[Case Study] Hypercharging Your Growth At Early Startups (w/ Staff Engineer Seed Zeng)

[Click here for the presentation slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZocNUZJL-feWAKoucVLUcaVxix2Xa1udEL4KpgQRBTo/edit?usp=sharing).

There are a *ton* of great points covered in this session, so we'll only share our Top 5:
- **Startups have massive scope** - In an early-stage startup, there is always an infinite supply of hard, technically deep problems. This allows you to have a lot of freedom choosing an opportunity that works well for you and build up a wide breadth of important skills. This is almost always *not* the case in Big Tech - [Check out this expert career advice on the difference between Big Tech and startups when it comes to learning](https://link.jointaro.com/n57gbTWERveGTQuM9).
- **Don't say "I'm not qualified to work on this"** - The best software engineers are able to adapt to any situation their team faces and add value regardless of what framework or tech stack is needed. In order to do that, you must first flip this fearful mentality. [Here's our masterclass on how to learn quickly in tech](https://link.jointaro.com/S2h95sJvRU8Utjj6A).
- **Don't be afraid to make mistakes** - Recovering from a mistake is one of the most powerful ways to learn, and startups will generally have more tolerance for mistakes as stakes are lower compared to a more mature, massive public company where product issues can make the news. [Here's our advice on how to maximize your growth from mistakes](https://link.jointaro.com/THof1u97Z5t1ovCr9).
- **80% of the journey is just showing up** - Seek out important, complex situations and run towards them instead of away from them, especially with production issues. If you're earlier-in-career, you can learn a lot simply by being a participant in fixing these fires; from there, you can make yourself a core driver more and more. [Here's our advice on how you can be more independent debugging tricky technical problems](https://link.jointaro.com/xE8oMpCaDYjuMhCg7).
- **It's all about the people** - Your career growth is largely a product of the people you surround yourself with, and this is especially true in a startup where the team is small, bonds are deep, and everybody knows each other. [Here's our advice on how to network effectively within a company](https://link.jointaro.com/Hr1nr53D7sfQAEv3A).

To see (and hear) more from Seed:
- [Connect with him on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/seedzeng/)
- [Check out his podcast "Superposition"](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL3N1cGVycG9zaXRpb25zaG93L2ZlZWQueG1s?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwjot6up4Zf7AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&hl=en)

Related resources:
- [Session #6 - Maximizing SWE Growth: Ownership and Specialization At Startups](https://link.jointaro.com/2ZevbN54MPZPTocH8)
- ["What's the difference between Big Tech and startups in terms of learning and growth?"](https://link.jointaro.com/n57gbTWERveGTQuM9)

How to Crack System Design Interviews - Part 7: System Design Scorecard

This video explains how candidates are evaluated and scored in system design interviews at large tech companies. We learn about the scorecard used to assess performance across five key parameters:

- **Problem Scope:** This includes listing and clarifying product requirements, discussing user interactions and expectations, and considering system scale.

- **Technical Design:** This involves making appropriate design choices, leveraging design patterns, and demonstrating knowledge of relevant technologies.

- **Scalability:** This encompasses designing a system that can handle increasing amounts of data and traffic.

- **Reliability:** This involves ensuring the system is fault-tolerant and can handle failures gracefully.

- **Communication:** This includes effectively conveying ideas, actively listening to the interviewer, and incorporating feedback.

Each parameter is scored from 0 to 5, with a total score ranging from 0 to 25. A higher score indicates a stronger candidate, and the acceptable score range varies depending on the target seniority level.

[Gaurav Sen](https://www.linkedin.com/in/gkcs/) has conducted 1000s of system design interviews while working at Uber and building his [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@gkcs) to 500K+ subscribers. His platform [InterviewReady](https://interviewready.io/?_aff=JOINTARO) combines video explainers, live Zoom classes, and an automated System Design Judge.

Performance Bonus Explainer With Meta Senior Software Engineer [E5] Example

This video breaks down how **performance bonuses** work in the tech industry, focusing on their structure, key variables, and real-world examples—especially from companies like Facebook. It underscores how these bonuses are a significant portion of total compensation and are both performance- and timing-sensitive.

- **Performance bonuses are calculated using a base percentage** tied to level and salary, and then adjusted by two multipliers: individual performance and company performance.
- **Company performance multipliers vary**, often based on metrics like revenue or stock performance. For example, Facebook’s company multiplier was 90% in late 2017, despite its historically strong track record.
- **Individual performance multipliers** reflect how well someone met expectations (e.g., "meets all" equates to 100%), and strongly influence the final bonus amount.
- **Bonuses are only paid if still employed at payout time**, meaning even working a full half-year won't earn a payout if the person leaves before the bonus distribution date.
- **Payout examples help contextualize the numbers**: a senior engineer at Facebook with $62K eligible earnings, a 15% target bonus, and multipliers of 1.0 (personal) and 0.9 (company) would receive about $8,300—paid out roughly two months after the performance period ends.

Amazon Behavioral Interview [Part 2] - Tell Me About Yourself (Answer)

This video provides a glimpse into the speaker's diverse career journey.

- **Career Trajectory:** The speaker has a varied background, spanning finance, baseball analytics, marketing at American Express, and roles at tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Salesforce.
- **Focus on Customer:** The speaker emphasizes their consistent focus on the customer throughout their career, influenced by their time at customer-centric companies like Amazon and American Express.
- **Entrepreneurial Ventures:** The speaker founded Kadima, a business focused on helping underrepresented talent break into top tech companies, highlighting their passion for supporting others.
- **Return to Tech:** After exploring entrepreneurship, the speaker is seeking a return to the tech industry, driven by the need for greater stability and financial security for their family.
- **Amazon Opportunity:** The speaker expresses excitement about a potential opportunity at Amazon, recognizing the company's customer-centric approach and rigorous standards, aligning with their own values and career goals.

Learn more about Alan's job search program, Kadima Careers, using this [discount link](https://signup.kadimacareers.com/mQBsDvu).

From Layoff To Liftoff As An Immigrant - By Rashmi Kishore (Senior Intuit/Netflix SWE)

In August 2022, Silicon Valley engineer [Rashmi Kishore](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rashmi-kishore-software-engineer/) was hit with something too many of us are unfortunately familiar with: Layoffs. She lost her job at Netflix and was immediately put under time pressure to find new employment as she was on a visa.

Rashmi was able to overcome the odds, and she's now at Intuit. In this session, she talked about:

- Quickly picking up the interview game again to land an offer
- Managing the stress of the layoff atmosphere and immigration issues
- Handling the logistics of being on a visa in the US

For more help navigating layoffs, check out our curated playlist: [\[Taro Top 10\] Navigating Tech Industry Layoffs](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/pE7pP0nXDx4X7mOChzHS/)

Master The DSA Interview [Part 15] - Edge Cases

Too many engineers only care about the happy flow, but it is the easy thing to do. This lesson teaches you:

- Why handling edge cases is so important as an engineer, especially at FAANG
- The mindset you need to have to tease out edge cases systematically
- Common edge case scenarios for data structures and algorithms problems
- What a great edge case analysis looks like, explained with an in-depth example

Take the code quality course here: [Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/level-up-your-code-quality-as-a-software-engineer/)

Grow From Mid-Level To Senior Engineer [Part 8] - Fill In The Gaps

Senior engineers solve fundamentally different problems compared to mid-level engineers. This lesson teaches you:

- The expectation for senior engineer mindset and behavior when problems arise in a project they're working on
- The types of problems that mid-level engineers tend to avoid
- The types of problems that senior engineers uniquely solve compared to more junior engineers

Quick Tips To Get Higher Quality Code Reviews Faster

In this segment, we focus on how to **ramp up effectively and build trust through proactive code review habits**. By learning from past diffs, referencing previous work, and anticipating reviewer questions, we strengthen both our code and our relationships with teammates.

### Key Takeaways:

- **We study past code reviews to ramp up faster**: Reviewing recent diffs helps us identify codebase hotspots and learn how experienced teammates structure context, write test plans, and address feedback.
- **We reference prior diffs to preempt questions**: When making similar changes, we compare our approach to earlier ones (especially from tech leads) and explain why we took a different route—saving reviewers from needing to ask.
- **We proactively comment on our own code**: By flagging areas we’re unsure about and inviting feedback up front (e.g., naming choices or design alternatives), we guide reviewers toward the most relevant parts and show that we care about quality and collaboration.
- **We show respect for reviewer input**: Code review isn’t just about getting approval—it’s about listening. Ignoring thoughtful feedback undermines trust. We strive to acknowledge and incorporate suggestions to create a positive, team-first review culture.
- **We demonstrate maturity through initiative**: These habits—referencing historical context, asking for help, and valuing reviewer input—aren’t just tactical. They signal leadership and self-awareness, accelerating our growth and reputation on the team.

How to Crack System Design Interviews - Part 10: Preparation Resources

This video outlines resources and strategies to prepare for system design interviews. We can improve our performance by:

- **Building a strong vocabulary:** Familiarizing ourselves with key technologies and concepts (e.g., Amazon S3, Apache Kafka) helps us communicate ideas effectively and demonstrate practical understanding.

- **Developing theoretical knowledge:** We can gain a solid theoretical foundation through courses like Interview Ready, which covers high-level and low-level design concepts, design trade-offs, and other essential topics.

- **Gaining practical experience:** Mock interviews provide invaluable practice and build confidence for the real interview. Consider using free platforms or seeking discounts if available.

- **Utilizing online assessment tools:** If time is limited, leverage automated online judges to assess and reinforce understanding of system design components and their placement.

- **Prioritizing human interaction:** While online tools are helpful, prioritize mock interviews with experienced individuals for the most effective preparation and feedback.

A few tools mentioned: 

- Mock Interviews: [joinTaro.com/perks](https://www.jointaro.com/perks/)
- [Automated Design Judge](https://interviewready.io/question-list/system-design-judge/?_aff=JOINTARO)
- [General Resources for SD](https://interviewready.io/resources)

[Gaurav Sen](https://www.linkedin.com/in/gkcs/) has conducted 1000s of system design interviews while working at Uber and building his [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@gkcs) to 500K+ subscribers. His platform [InterviewReady](https://interviewready.io/?_aff=JOINTARO) combines video explainers, live Zoom classes, and an automated System Design Judge.

DSA Crash Course [Part 25] - Linked List Values Walkthrough

In this lesson, Alvin walks through the python implementation for the *linked_list_values* problem.

Code along and test your work in the following editor workspace: <https://structy.net/problems/linked-list-values?language=py>

If you need additional support taking these DSA skills and actually applying them, take [**Alvin's**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvin-zablan-b73a92117/) *complete* data structures and algorithms course on [**Structy**](https://structy.net/?utm_source=taro). You can try out the concepts yourself in their interactive code editor and learn advanced DSA patterns like stack exhaustive recursion.

Use [**this link to get 20% off**](https://structy.net/purchase?promo_code=taro20) the entire Structy DSA learning experience.

Follow Alvin on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvin-zablan-b73a92117/>

Maximize Your Productivity As A Software Engineer [Part 16] - Mentor And Delegate

Many software engineers are naturally lone wolves due to their introverted nature. While this can work out as a junior or mid-level engineer, it quickly becomes unsustainable as you reach senior/staff levels and beyond due to the immense workload. This lesson teaches you:

- Why being a lone wolf is terrible for your productivity
- The importance of uplifting others around you when it comes to getting stuff done
- One of the core virtues the best engineers have, which is particularly needed for mentorship

Here's Alex's Meta mentorship case study: [\[Case Study\] 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/?playlistId=oLssVMdTJ9NtX5SX1fek)

Managing ADHD as an Engineer

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is marked by an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development.

Handling ADHD as an engineer is hard. Juggling job demands, with everyday ADHD struggles, can feel overwhelming. But, you're not alone.

This collaboration between Shimmer and Taro explores the intersection of ADHD and Engineering. You'll see a live conversation between a Shimmer ADHD coach and their engineer client. Alex (coach) and Ashley (student) share how ADHD shows up in the engineering field, along with science-backed strategies to overcome common challenges. 

Some of the common presentations of ADHD: 
- Emotional regulation
- Procrastination
- Establishing routines

Ways to find and keep motivation: 
- Find your drive
- Break it down
- Create accountability
- Utilize external motivation

Energy and time management: 
- Know when your energy fluctuates
- Determine the level of cognitive effort for a task
- Use the minimum amount of cognitive effort necessary

Understand the front-end and back-end of procrastination: 
- **Front-end**: conditions must be perfect to get started, lack of direction/motivation, underestimating time needed
- **Back-end**: perfectionism, loss of novelty, fear of feedback, waiting for the final push

Get Shimmer through Taro Perks for a discount: [joinTaro.com/perks](https://www.jointaro.com/perks/)

Maximize Your Productivity As A Software Engineer [Part 15] - Live And Breathe Quality

One of the biggest myths in the tech industry is that in order to move incredibly fast, you need to sacrifice quality and do a mediocre job. This lesson teaches you:

- The dangers of cutting corners when it comes to engineering work
- Why having high code quality leads to you landing code faster
- Different ways for you to weave quality into your work for an immediate positive return on investment for your time

Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer [Part 21] - Non-Descriptive Names

Naming: It's important for your children but quite important for your code as well. When it comes to your variables, methods, and classes, you should put in the effort to name them properly. This lesson will teach you:

- Why descriptive, high-effort names can add up to add a huge amount of quality to a codebase
- How to identify a poor name in code and the common patterns leading to it
- How much time you should spend on each type of name and how to prioritize accordingly, particularly in code review feedback
- The mentality to convert bad names to good names in code with an in-depth example walking through a classic utility method

What's Often Overrated When Choosing Your Next Job

Here are the attributes we've generally seen software engineers prioritize too much when weighing career opportunities:
- **Product space** - This usually manifests as pursuing a tech trend (like VR or NFTs). Of course, if you're legitimately passionate about the space, go for it, but seriously ask yourself if you would be in this space if it wasn't regularly talked about.
- **Technical space** - Similar to product space, you can follow trends here. Choose a stack that you're legitimately passionate about, which also has the support network you need (very important for junior engineers). The risk with cutting-edge technology is that it often doesn't have a lot of mature teaching resources behind it (it's cutting edge for a reason).
- **Level/title** - Promotion is a decent and concrete career goal earlier on, but don't go to bad companies to maximize your title. At the end of the day, your level and title are just strings next to your name.
- **Compensation** - Money is genuinely important in almost all cases, but what a lot of people don't realize is that very high pay often comes with a catch (usually work-life balance). Try treating this as a lagging indicator - If you're genuinely growing fast as a software engineer, you will eventually
land an opportunity that is top-of-market (as you deserve).

This clip was taken from the following masterclass: [[Masterclass] How To Choose A Good Company And Team As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/0WEmTNZOMIh8xAdfO3JH/masterclass-how-to-choose-a-good-company-and-team-as-a-software-engineer/)

Related resources:
- ["How should I think about levels when it comes to evaluating jobs and in my career overall?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/siBFn9WmU204N6D0IRHZ/how-should-i-think-about-levels-when-it-comes-to-evaluating-jobs-and-in-my-career-overall/)
- ["I feel like senior engineers tend to focus on a specific area. How can I pick a specialization that's still relevant in 5-10 years?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/xFEhcvfbJ2P0pYzZ4r6f/i-feel-like-senior-engineers-tend-to-focus-on-a-specific-area-how-can-i-pick-a-specialization-thats-still-relevant-in-5-10-years/)

How To Discover Your Work Passions And Hatreds

Which of the following should you do to discover your work passion?

What of these is a legitimate, strong sign that something is a work passion for you?

- *Regularly take time to reflect on how much you enjoy your work, especially when you're earlier-in-career*.
- Write down everything you do. Here are some examples of common things software engineers do:
  - Writing code
  - Reviewing code
  - Meetings
  - Working with JIRA
  - Talking with cross-functional stakeholders
  - Fixing bugs
- Split all the items into 3 buckets:
  - Things you genuinely enjoy: Tasks/behaviors you are excited to do and can lose track of time doing them.
  - Neutral: Things you can do a good amount of, but in the end, you do it for work.
  - Chores: You *only* do it for work, and you actively try to minimize doing these as much as possible.
- From the top bucket (enjoyment bucket), try to craft your work life around that.

Related resources about soul searching and find your own path:
- ["I feel like senior engineers tend to focus on a specific area. How can I pick a specialization that's still relevant in 5-10 years?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/xFEhcvfbJ2P0pYzZ4r6f/i-feel-like-senior-engineers-tend-to-focus-on-a-specific-area-how-can-i-pick-a-specialization-thats-still-relevant-in-5-10-years/)
- [[Masterclass] How To Choose A Good Company And Team As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/0WEmTNZOMIh8xAdfO3JH/masterclass-how-to-choose-a-good-company-and-team-as-a-software-engineer/)

Master The Behavioral Interview [Part 9] - The Interviewer Isn’t You

One of the biggest mistakes software engineers make during behavioral interviews is not having empathy. This lesson teaches you:

- A crucial way to understand the goal of a behavioral interview
- How a lack of empathy leads to immediate tactical failure in behavioral interviews
- How you can use empathy to take in a non-confusing way

Write A Stellar Resume As A Software Engineer [Part 7] - It's Too Long

Having a resume that's too long is one of the easiest ways software engineers get their resume (and their job candidacy) immediately thrown out. This lesson teaches you:

- The optimal length for a resume
- Why shorter is better when it comes to resumes (and why very long resumes make 0 sense)
- How to convert your years of experience to a resume length
- Tactics to trim down your resume and make it more concise

Master The DSA Interview [Part 22] - The #1 Tool For DSA Prep

As a mainstay of the software engineering industry for 15+ years, data structures and algorithms have more than their fair share of online resources to help you learn it. This lesson teaches you:

- The #1, time-tested resource to learn data structures and algorithms
- The trap many engineers fall into when learning data structures and algorithms when it comes to tool selection
- How to organically expand LeetCode into the rest of your learning tree
- What to do when you get a FAANG interview

If you're interested in NeetCode, you get a discount on it with your Taro Premium membership. Redeem it here by using code TARO at checkout: <https://neetcode.io/pro?utm_source=taro>

Grow From Mid-Level To Senior Engineer [Part 15] - What's The Plan?

The best engineers act proactively instead of reactively, and this is critical for successful project execution. This lesson teaches you:

- The evolution in ownership of a project when it comes to a mid-level engineer vs. a senior engineer
- What a good project plan looks like

Check out the system design course for an excellent example of a master spec document: [\[Course\] Frontend System Design Masterclass - Building Playlists](https://www.jointaro.com/course/frontend-system-design-masterclass-building-playlists/)

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.