] How To Ace Your Big Tech Interview - System Design](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/J3I9fTW9ulr6T9KjxpqY/masterclass-how-to-ace-your-big-tech-interview-system-design/)
- [How Alex Got Into Meta With 0 Prior LeetCode Experience](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/ZYiTbN21FsqFxFdpwt5a/how-alex-got-into-meta-with-0-prior-leetcode-experience/)

Come Up With 500k+ User Project Ideas [Part 1] - How This Course Works

Are the projects on your resume not helping you at all when it comes to impressing hiring managers and getting job opportunities? Let's fix that. Here are the core parts of the lesson:

- Your instructor [Alex Chiou](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-chiou/) walks you through his extensive 10+ year Silicon Valley background with rapid career advancement, ending up as a high-performing tech lead making $750k at Robinhood. Most importantly, he goes through how he's built 30+ side project apps with 3 of them getting 500k+ users, getting him interviews at top companies like OpenAI, Google, Uber, Instacart, and more
- The exact definition of what a side project is and how it shouldn't be a startup
- You'll understand the many benefits of side projects and why they're almost always underrated by engineers. Side projects can do a whole lot more than getting you interviews and helping you pass them
- We walk you through the course objectives. By the end of the course, you will understand:
  - 💎 Understand what makes a side project **valuable**

  - 🫸 Avoid **common traps** that produce terrible ideas

  - ⚙️ Have a **process** to generate *feasible*, quality ideas

  - 💡 Follow a **framework** to judge a project’s quality

  - 💪 Set up the **right mentality** to build projects long-term

If you want to learn more about Alex's rocket ship career trajectory, take our overall job searching course here: [Ace Your Tech Interview And Get A Job As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/ace-your-tech-interview-and-get-a-job-as-a-software-engineer/)

Become A Debugging Master [Part 1] - How This Course Works

Most software engineers groan when they get hit with a random bug task while they're in the middle of feature development. However, this is actually the completely wrong reaction reaction to have - It should be the opposite! This course is here to teach you why bugs are a deeply underrated growth opportunity and how you can become amazing at fixing them fast.

Here are the core parts of the lesson:

- Your instructor [**Rahul Pandey**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rpandey1234/) walks you through his extensive 10+ year Silicon Valley background with rapid career advancement, ending up as a high-performing Staff Engineer \[E6\] at Meta. Most importantly, he talks about how becoming a debugging master led to him getting to Meta E6 and boosting his total compensation to $800k+!

- We walk you through the course objectives. By the end of the course, you will:

  - 🧠 Learn how to **properly** **prioritize** debugging

  - 📋 Understand the **necessary prep work** before the fix

  - 💡 Develop a **mental framework** to fix any bug

  - ✅ Understand **the difference** between good and bad fixes

  - 🏆 Be able to **get maximum credit** for debugging

Joel Spolsky's wisdom: <https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/04/06/things-you-should-never-do-part-i/>

How Neetcode Got Promoted From L3 to L4 (Mid-Level) Engineer At Google - Tips + Insights

Neetcode struggled with unemployment as a fresh college graduate in 2020. To prepare for interviews, he started the (now massive) [Neetcode YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/neetcode) and landed a job a year later at [Google](https://www.jointaro.com/topic/google/) as an entry-level (L3) software engineer. 

As his first full-time job, Neetcode was unsure if he'd succeed within Big Tech, but he was able to get promoted to mid-level engineer (L4) quickly.

Neetcode attributes his success within Google to 3 elements: 
- **Working independently**: Don't be afraid to try things on your own. You should take advantage of the smart people around you, but you need an attitude of self-sufficiency. That means you should be willing to dive into the code, try out experiments, and read documentation as needed.
- **Soft skills**: Break down the work you're doing to discuss the parts that people care about and be proactive with giving status updates. If you feel like a project may get delayed, be very honest about that with your manager -- communicate what happened and what you're doing to fix it. 
- **Some luck**: Neetcode had a great manager and his starter project turned out to have a larger scope than initially planned. This set him up for the L4 promotion.

Neetcode's (self-assessed) coding skills were average, but he performed better than most L3s due to his ability to work independently and superior soft skills.

**If you'd like a discount on Neetcode Pro, checkout the [Taro Perks](https://www.jointaro.com/perks/) page.**

Related resources: 
- [Learn how Google does performance review](https://www.promotions.fyi/company/google/performance-review)
- [How to work more independently? from an Amazon engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/question/vyIAC3hCmRpiWzzL6SjP/how-to-work-more-independently/)
- [Why You Should Start Your Career At A Big Tech Company](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/OcWRqQcx31VwIEV6tfWK/why-you-should-start-your-career-at-a-big-tech-company/)

Ship & Grow 500k+ User Side Projects [Part 1] - How This Course Works

Like most engineers, do you have a slate of personal projects on your resume but recruiters and hiring managers simply don't seem to care? Well, that's almost certainly because [your projects don't have any users](https://www.jointaro.com/course/build-side-projects-with-500k-users-coming-up-with-an-idea/what-makes-a-project-valuable/).

This course is here to fix that issue for you. Here are the core parts of the lesson:

- Your instructor [Alex Chiou](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-chiou/) walks you through his extensive 10+ year Silicon Valley background with rapid career advancement, ending up as a high-performing tech lead making $750k at Robinhood. Most importantly, he goes through how he's built 30+ side project apps with 3 of them getting 500k+ users, getting him interviews at top companies like OpenAI, Google, Uber, Instacart, and more

- We walk you through the course objectives. By the end of the course, you will:

  - 1️⃣ Understand what makes a great first version

  - 😯 Learn easy, low-effort ways to improve a product

  - 🗣️ Set up the right mindset for processing user feedback

  - 💻 Know how to build a smooth user interface

  - 📈 Get tactics to acquire users organically

You can find the first side project course here: [Build Side Projects With 500k+ Users: Coming Up With An Idea](https://www.jointaro.com/course/build-side-projects-with-500k-users-coming-up-with-an-idea/)

Grow From Mid-Level To Senior Engineer [Part 1] - How This Course Works

Meta E4 -&gt; E5. Google L4 -&gt; L5. Amazon SDE 2 -&gt; SDE 3 (the final boss). These are some of the most notorious senior promotions in the tech industry and for good reason: They're hard! The Senior Software Engineer promotion is the first promotion 95%+ of engineers seriously struggle with. So why is that? Well, in this course, we'll break that down in-depth and teach you how to navigate the Senior level up with far less struggle. Here are the core parts of the lesson:

- Your instructor [Alex Chiou](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-chiou/) walks you through his extensive 10+ year Silicon Valley background with rapid career advancement, ending up as a high-performing tech lead making $750k at Robinhood. More importantly, he goes through how he was able to grow his mentees to lightning fast promotions, particularly at Meta where he grew 5+ mid-level engineers (E4) to senior engineers (E5) in just 1 year!
- You'll understand what it means to be a mid-level engineer vs. a senior engineer in the market, including the interview space.
- We walk you through the course objectives. By the end of the course, you will understand:
  - 💡 Truly understand the **difference** between a mid-level engineer and a senior engineer

  - 🧠 Have the right **mindset** to behave as a senior engineer

  - 🛠️ Identify your **technical gaps** to senior engineer

  - 📃 Figure out your **fundamental gaps** to senior engineer

  - ✅ Define a clear **roadmap** to senior engineer

If you want to learn how Alex found a multi-million dollar bug as part of his E4 -&gt; E5 senior promotion packet, check out his case study here: [\[Case Study\] Solving A Multi-Million $$ Instagram Bug](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/WYk4J05iBqOuPtD0CYKX/case-study-solving-a-multi-million-dollardollar-instagram-bug/)

Top System Design Interview Mistakes [Part 2] - Don't Jump Headfirst into the Problem

In system design interviews, it's vital to stay focused on the core problem. This video highlights the importance of correctly identifying and addressing the right technical issues:

- Avoid getting sidetracked by irrelevant problems, as shown in the car mechanic analogy
- Successful candidates focus on solving the key issues the interviewer cares about
- Asking clarifying questions helps align with the interviewer's expectations
- We give a demonstration of how a candidate can go wrong by focusing on less important aspects
- We go through an example of a successful candidate who navigates the prompt by staying focused and asking the right questions

If you need extra help with your system design interview, [Formation.dev](https://formation.dev/partners/taro) can provide you hands-on, personalized support. Join us here: <https://formation.dev/partners/taro>

This Is How Software Engineers Should Initially Learn

- Learn depth-wise initially, and then you can go breadth-wise after you become a very established senior engineer.
- If you don't know what you're passionate about, try a bunch of things out (go for breadth) until you find that passion.
- After finding your passion, go deep on it.
- You need to commit a long period of time to just 1 thing initially, so you start learning fundamentals as opposed to tech stack-specific tactical pieces.
- *You will eventually realize that all tech stacks are the same in many ways* - All languages and tech stacks share a common set of fundamentals. You will not get to this state if you switch stacks every year.

Related resources:
- [How The Best Software Engineers Learn A Tech Stack - The Lego Model](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/9cVK5zsAQstbTCc1wrWx/how-the-best-software-engineers-learn-a-tech-stack-the-lego-model/)
- ["How do you get more independent?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/FUP3gHb7rv9CXc84LaKn/how-do-you-get-more-independent/)
- ["How can I write great code faster?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/ciE9a2TZ7rZNyYP8HbeJ/how-can-i-write-great-code-faster/)

Ace Your Tech Interview As A Software Engineer [Part 3] - Interviewing: Why It Sucks

A lot of software engineers don't really know what happens on the other side (i.e. the interviewer giving you the questions), especially for top companies like FAANG. This lesson teaches you:

- Why interview processes are much messier than job candidates expect
- Why tech interviews are inherently unpredictable and random
- How incredibly hard it is to create a quality interview process that both only lets in good talent while not being too torturous for the candidates
- Why it's near impossible for this dark reality of terrible interviewers and interview processes to ever change

If you want to dive even deeper into the interviewer's perspective, check this out: [\[Masterclass\] How To Be An Amazing Interviewer In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/OYKgGZ7syfymlvIJKzuf/masterclass-how-to-be-an-amazing-interviewer-in-tech/)

Maximize Your Productivity As A Software Engineer [Part 2] - The Productivity Giant You Are Missing

When it comes to productivity, most software engineers have the completely incorrect strategy of simply working harder. This isn't sustainable and misses the forest for the trees. This lesson teaches you:

- The true highest leverage thing you can do when it comes to your productivity, explained with an example from Meta and Google
- Why working on the right things is much better than just working on your current things faster

Here's the promotion course: [\[Course\] Nail Your Promotion As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/nail-your-promotion-as-a-software-engineer/)

Performance Review Ratings Example: Meta & Google

- Meta:
  - Meets Some Expectations (MS)
  - Meets Most Expectations (MM)
  - Meets All Expectations (MA): Need this or above to be doing okay.
  - Exceeds Expectations (EE)
  - Greatly Exceeds Expectations (GE)
  - Redefines Expectations (RE)
- Google (these are the old PERF ratings):
  - Needs Improvement (NI)
  - Consistently Meets Expectations (CME): Need this or above to be doing okay.
  - Exceeds Expectations (EE)
  - Strongly Exceeds Expectations (SEE)
  - Superb
- Other companies will use a 1 to 5 system which roughly maps to the above, Google in particular

If you fall below MA at Meta or CME at Google, you will either immediately be put on a [performance improvement plan (PIP) or be at huge risk for one](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/7SsdpweHE4sbyTtz2kxQ/the-key-to-avoiding-the-performance-improvement-plan-how-to-figure-out-where-youre-trending/). Learn how to [avoid or manage a PIP from our course](https://www.jointaro.com/course/the-ultimate-performance-improvement-plan-pip-guide/).

Related resources:

- [\[Masterclass\] How To Navigate Your Performance Review In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/b0B8uqIAUnBLE10jJHJG/how-to-navigate-your-performance-review-in-tech-7232022/) - This is the full video this clip was taken from
- ["What's the difference between a low performer software engineer and a high performer?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/nMxx2EMVIlJbl1oK4SGu/whats-the-difference-between-a-low-performer-software-engineer-and-a-high-performer/)
- ["How do I help my manager (who is also my mentor) be a better manager and mentor?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/LbHgSEtXcb5QR5nVu8xt/how-do-i-help-my-manager-who-is-also-my-mentor-be-a-better-manager-and-mentor/)

Become An Open Source Master [Part 3] - What Is Open Source?

We'll start with an introduction to open source, which encompasses not just software but also data, education, standards, hardware, and access.

- Open-source software is released under a license that allows users to use, study, change, and distribute it for any purpose.
- There are various open source licenses with different levels of permissiveness, but for this course, we'll focus on projects under the MIT license.
- Open-source code empowers users to study and adapt software to their needs, similar to how user scripts or custom style sheets modify websites.
- You can learn from open-source projects like React to understand how companies build complex systems.
- If you make changes, you can fork the project or submit your changes back to the original project through a pull request.

Connect with James: 

- GitHub: <https://github.com/jamesgpearce>
- Twitter (X): <https://twitter.com/jamespearce>

Once You Get This, You Will Be Able To Fix Any Software Bug

The foundation for debugging and just getting software as a whole is understanding the end-to-end flow. This is a mental framework that can be applied to any language and any stack, even if you have never worked on it before.

For most of you, you're working with something like this:

1. The client sends an API call to the back-end
2. The server receives the request and parses out the model
3. The server queries the database for the appropriate data
4. The server returns the data in a formatted JSON response
5. The client receives the response and parses it
6. The client translates the models into UI and renders it

Once you figure out what steps are necessary for the flow you're debugging, you can systematically go through them one-by-one until you identify which one is breaking.

Related resources:

- [\[Case Study\] Solving A Multi-Million $$ Instagram Bug](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/WYk4J05iBqOuPtD0CYKX/case-study-solving-a-multi-million-dollardollar-instagram-bug/)
- ["How can I become more independent and better at unblocking myself with tricky technical issues?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/QhqQQGrDgFjZbqohpKe0/how-can-i-become-more-independent-and-better-at-unblocking-myself-with-tricky-technical-issues/)
- ["How can I root cause bugs faster?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/PSv7aYI70VwaDsoRgMyW/how-can-i-root-cause-bugs-faster/)

Master The Behavioral Interview [Part 1] - How This Course Works

Let's not mince words: Most software engineers are pretty terrible at behavioral interviews. Unlike interview types like data structures & algorithms (DSA) and system design, behavioral interviews are purely open-ended. Here are the core parts of the lesson:

- Your instructor [Alex Chiou](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-chiou/) walks you through his extensive 10+ year Silicon Valley background across top companies like PayPal, Course Hero, Meta, and Robinhood, explaining how ultra-sharpening his behavioral interview skills played a huge part in his career success. His reward? Growing from $85k TC to $750k in just 7 years!
- How software engineers throw their careers by from over-indexing on LeetCode grinding instead of developing more balanced interview expertise, particularly with behavioral interviews
- We walk you through the course objectives. By the end of the course, you will have the right mentality to answer *any* behavioral question well, understand what a good behavioral answer looks like (vs. a bad one), use the right tactics to prepare, possess the skills to vet the company, and know what behavioral performances look like across different levels

To learn more about Alex's interview success journey and overall job searching tactics, check out his master job searching course: [\[Course\] Ace Your Tech Interview And Get A Job As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/ace-your-tech-interview-and-get-a-job-as-a-software-engineer/)

Rockstar Software Engineer Story: SW2 -> Principal In Just 4 Years

- An engineer joined Mixpanel as a level 2 Software Engineer, and received 4 promotions in 4 years to become a Principal Tech Lead Manager (TLM).
- Key to his success was the ability to make rapid progress on one of the company's top priorities: reduce infrastructure spend.
- He had a hypothesis that the majority of the cost incurred came from a few customers where the economics were backward for Mixpanel.
- Rather than solving a gnarly technical problem, the engineer worked with these customers to change their use of compute resources, resulting in massive savings for the company.

For more resources about becoming a rockstar engineer:

- ["What's the core insight behind quick growth?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/nJ762p255cGyuth36H6w/whats-the-core-insight-behind-quick-growth/)
- ["What's the difference between a low performer software engineer and a high performer?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/nMxx2EMVIlJbl1oK4SGu/whats-the-difference-between-a-low-performer-software-engineer-and-a-high-performer/)
- [Mentoring Junior SWEs \[E3\] to Senior \[E5\] In Just 2.5 Years At Meta](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/EX9563YnxcJb62cCmetg/case-study-mentoring-junior-swes-e3-to-senior-e5-in-just-25-years-at-meta/)

Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer [Part 3] - The Myth About Better Code

So many software engineers and engineering managers don't actually understand the relationship between code velocity and code quality. This lesson will teach you:

- Why code quality and code velocity aren't at odds with one another, completely busting the myth that writing better code makes you ship more slowly as a software engineer. In fact, they actually go quite well together!
- The true, nuanced relationship between how good a software engineer's code is and how fast they move
- Where you want to be as a software engineer when it comes to balancing code quality and code velocity
- How the highest-performing software engineers use their stellar code quality as an asset to move faster and land more impact than everyone else

Asking Great Questions [Part 1] - How This Course Works

As a software engineer, you need to learn fast, and in order to do this, you simply have to ask a *ton* of questions. This course is here to teach you how you can ask high quality questions that get you the answers you need while *increasing* your reputation among the team. Here are the core parts of the lesson:

- Your instructor [Alex Chiou](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-chiou/) walks you through his extensive 10+ year Silicon Valley background across top companies like Meta and Robinhood, explaining how he was able to raise new-grad Meta engineers \[E3\] all the way to high-performing tech leads \[E5, Greatly Exceeds Expectations\] in just 3 years

- You'll understand why asking questions is an art with a high skill ceiling, not a binary choice between *"Do I ask"* and *"Do I not ask?"*

- We walk you through the course objectives. By the end of the course, you will:

  - 🧠 Have the right **mentality** behind asking questions

  - 💡 Turn questions into a **strength**, not a weakness

  - ✨ Understand the difference between a **high-quality** question and a **low-quality** question

  - ⚙️ Ask stellar **technical** questions

  - 🙏 Ask for **favors** effectively

If you want to learn how Alex got his mentees promoted so quickly: [\[Case Study\] Mentoring Junior SWEs \[E3\] to Senior \[E5\] In Just 2.5 Years At Meta](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/EX9563YnxcJb62cCmetg/case-study-mentoring-junior-swes-e3-to-senior-e5-in-just-25-years-at-meta/)

Maximizing a Severance Package 1/9 - Introduction

You are being laid off, getting fired, or just want to move on - learn how to get the best package as a part of your transition out of your company.

What's In the Course:

- The Law
- Termination Circumstances
- Never Accept on the Spot
- Preparing Your Case
- The Mind of the Manager
- Common Asks and Gives
- Can You Sue?
- Summary

##### [**Ethan Evans**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanevansvp/) is a retired Amazon Vice President, now sharing his leadership expertise. Ethan has reviewed over 10,000 resumes in his career, conducted more than 2500 interviews, and been part of several layoffs. These career growth courses are developed from his own knowledge and input from his extensive network of fellow coaches and executives.

- Connect with [**Ethan on LinkedIn**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanevansvp/)
- Taro members get a discount to join [**Ethan's Level Up community**](https://levelupwithethanevans.substack.com/taro25)

[Masterclass] How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech

Professional networking is vital for a healthy career, especially as a software engineer. However, many tech workers struggle with building relationships, especially introverts. In this masterclass, we teach you how to improve your interpersonal communication and build meaningful professional connections quickly, which might even make you some work friends along the way.

There were a ton of important points from this masterclass, so here's our Top 5 (in no particular order):

- **You're going to get burned, and that's okay** - Professional networking is just like making friends or dating: You will meet people where it just doesn't work out. Don't let that tear you down and make you cloister up. Move on from those relationships and continue investing in new people.
- **Make them feel special** - Asking someone for a huge favor with some copy-paste message isn't networking: It's begging. The classic example is cold messaging random people for referrals into their FAANG company. If you want any chance of success with a reach out, make sure to deeply explain your background and credibility alongside why you reached out to that specific person in particular - Put them on a pedestal.
- **Understand their incentives** - One of the biggest reasons people fail with networking is that they're entirely caught up in what *they're* looking for, reducing their networking to "*How can I get this other person to give me what I want?"*. Successful relationships are those where each party is able to provide lots of value to one another, and the first step to doing that is to understand what the *other* person wants and what motivates them. When it comes to networking within a company, this is usually tied to what they get rewarded for in performance review.
- **Lead with kindness** - Only helping others when they have already helped you is a recipe for weak, slow-growing professional networks. Kindness is 10x more valuable in building up a relationship when it's unexpected, making the pleasant surprise of helping someone who's never helped you before especially powerful. For a deep dive into this concept (including a story about how Taro cofounders Alex and Rahul met), check out: ["How do you network effectively within a company?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/DwT9GtdYK9nwFV3a7jrU/how-do-you-network-effectively-within-a-company/)
- **Maximize 1 on 1 meetings** - 1 on 1s are the core engine behind deepening interpersonal communication, and that includes professional ones. Schedule a recurring 1 on 1 if possible with anybody you want to build a deep relationship with, and make sure to use that time well. Embrace [the art of the "Awkward 1 on 1"](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/xjeFRpp5YHxG9TTK8wjn/1-on-1s-are-the-time-to-be-awkward/) to share honest feedback, talk about how you're feeling, and learn who they truly are as a person. To learn more about this, watch this: [\[Masterclass\] How To Have Impactful 1 on 1 Meetings](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/FEK6JZqW2Jg3rdN9yeGn/masterclass-how-to-have-impactful-1-on-1-meetings/)

Related resources:

- [Alex's Guide To Effective Communication](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/hVdLQQzfslaYarLSCmmy/)
- ["How do I lead without authority?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/BWv3hFSELbn59mXJbkNB/how-do-i-lead-without-authority/)
- [What Makes A Truly Great Tech Lead](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/uHqZZ15SK19MatEvLSO6/what-makes-a-truly-great-tech-lead-a-vp-of-engineerings-perspective/)
- [Presentation Slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1TDdBRQTGc66T35PzB5SwcJ3HQci_csdy8mzKxQu3law/edit?usp=sharing)

Ace Your Tech Interview As A Software Engineer [Part 2] - Organizing Your Job Search

A lot of software engineers struggle on the job search because they're just randomly flailing around, drifting from interview failure to interview failure without learning from the overall process. This lesson teaches you:

- The surprisingly basic master plan every successful job search must follow
- How to fix a job search where you are failing to get interviews to begin with
- Actions you can take when you are failing to pass interviews
- What a healthy time spent looks like depending on whether you are trying to *get* interviews vs. trying to *pass* interviews
- How you can organize your job search and turn it into a well-oiled machine where you are constantly overcoming obstacles and improving

Tech Career Growth Videos

Our instructional videos provide software engineers with insights needed for career growth. Masterclasses go incredibly in-depth on a specific tech topic while case studies are real examples from established engineering leaders.