Landing a full-time job or an internship at big Tech firms is the dream of every passionate engineering student. Big tech firms in India, such as FACEBOOK, AMAZON, APPLE, GOOGLE, WINDOWS and UBER primarily visit only elite institutions in India for lucrative roles. If you don’t belong to any of those premium institutions, don’t get disheartened. You can still get in. But before you step in, have a positive mindset. It is all about hard work, discipline and the right action plan.
According to a publication by Business Today, some of the top tech firms in India are already planning to expand their hiring in upcoming years as they anticipate a strong rebound in terms of growth. So the question is, are ready for upcoming opportunities?
If you are in your initial months of college it is the best time to clear all your doubts and acquire knowledge that can help you have a clear roadmap for your career. Most of the students do not even start preparing for such jobs due to the stigma attached to the selection process.
It will surprise you to hear that there are people who have made it to Google without a college degree. Firms like Facebook, Google, and Amazon do not hire people because of grades or tier of college but love for their work.
Further, the reward of working for such companies is undoubtedly very high and so is the pressure and the job does require a certain level of mettle. Therefore we recommend you first have an honest self-reflection about your skills, commitment, and passion.
If you have all 3 of the former let’s begin!
THE PROFILE
This is the first and foremost question that pops into one’s head. And one needs to stand out in aspects that are valuable to these companies. You need to have a clear understanding of what these aspects are and how much weight each one carries.
To elaborate this further we have divided this section into 5 parts:
Academic grades
Having good grades is nice. But contrary to conventional hiring practices, these tech giants don’t care about your marks. All you need is to be good at what you do.
Keawe Block, a googler who hires engineers, says, “we don’t care if you have a 4.0 GPA, and we’re not interested in whether you can figure out how many golf balls fit inside a bus.”
Work Experience
If you do not belong to a top-tier college, aiming for an internship at these MNCs as a first work ex can be a bit unrealistic, though exceptions do exist. Rather, we would recommend you to have a few years of experience before applying at these big firms. This would help you to better understand the challenges and requirements of the industry.
If you are a college student then working for a good startup is the best option. And that too not for any startup, make sure that you get a role that checks your command over a skillset and brings challenges over your desk. It is important to check the profile of the team and what problems they are trying to solve and how. See if that work is matching your plans and goals.
Once you have a clear vision, you can start applying on various platforms. To have experience in startups you can apply at MyWays dashboard. We partner with various startups to help students get quality experience in tech fields. And the best part is, we recommend you to recruiters based on your profile. Start exploring more by uploading your resume here.
Getting selected for a quality role at these startups can also be a big challenge because of the competition. Therefore we recommend you to brighten up other remaining aspects of your profile viz. Hackathon and Projects
Hackathons
Hackathons are online competitions to enhance your coding skills. The quality of coding problems are Industry level and based on real-life problems. This gives an edge to your preparation. Winning a prestigious hackathon is something that these tech giants look for in their candidates.
You need not get scared by the difficulty of these hackathons. Experts recommend starting from the very basic ones. Slowly, with practice, you get better. You can take part in hackathons from beginner to advanced levels. To see which hackathons will be best for you, click here.
Personal projects
Personal projects are the best way to show how innovative you are. You must have some workable projects. For instance, a gaming application you made is available in the play store.
Also, regularly following these companies and making projects using technology that these companies are already working with or are planning to work with will surely give you an edge. For example, Facebook has its page where they post about their current projects, accomplishments, and work culture. This would also give you an ocean of insights about your dream company, which would come in handy when you clear for your interview round at these big firms.
But make sure it is working. Simply writing a code is of no use. Developing something that solves real-time problems ranks you higher than your fellow counterparts.
To get inspiration for your first idea you can visit here
Resume Format
Once you start your journey we would recommend you start preparing individual resumes for each job that you are aiming for. This is particularly for 2 reasons, first, it helps you to keep track of your progress, second, it helps you to start learning about how to prepare a powerful resume.
Quality resumes are concise and accurate. Firms don’t demand a four-page resume. You must write genuine data, which is relevant to the job you apply for.
As it is well said by Jeff Reynar, who is a directing engineer at Facebook.
Below are some points that you must take include in your resume:
- Before you make your resume, recollect all your work experiences along with your designations and job descriptions, and add in chronological order.
- Get brief about your projects, the challenges you faced, and the results.
- Mention, if you have managed a team, discuss your scope and roles, challenges, and learning outcomes.
- In case you don’t have prior work experience or you’re a recent graduate, Focus on the projects you have worked on in college to add value to your resume.
Our team here at MyWays frequently conducts FREE WEBINARS on HOW TO MAKE RESUME FOR TECH ROLES. You will get to interact with experts during this live webinar. To know the date and time of the next one you can follow us on Instagram or subscribe to our email list.
To know more about how Google hires you can also visit its blog ‘HOW WE HIRE AT GOOGLE’.
Now that you have got a clear idea of how to build a profile that competes well with others. Let’s explore how easy is the next step, which is how to make your resume visible to these firms.
HOW TO REACH OUT
There are multiple methods to get an internship/job in your target company. However, some ways are quicker, and others aren’t.
Online applications
Contrary to popular beliefs, applying online does work. Google and Facebook have repeatedly stated that they go through every resume that is submitted on their hiring portals. Thanks to the AI in hiring, which can scan and rank candidates based on keywords on the resume, companies like google can supposedly assess 2 million applications it gets each year.
The key is to assess what are the skills that are in demand. For that, you can follow different blogs, news, or companies’ hiring portals to see what profiles they frequently look for. You can check out the live openings in GOOGLE at https://careers.google.com/jobs/results/
How about referrals?
A referral is a smart way to get an internship in your desired company. Though it can be a difficult one. We can recommend you some tips you can use here
Join Open Source Projects
Google, Amazon, Facebook, and their rival firms collaborate with various government and non-profit organizations. Indulge yourself in these projects. You get to interact with various coordinators and field experts from these companies. which spikes up your chances for referrals.
College alumni and professors
Referrals are easier to get from people who have extensive networks. Be an active participant during your college days. Showcase your coding skills in various ways. Once you build the right contacts, you will get referrals.
Leverage online platforms
Nowadays, multiple online platforms can help you get a referral.
LinkedIn is one of them, and it is indeed the largest online network for professionals. It’s a great place to hire as well. We would suggest you try the premium version, as it would give you direct access to the inboxes of several recruiters.
Expertrons: it is an app in India where you get to interact with people who are already working in the firms you are aiming at. The purpose is to take guidance. Such peer-to-peer interactive sessions can easily get you a referral if you are a suitable match. Did you know that some of these companies give incentives to their employees for each successful referral that they make?
Now let’s move to the next and the final step.
THE INTERVIEW
Interview rounds at these firms can be very lengthy and some of them happen in stages and can take an entire day. As far as interview rounds at these are concerned, devote maximum time to learning technical skills. Well, you might already know the fact that most of the college curriculum is not up to the industry mark. Therefore, you might have to walk an extra mile ahead to find the right path.
They will rank you on your programming skills, data structures, and algorithms. Apart from coding skills, you must have conceptual knowledge about subjects like operating systems, DBMS, and computer networks.
Some people worry about the infamous tricky brain teasers that are asked in such interviews which is a hoax as Google answers to one of the questions on its forum:
Does Google still ask brain teasers in job interviews?
Google: “Nope. Our data showed that brainteaser questions didn’t predict how well someone would do on the job so we no longer ask them. Instead, we do work sample tests and ask structured interview questions.”
Moving forward, as far as your preparation is concerned, do not wait for the day when the company will call you for the Interview, rather we would suggest you start your preparation from today. We have curated a small list of sources that you can refer to
- Leetcode: an online platform you can practice and enhance your coding skills.
- Books: Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell.
- MyWays EPS: It is an excellent tool to know where you stand in the competition and what your strengths and weaknesses are. The test is designed as per the latest trends in the job market. You can assess yourself for fields such as web development, mobile app development, ML/Data Science, Software engineering, and DevOps.
- Forums: stack overflow, Reddit, Quora, Google groups, Hacker News.
Final Advice for the interview
Know Your Code well!
Technical rounds check the in-depth knowledge of candidates. You should get used to writing code on whiteboards or notebooks; it helps you to become a better programmer. Cracking a code is a must, what is more, important is how you did you reach the solution. If they ask, you must be able to explain the anatomy of your code.
Other Skills
There is not a single round that confirms your selection. Before in-depth technical rounds, there are chances you might be tested on other skills like problem-solving, analytical, and logical skills. It can include, online coding puzzles and quizzes., aptitude rounds, and small team projects.
Programming skills are not the only skills recruiters look for in a candidate. Personality traits hold equal value.
- You must be enthusiastic about your work!
People who are energetic for their work are always in demand. Higher productivity, no matter the hour, is a variant that differs a decent candidate from an exceptional one.
- A Cultural fit
A culturally fit individual is someone who can adapt to the employer’s core values and work accordingly. It is nothing but the desired skill set an employer looks for in a candidate.
- Communications Skills
Technical skills are of no use if you are not able to articulate the solution that you came up with. These firms seriously check you on your team skills and the way you communicate your idea. The best practice would be to participate more in team projects in your college or at your current work.
Getting into your dream company might time take. Don’t underestimate yourself and work fearlessly.
All the best!
