A Redditor who secured a job at FAANG reveals the ultimate hacks for acing interviews at any company:
Interviews and Got the Offer
Alright, so let's be real-FAANG interviews are more about playing the game than being the best engineer. I didn't grind 500 LeetCode problems, and I didn't have a perfect resume. Instead, I hacked the interview process by understanding how hiring actually works. Here's exactly what I did:
Step 1: Skipping the Black Hole (Cold Applications Are a Waste)
I never applied through company portals. They get thousands of applications, and ATS filters out most of them.
Instead, I targeted engineers and hiring managers on Linkedin and asked for referrals.
I kept my messages short and to the point: "Hey [Name], I'm really interested in [Team/Company] and l'd love to apply. I have [X years] of experience in [Relevant Skill], and I think l'd be a great fit. Would you be open to referring me?"
This got me multiple referrals in a week, and I went straight to recruiter screens instead of waiting in the void.
Step 2: Only Studying What Actually Gets Asked
Instead of grinding hundreds of LeetCode problems, I reverse-engineered the interview questions:
I searched Glassdoor, Blind, and LeetCode discussion forums for recent questions from my target company.
I found patterns-most companies ask the same 10-15 core problems repeatedly.
Instead of solving 500 random problems, I studied:
Top 30 questions per company (sorted by frequency)
Patterns, not solutions (e.g., "Oh, this is just a sliding window problem with a twist.")
Mock interviews on Pramp and with friends to get real-time feedback.
Result? I was solving interview questions in under 10 minutes instead of struggling through brute-force solutions.
Step 3: Finessing the Behavioral Interview (It's a Scripted Test)
FAANG behavioral rounds aren't about "personality" —they're looking for structured answers.
I prepped 5 stories using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) and adapted them on the fly.
The key? Always show impact with metrics. Instead of saying: "I helped optimize a backend service," " I said: "I optimized the backend service, reducing latency by 40% and saving $500K in cloud costs."
Biggest trick? If they ask about failure, always spin it into a win ("I learned X, and it led to Y success later").
Step 4: Exploiting the Hiring Process Loopholes
I timed my interviews strategically-companies move faster when they know you have other offers.
I sought out hiring events and "bar-raiser" systems (Amazon, for example, has bar-raisers who can override bad interviewers).
I built relationships with my recruiter-they have power to push through borderline candidates and help with negotiations.
Step 5: Offer and Negotiation Hacks
Once I had one offer, I used it to pressure other companies to move faster.
I acted slightly disinterested-companies chase candidates who seem in demand.
I negotiated hard:
"I love the opportunity, but my other offer is at $X-can you match or improve it?"
"| was hoping for a higher base/signing bonus to align with market rates."
Result? +$40K increase in total compensation.
The End Result?
FAANG offer with $300K+ total comp
Minimal time wasted on irrelevant prep
Less stress, more control over the process
Moral of the story: The FAANG hiring process is NOT a meritocracy-it's a game. If you know how to play it, you don't need to work twice as hard as everyone else. Just be smarter about it.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/leetcode/s/QLI6TgZK2O