How to Land an Interview at Google (and Other Top Tech Companies)
Tags: career, programming, beginners, codenewbie
Published: 2021-12-02 17:29:24

Landing an interview with Google is no easy task. But what about companies like Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple? If you want to work for any of these companies, you’ll need to land that interview.

The first step is identifying the right company to apply to. Once you find the company you want to work for, take a look at their website. What are they known for? What values do they have? How many people do they employ? Which department might be the best fit for you? After you figure out who your perfect target company is, it’s time to go about actually getting an interview with them.

There are three ways to get your resume in front of their hiring managers: 

##1) Apply for a job using their job board.
Some companies have an online application or job board with openings that you can apply to. You can search through the available jobs and choose the one you want to apply for. But be warned, not every company has a job board and not all of them are easy to find. So before you go this route, make sure it’s worth your time.

##2) Find a contact or recruiter at the company.
Applying to a company on their website is great if they have one, but some companies don't have an online application. If that's the case, then find someone who knows about the company and get in touch with them! This might be difficult because many companies don't have public contacts listed, but use your network – they'll probably know someone working there.

##3) Connecting during a hackathon or other event.
Some companies host hackathons or events where people can come in and present their ideas on how to improve their product or business. While these types of events are often low-interaction, sometimes the person organizing will remember you from your presentation and love what you're doing with tech!

Whichever route you choose, keep in mind that success comes from persistence. Sometimes, it takes 10-15 tries before someone responds back.

#Find the perfect company for you
One of the best ways to find the perfect company for you is to identify who your ideal job would be at that company.

For example, if your ideal job would be working on Facebook’s Ads Team, you know that their ads team works in Menlo Park, California. You can narrow down your search by looking at their website to see which departments are hiring and figure out which one might be a good fit for yours.

#Write a great resume
Your resume is the first and most important step to getting an interview with a company. You should put your best foot forward, so make sure your resume is polished before you hit send.

Here are some tips for creating a successful resume that will help you land that interview:
* Make sure your personal information doesn't stand out. It's easy for recruiters to spot resumes that don't match the company's standards. For example, if you're applying for an office job, don't list your previous experience as a stripper in Las Vegas or as a busboy at a restaurant when you were 12 years old.
* Make sure the formatting is neat and professional looking—don't use Comic Sans!
* Keep it concise; there's no need to go into too much detail about yourself on your resume. 

The most important information should be on the top of your resume.

#Find the right person to contact
In order for you to land an interview with a company, you'll have to contact someone who can place an interview for you. This person should be someone who is directly related to the hiring department--for example, if you are applying for an engineering job, find out if there is a recruiter for that specific department.

The best way to get started is by looking on the company's website to see which departments might be interested in your qualification and skill set. If there is no hiring manager listed on their website, look around their social media accounts or check out their annual report to see who is involved with hiring.

If you're still not getting any response, keep trying different people at the company until one of them helps you out. When they do help you out and give feedback, leave them a thank-you note or tweet that appreciation back!

For more information about how important it is to target the right company and how finding this person will make all the difference in landing your dream job, read this article: https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/choose-a-company-then-a-job/

#Apply for jobs online
There are many job boards out there, but what company should you apply to?

That depends on your qualifications and the company that you want to work for. If you're applying for a job at Google, Amazon, Facebook, or Apple, then you'll need to apply to their job boards. 
Here are some of the job boards for tech companies:
* [Angel.co](https://angel.co)
* [Dice.com](https://dice.com)
* [StackOverflow Jobs](https://stackoverflow.com/jobs)
* [We Work Remotely](https://weworkremotely.com/)

_If you have more, be sure to mention it in the comments!_

Before you start trying to find the right company for your resume, create a copy of your resume that is tailored specifically for each company. That way when you go on their site and see which jobs they have available, you can quickly filter through them based on what the company is looking for.

#Network by attending events and conferences
If you really want to land an interview with your target company, it helps to attend events and conferences that they are in attendance at. To find out what events may be coming up, try searching the company's website or social media pages. Once you have a list of events, start contacting event organizers to see if you can get a chance at the interviews that will be held there.

Once you get an interview, another important thing is to make sure that during the interview process, you build that personal connection with your interviewer. If you build a good personal connection with them, they’ll remember your name and might make sure your resume has a second look from someone else in their department.

Here are some of the resources hackathons and events that you can attend, show off your skills and make your connections!
* [M Hacks](https://mhacks.org/)
* [Hack MIT](https://hackmit.org/)
* [Google Developer Events](https://developers.google.com/events)
* [Google Hashcode](https://codingcompetitions.withgoogle.com/hashcode/)

_If you think I missed something that should be added here, be sure to mention it in the comments_

As long as you do all of these things correctly, it should not be too hard for you to land an interview with Google! (or any other company for that matter!)

#What should you prepare for your interview?
If you are interviewing with a large company, it is important to prepare for the interview. You want to make sure that you present yourself in the best possible light and make the best impression on your interviewer.

Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Know what questions they might ask - Practice answering them - Research their company - Prepare a list of questions you want to ask them.
- Know data structures and algorithms, they are the most important part of the interview, if you do not know data structures and algorithms you will not be able to answer their technical questions. So it's best that you are prepared!

##Here are a few data structure and algorithm questions (asked by Google themselves!)
* There is a list of numbers and a number k given. You have to return whether any two numbers from the list add up to make it equal to k [practice online](https://judocoder.com/try/challenge/Add-up-to-make-equal)
 
* Two arrays and an element x is given. Find the element that would be at the xth position of the final sorted array [practice online](https://judocoder.com/try/challenge/X-th-Element)

* An array of integers and a number k are given, where 1 <= k <= length of the array. You have to return the maximum values of each subarray of length k [practice online](https://judocoder.com/try/challenge/return-the-maximum-values-of-subarray)

#Conclusion
The tech industry is booming and pays well. It's also a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. If you're considering the tech industry, you should know that there are many ways to make good money in this field, especially if you work for one of the companies listed above.

You can make anywhere from $80,000 to $180,000 in the tech industry even if you are just starting out (and not to mention the perks and stock options that come along with it!).

So if you are interested in working at top tech, make sure you are prepared for a technical interview.

The good news is, [JudoCoder.com](https://judocoder.com) provides handpicked selection of all sorts of [data structures and algorithm questions](https://judocoder.com), most of these questions have been asked in a real interview!.

I would suggest you create a free account at judocoder.com and start practicing your skills. You will be prepared in no time!..
No matter what you do, make sure you practice! You'll be happy you  did when it's time for your interview.

Let me know what you think? Can you land an interview at top tech companies using these tactics? Let me know your comments. I would love to hear what you have to say!