How Alex Got Into Meta With 0 Prior LeetCode Experience

[Masterclass] How To Learn Quickly In Tech

Related resources:
- ["How do I identify the core things to learn when picking up a new tech stack?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/0VfjTWl2gxCKS0PRHpRT/how-do-i-identify-the-core-things-to-learn-when-picking-up-a-new-tech-stack/)
- ["What’s the most effective way to switch domains in tech?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/eFr9vsyTSiYLCbtsj7RR/whats-the-most-effective-way-to-switch-domains-in-tech/)
- [Presentation Slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1C0RYphpovijVp8s3JVjG9iYFT6hgPJNHabIeP8WF7V4/edit?usp=sharing)

You Should Be Vulnerable With Your Manager

You are feeling burnt out at work. Should you share this with your manager?

You feel like you are slower than your other teammates and are afraid that you look bad amongst the team. Should you share this with your manager?

Your dog just died, and you are having a really tough time concentrating at work because of this. Should you share this with your manager?

Core points:
- Your manager is responsible for your performance at work. Therefore, it's in their best interest to help you resolve anything that is negatively affecting your work performance, even if it's something non-tactical.
- If you are having a deeper issue (e.g. you have imposter syndrome), this is something you should talk with your manager about. You shouldn't expect them to act as a full psychologist, but they should at least be receptive of your problem and lend an understanding ear.
- Venting and complaining are very natural and can act as a therapeutic exercise. Don't be afraid to do this with your manager once you have a good enough relationship.
- This gets easier over time. Once you start being honest and more transparent in your manager meetings, the trust between you two increases, making it smoother to continue being open in the future.

This video is a clip from our masterclass about 1 on 1 meetings, which you can watch here: [[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:
- [1 on 1s Are The Time To Be Awkward](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/xjeFRpp5YHxG9TTK8wjn/1-on-1s-are-the-time-to-be-awkward/)
- [[Masterclass] What Software Engineers Should Look For In Their Engineering Manager](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/oeY7ncZhzJ5NO6dij5e7/masterclass-what-software-engineers-should-look-for-in-their-engineering-manager/)

Do This To Stop Wasting Time In Your DSA Interviews

True or false: You should tackle the easiest, most trivial parts of a data structures and algorithms problem first, just to get it out of the way and boost your confidence.

True or false: A lot of the time, the interviewer won't care if you don't code out every single piece of the entire solution.

Why shouldn't you prioritize writing the simple utility methods your overall solution needs?

True or false: If you are 100% confident that your solution doesn't have bugs, just tell your interviewer you are done and kick the conversation back to them to save time and move on to the next problem.

You can save a lot of time during your data structures and algorithms interview by not having to write any utility functions.

Related resources:
- [[Taro Top 10] Effective Interview Prep](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/HLBYxJI7D1j8STolrwum/)
- [[Taro Top 10] Finding A Tech Job](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/E6R0wVJ5EyCfVnVrlfno/)

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome - You Have So Much More Value Than You Realize

One of the biggest factors holding software engineers back is a simple one: They don't believe in themselves. This is very common in the tech industry where being surrounded by talented peers makes it very easy to end up with a case of imposter syndrome. This video explains why every single person in tech is wrong when they believe they can't add value.

Here are the core points from the video:
- **You can't be alive for 20+ years and not have something to share** - 2 decades is a long time. A lot of people don't believe they can share value when they're early in career, which completely discards all their years prior to their career. It's not like you only started generating value in the world after you embarked on your tech career journey. It is mathematically impossible to have been on planet Earth for so long and not have something cool you can share with others.
- **Believe in yourself** - You are limited by what you think of yourself: If you don't believe that you can offer value, then you won't offer value. The absolute first step to successful networking is recognizing your own potential and feeling empowered to help others.
- **Accessible ways that *anyone* can add value**
  - Interesting experiences
  - Odd talents
  - Learnings from failure
  - Being a friendly face

Related resources:
- ["How can I bridge my confidence gap to put myself out there more and ask for help more aggressively?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/mLKUkNXpLcCxQMfWopqU/how-can-i-bridge-my-confidence-gap-to-put-myself-out-there-more-and-ask-for-help-more-aggressively/)
- ["I've felt imposter syndrome from seeing super talented peers - How do I deal with this?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/MPUkGXFDaBixmxfjOg9i/ive-felt-imposter-syndrome-from-seeing-super-talented-peers-how-do-i-deal-with-this/)

Questions You Can Ask To Evaluate An Engineering Manager

Here are some questions you can ask to engineers on a team to evaluate the engineering manager:
1. How has the manager been able to grow you? How clear is their advice? 
2. Is the team more on the stable or thrashy side? 
3. What has the team struggled with historically? 
4. What has the manager done to uphold work / life balance (WLB) and minimize burnout?

Here are some questions you can ask directly of the manager: 
1. How do you prioritize tasks and projects within your team? Can you walk me through your process for making those decisions?
2. How do you handle conflicts or disagreements among team members? Can you provide an example of a time when you successfully resolved a conflict within your team?
3. How do you ensure that your team members are growing and developing in their roles? Do you have a process for providing feedback and setting goals with team members?
4. How do you measure the success of your team and your individual team members? What metrics do you use?
5. How do you balance the needs of your team with the needs of the company? Can you provide an example of a time when you had to make a difficult decision that balanced those competing interests?
6. How do you stay up-to-date with new technologies and industry developments? Do you encourage your team members to do the same?
7. How do you foster a culture of collaboration and communication within your team? Can you provide an example of a successful collaboration within your team?
8. How do you handle failure or setbacks within your team? Can you provide an example of a time when your team faced a setback and how you supported your team through it?
9. How do you ensure that your team is delivering high-quality work on time? Do you have a process for reviewing and testing code?
10. How do you prioritize work-life balance for your team members? Do you encourage them to take breaks and disconnect from work outside of working hours?

This video is a clip from our masterclass about how to find a good engineering manager. You can watch it here: [[Masterclass] What Software Engineers Should Look For In Their Engineering Manager](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/oeY7ncZhzJ5NO6dij5e7/masterclass-what-software-engineers-should-look-for-in-their-engineering-manager/)

Figuring Out The Best Company To Join As A Software Engineer

- **Follow The Talent You Know**
  - One of the best things about the tech industry is how full it is of extremely talented people, and you probably know some of them. In particular focus on those who are both talented and have a strong degree of integrity.
  - For the people you truly respect in your network, you should seriously consider the companies they go to as options. After all, if a company met the bar of these great people, it's probably pretty good!
- **Understand A Company's Strengths And Match Against Them**
  - Different companies have different core cultural values, and it's really important for your values and theirs to align. When this alignment isn't there, it's far too easy to go somewhere, work very hard, and not achieve much impact or career growth.
  - Examples: Amazon's leadership principles, Netflix's emphasis on freedom and responsibility
  - To find out what the culture is like at other companies, consult your network and [ask within the Taro Premium community](https://www.jointaro.com/membership/)!

Related resources:

- [\[Masterclass\] 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/)
- ["What's the best way to think about a team switch?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/NwXACx0n3JniBETi3f1E/whats-the-best-way-to-think-about-a-team-switch/)
- ["What questions can I ask a potential new team?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/dLS6KcDwKNdMDlJwYdBw/what-questions-can-i-ask-a-potential-new-team/)

The #1 Thing To Remember With Meetings

Which is the core principle you have to remember with meetings?

True or false: It is safer to just keep attending a meeting series, even if you are not clear exactly what value you are getting from it.

You have a meeting series where there is always action, but there is usually an awkward portion at the end where people run out of topics. What should you do?

True or false: When in doubt of a meeting's value prop, just delete it. You can always bring it back later.

You have a 1 on 1 meeting series, and by the time of the meeting, you feel like there are a lot of issues that you two are getting to too late. What should you do?

Software engineering is a inherently collaborative exercise, so every tech company is going to have meetings. The tricky part as a engineer is figuring out how to use them effectively: Navigating meetings incorrectly leads to mountains of wasted time.

Here are the key points from the video:
- Meetings are *extremely* expensive as it's the most valuable resource people have: Time.
  - This is why you need to be very aware of how productive meetings are for you. Don't just go to them blindly because you are on the meeting invite - This is a common failure mode for earlier-in-career  engineers.
- If a meeting has value but isn't fully efficient, consider lowering the frequency or length of the meeting.
- Reflect on the value of every meeting, especially team meetings since they suck up the most time.
- *Lean towards deleting meetings or not attending them* - If you're unsure what value you got from a meeting, there's a good chance the meeting isn't actually helping you.
  - You can always run an "experiment" here. Remove the meeting from your calendar for a week and see if anything breaks - If the lack of alignment gets bad, you can put the meeting back.

Here's the [full 1-hour masterclass on having impactful 1:1 meetings](https://link.jointaro.com/qrBzkp1s8Yfscc2p9), which is where this clip was taken from.

Related resources:
- [Effective Communication Course](https://link.jointaro.com/kWQkRyRhLqbTWBty7)
- ["How can I be more active in meetings and earn the respect of senior engineers?"](https://link.jointaro.com/eUdmzZqZUaJLugGV6)
- ["I have anxiety when speaking up in meetings - how do I overcome this?"](https://link.jointaro.com/1hfsgVf8EgmuBYbG7)

The Silent Killer Of Too Many Software Engineer Careers: Burnout

Burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling like you have too much to do. Most software engineers will encounter burnout at some point in their career. Four reasons you may hit burnout, and how to mitigate: 

1. **You can do your job anytime + anywhere.** Try to create some separation between work and home, or set deadlines for yourself. 
2. **Unlimited complexity.** A typical codebase will have too much complexity for one person to understand all of it. Instead, share with coworkers where you feel lost, and start small.
3. **Unclear roles.** There’s often ambiguity around things like handling support requests or maintenance. Try to create structure around this, and acknowledge that this work does exist. 
4. **Unclear communication.** For your work, over-communicate the bad news and refer to [this Taro session about communication](https://link.jointaro.com/6jdUd3ucPprEEVog6).

[Masterclass] How To Navigate Your Performance Review In Tech

The slides provide a great high-level overview of the entire session for your notes, so here's our Top 5 thoughts that aren't entirely in the slides:

- Not deeply understanding your company's performance review cycle is job suicide, especially in the current age of layoffs and stack-rank (the latter being perennial).
- If you're truly working at a top company, you shouldn't be promoted to the next level unless you have been functioning there for at least 3-6 months. Companies that don't do this tend to promote due to raw experience and have many incompetent people at senior+ levels.
- Always have a plan for your performance review, even if your goal is just to be average and survive. Work with your manager at the beginning of every cycle to create a clear and living expectations document.
- Be very deliberate about the peers you want leaving feedback for you on your performance review. Assemble that cast at the beginning of the cycle and start building those deep 1 on 1 relationships once you have done that.
- When you are asked to leave constructive feedback for a peer, flip the question from *"What did they do poorly?"* to *"How can they expand their scope?"*. This will become easier as you reach an L5 (senior) level and more deeply understand what each engineering level means.

Related resources:

- [\[Masterclass\] What Software Engineers Should Look For In Their Engineering Manager](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/oeY7ncZhzJ5NO6dij5e7/masterclass-what-software-engineers-should-look-for-in-their-engineering-manager/)
- [\[Masterclass\] How To Get Promoted Faster In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/W730BOdrfAIXAEVd8HUf/masterclass-how-to-get-promoted-faster-in-tech/)
- [\[Masterclass\] How To Have Impactful 1:1 Meetings](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/FEK6JZqW2Jg3rdN9yeGn/masterclass-how-to-have-impactful-1-on-1-meetings/)
- [Presentation Slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/142PsWRJ-fmdP42CrFpR0VD64L1qFP-6nPTmjk5g1DKM/edit?usp=sharing)

English Communication Is The Most Important Skill For Immigrant Engineers

The field of engineering is filled with immigrants. Silicon Valley is famously built from the creativity and hard work of immigrants around the world (China, India, Israel, and much more).

If English is your 2nd (or 3rd) language, only or mostly speaking your native language at work will hold back your career. Rachel talks about her misconception that communication skills weren't that important, and how to improve your speaking + writing.

If you want to get better at communication, check out our course: [\[Course\] Clear Communication For Software Engineers](https://www.jointaro.com/course/clear-communication-for-software-engineers/)

This thread is helpful too: ["How to improve my communication?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/omak9oOT4NJE9dhKeMZi/how-to-improve-my-communication/)

Signs Of A Healthy Manager 1 on 1 Meeting

- **Golden standard**: Weekly 30-45 minute meeting
  - Bi-weekly can be okay, but weekly is ideal. Anything less frequent than bi-weekly is a red flag.
  - This should be recurring and scheduled, not ad-hoc.
- The meeting should feel proactive instead of reactive.
  - Reactive 1 on 1s happen when the meeting has no agenda beforehand.
  - The discussion should be focused and talking about future themes for you and your career like growth and career goals.
- The meeting isn't purely tactical: This is a time for you and your manager to build trust and get to know one another.
- The time should feel "awkward". Some "awkward" areas include:
  - Honest feedback
  - Emotions 

Related resources:
- [1 on 1s Are The Time To Be Awkward](https://link.jointaro.com/kuS9keFuUwRJk9rSA)
- ["How do I help my manager (who is also my mentor) be a better manager and mentor?"](https://link.jointaro.com/72SzjBb9HW1S46Dx8)
- ["How do I create a growth plan with my manager/mentor and what should it include?"](https://link.jointaro.com/fude3eS1nJwcMSp9A)

Suppress Your Instincts And Treat All Feedback As A Gift

True or false: If you get a piece of feedback, you should initially assume good intent and that it is correct.

What should be your immediate reaction when you get a piece of constructive feedback?

True or false: If you get feedback that you do not believe is 100% correct, you should just ignore it.

Which of the following are good things you can do when you get a piece of feedback that you genuinely believe is not constructive and is phrased in a harmful way?

True or false: One of the most straightforward ways to grow in tech is to just immediately incorporate every piece of feedback you get.

- **Don't be defensive at all when receiving feedback unless it is entirely incorrect.**
- If you have taken the time to find a supportive team, the vast majority of feedback you receive (95%+) will be correct and have value.
- Feedback is a gift and arguably the greatest gift you can possibly receive for your career. *One of the most common attributes among top performer engineers is that they take and apply feedback extremely well.*
- Have empathy for the feedback giver. They probably feel a bit awkward as they're unsure how you're going to receive the feedback. Make them feel comfortable after they share the feedback by thanking them immediately and earnestly.
- Write down all great feedback you receive and try to convert it into action items:
  - **Example:** "I feel like you could be more active in meetings." -> I will try to say at least 1 thing in every team meeting from now on.
- If you get feedback you genuinely believe is incorrect and hurtful:
  - Talk to your manager if you don't have a good relationship with that person.
  - If you feel comfortable enough to talk with that person directly, have a crucial conversation.

Related resources:
- ["How can I find more opportunities to grow when I'm getting very little real feedback?"](https://link.jointaro.com/TzKmgN5nLnLyXJ5G6)
- ["Everyone's telling me I'm doing great - How do I get actionable, constructive feedback?"](https://link.jointaro.com/ng6MUQy2yUfS8w4e8)
- [Effective Communication Guide - Giving Feedback](https://link.jointaro.com/VsQvnzsnJbbXUQDy6)

How To Supercharge Your Resume As A Junior Engineer

What's the best way to juice up your resume after you have gotten the basics?

True or false: As long as you can code and have a polished resume, that is enough to comfortably find a job.

Why are side projects such an effective tactic?

True or false: You can get something extremely close to work experience without having a formal job, all from the comfort of your own home.

So many junior engineers struggle for a very simple reason: They haven't taken the time to build real software. In this video, we talk about how earlier-in-career software engineers in particular need to stop dancing around the core issue and just start writing the code.

Here are the core points:
- **Resume optimization only goes so far** - At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how well your resume is formatted. If the underlying material isn't good, you don't have a real portfolio. If you are looking for your first job, this means that you need to be creative with what you put in.
- **Use side projects to create your own experience** - You don't need a formal company and work experience to write practical code that matters: You can do it completely on your own as long as you have a decent computer and an internet connection. It is easier than ever before for anybody to deploy their own app or website, all for free.

Related resources:
- [[Masterclass] How To Write A Stellar Tech Resume That Gets You More Job Opportunities](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/OnQV2V3J8DYVBBuGbZx6/masterclass-how-to-write-a-stellar-tech-resume-that-gets-you-more-job-opportunities/) - The full video this clip was taken from, which includes a link to Alex's resume
- ["What technologies or stacks should I create a project to add in my resume for entry level software jobs?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/c0DiG5ureLbkZ1mKD9Rf/what-technologies-or-stacks-should-i-create-a-project-to-add-in-my-resume-for-entry-level-software-jobs/)
- [[Masterclass] How To Build And Grow Tech Products To 500k+ Users For Free](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/OEuX0KMhcnNSTJ50Voee/masterclass-how-to-build-and-grow-tech-products-to-500k-users-for-free/)

Ace Your Tech Interview As A Software Engineer [Part 1] - How This Course Works

Let's not mince words: Looking for a job as a software engineer is *brutal*. It is so easy to lose heart on the journey and stop believing in yourself. This video (and broader course) will solve that for you by giving you the tools to overcome any job search adversity and stand out from the hordes of other candidates. 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 he increased his TC (total compensation) by a whopping +800% across just 7 years and led thousands of engineers to interview success at top companies like Meta, Google, and Amazon.
- You'll understand why the existing landscape about interview preparation resources fails software engineers so miserably, particularly when it comes to data structures and algorithms (DSA) and LeetCode.
- We walk you through the course objectives. By the end of the course, you will understand how to organize your job search, learn interview skills properly, get job opportunities effectively, follow a framework to come prepared into any interview, and understand all the common software engineer interview round types.

If you want to learn how Alex cracked the FAANG interview, you can check out his story here: [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/)

Why Your Manager Sucks, And What You Can Do As A Software Engineer

Hate Data Structures And Algorithms? Turn It Into A Habit

Set aside 30 minutes, 2-3 times a week, to build a regular habit out of learning data structures and algorithms.

Related resources:
- [[Taro Top 10] Effective Interview Prep](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/HLBYxJI7D1j8STolrwum/)
- [[Taro Top 10] Finding A Tech Job](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/E6R0wVJ5EyCfVnVrlfno/)

Asking Questions Is NOT A Sign Of Weakness

Believing that asking questions and requesting help is a sign of weakness is easily one of the biggest misconceptions among onboarding software engineers and just people in general. If you believe this, you are simply holding back your career.

Here are the core points from the video:

- **Nobody knows everything** - And because of this, asking questions is a fundamentally human experience. There will always be some corner of the ecosystem that you don't know, and this is especially true when you work at FAANG / Big Tech, even if you're very tenured there.
- **Liberally pursue support** - This is especially true when you're earlier-in-career or new to a team or company. As long as you're polite, humble, and empathetic when seeking help, you'll be surprised at how much support you can get and how happy your team is to give it to you. Follow the advice here to learn how to ask questions in this way: ["How do you overcome the fear of asking stupid questions / bothering people when you need help?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/vNE8kgpx2zdI1wACg9jA/how-do-you-overcome-the-fear-of-asking-stupid-questions-bothering-people-when-you-need-help/)
- **Minimize the time that you're a n00b** - Let's say perception is a problem and people think you're annoying when you're asking for help as a new team member. It's much better to ask a *bunch* of questions in a short period of time and become very independent afterwards instead of asking a few questions here and there and prolonging the period where you're an inefficient newbie for 3-6 months and dragging down the team. The latter would be *much* more annoying.

Related resources:

- ["How do I not bother people when asking for help?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/0Im1Kcgso1fJ8eAX3oOO/how-do-i-not-bother-people-when-asking-for-help/)
- ["How do I balance being more independent and asking questions?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/cLsgiARaD5kVmV1BvdUi/how-do-i-balance-being-more-independent-and-asking-questions/)

How Base Salary Becomes Insignificant - Tech Compensation Archetypes

**Equity** is the primary reason that tech compensation is so high. Equity means your employer gives you ownership in the company as a portion of your compensation. The idea is that this incentivizes you to work harder to have the company perform well.

For most of Senior+ roles in US-based companies, equity will begin to dominate your pay. (This is the hallmark of a top tech company.) Some examples: 

- **For mid-level roles**, the equity in a company could be something like $20K - $100K / year. Senior engineers at top companies start to make almost an equal amount in stock as they do in base salary (cash comp).
- **For very senior roles**, the majority of the total compensation comes from equity. e.g. at the Director level, the ratio is around 2:1, so their base salary may be $270K/year, and their equity could be $500K/year.
- Compare this to a non-tech, old-school company like General Motors. The average pay for a Director of Engineering is $280K, which is great, but you could easily make that amount much earlier in your career within Big Tech. The reason for this gap is because General Motors is a lot more stingy when it comes to giving out stock to their employees.

Supercharge Your Professional Networking By Leading With Kindness

When people go into the professional world, they usually go in with a very cynical and cloistered mentality. This is very true among software engineers, but this mentality often holds them back when it comes to professional networking.

Here are the core points from the video:
- **Kindness is 10x more valuable when it's unexpected** - Because everyone has that more cynical mentality in the workplace, proactively being very kind to people that don't expect it builds up an immense amount of trust extremely quickly. By taking a chance on someone like this, you are short-circuiting the normally long and laborious process of earning trust.
- **You can "target" kindness tactically** - You don't need to waste a bunch of time being overwhelmingly kind to everyone around you. You should do it for people who are important to your workflow, those who you have observed being kind to others, and [those who would be valuable to your professional network in general](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/K1GyJ83GCVj7bfxytYrM/how-to-find-the-best-people-for-your-professional-network/).
- **Alex's and Rahul's Unexpected Kindness Story**
  - Rahul started at Portal a couple months after Alex did.
  - Portal was a very young org at this time with almost 0 onboarding infrastructure.
  - When Rahul joined, Alex still didn't really know what he was doing, but he knew more than Rahul did as he was brand new. Alex went out of his way to onboard Rahul smoothly, using his past struggles to make sure Rahul didn't hit the same pitfalls. This included a private doc Alex had been building up of the "tricks" he had learned while onboarding at Portal.
  - This unexpected act of kindness was the foundation for the relationship between Alex and Rahul, which has led them to cofound Taro!

Related resources:
- ["How do you network effectively within a company?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/DwT9GtdYK9nwFV3a7jrU/how-do-you-network-effectively-within-a-company/)
- [Don't Waste Your 1 on 1s. Build The Relationship](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/wcFrGc53iHzbWh0Ssw1j/dont-waste-your-1-on-1s-build-the-relationship/)

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.