UPDATE: Maddy Zhang, a former Google engineer, has just revealed five critical tips for landing a job at leading tech companies, including Google, Airbnb, and others. In a recent episode of the podcast “A Life Engineered,” she underscored the fierce competition job seekers face in today’s market.
Zhang, who spent over four years at Google and has also interned at tech giants like Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft, shared her insights on how candidates can boost their chances of employment in the competitive landscape of Big Tech. She emphasized that applying immediately after job postings are live is essential. “If you wait a day, probably there’s going to be hundreds of applicants for it,” Zhang stated.
The urgency in her advice is palpable—Zhang warns that it’s an employer’s market right now. With many roles attracting numerous applicants within hours, quick action is crucial. Data from LinkedIn confirms that job seekers who respond to employer messages within 24 hours are 4.1 times more likely to secure a job and 6.7 times more likely to land an interview.
One of her most crucial recommendations is to seek a referral from a current employee. Zhang noted that her friends who applied with referrals experienced a significantly higher success rate. However, she cautioned against asking just anyone: “If you don’t actually have a connection with them, it’s not going to help,” she said.
The next step in the process involves excelling in technical interviews, a hurdle many candidates find daunting. Zhang highlighted the importance of using tools like LeetCode for preparation, despite its challenging nature. “It’s a necessary evil,” she remarked. She advised aspiring engineers to work through a balanced mix of problems—easy, medium, and hard—and to not merely look at solutions when stuck but to retype and run them to truly understand the concepts.
Zhang’s experiences challenge the stereotype that only graduates from elite universities succeed in Big Tech. She reassured listeners that many of her successful peers attended state schools or community colleges before transferring. “As you progress forward in your career, your school matters less and less,” she said.
Despite a strong application and thorough preparation, Zhang emphasized the reality of job rejections. “It’s a numbers game,” she explained, revealing that she faced hundreds of rejections early in her career. Her resilience is inspiring: “Rejection is nothing on who you are as a software engineer,” she said, reminding candidates that external factors often influence hiring decisions.
These insights come at a pivotal moment for job seekers in the tech sector, as competition intensifies and many are looking for guidance to navigate the application process. Zhang’s tips are not just advice—they are a call to action for anyone aspiring to enter or advance in the competitive world of technology.
For those looking to improve their chances, Zhang’s insights serve as a timely reminder that preparation, quick action, and resilience are key elements to success in landing a job in Big Tech.
