My Personal Experience Working in Big Tech - How to Avoid the Stress

#career #webdev #beginners #productivity

Hi👋 I'm Juan, and probably as you already know if you have been reading my posts, I've been working at a new place for a couple of months now. I've joined a big tech company with more than 29,000 employees, and let me tell you, it hasn't been easy. For that reason, today I want to help you avoid not only the stress that I felt while entering but also once I got in. So if you are interested, prepare yourself and enjoy.

The Selection Process 💤

It's worth mentioning that this wasn't my first rodeo, but man! It's amazing how much the selection process can change from one company to another, depending on the size.

I was looking for a new job (I was already working somewhere else) and I encountered this company that is basically the biggest in my country and one of the biggest around the world (I have signed a confidentiality agreement, so I’ll avoid mentioning the name). I sent my resume, and only one week later, the recruiter contacted me. We scheduled an appointment for a personal interview, and after that, it was just a matter of time to get my first technical interview.

That's how I ended up in a meeting that took an hour and a half, discussing everything related to TS, JS, Functional Programming, and OOP. We also talked about React, Angular, and Vue (this was a senior frontend developer position). In total, I had four interviews and one code challenge. All the interviews required me to solve some code problems (nothing hard, especially if you read my last article on Algorithms and Data Structures).

After all that, which took about a month (mainly because I didn’t have time to do the interviews and had to reschedule), they got back to me, and I got in. And after that...

They Rejected Me

Yep, as you read. They told me that everything was awesome, that I was going to start, and just after a week of not having any response, they contacted me to tell me that they chose to go with another developer.

Damn! I was frustrated. They didn’t give me any explanation, and the feedback was all positive. Never in my life, not even with girls, had I felt so confused.

To my surprise, after another month, the same recruiter contacted me to tell me that there was another open position for a similar role. At first, I doubted it, but after the recruiter insisted, I reluctantly accepted. Despite my personal experience, all I had heard about the company was positive.

My Advice

These are some of the things that I would advise my past self from this experience and also things that I knew but are important to keep in mind.

1st - It’s Slow

Don’t expect it to be fast. It’s going to take time, no matter the size of the company.

2nd - Learn More About the Company

I knew nothing about the company when the recruiter first called me, except that they had good salaries, a gym in the office, and bowling 🤦.

3rd - Take Notes

Probably this is the best one. Obviously, you’ll have to prepare for your interviews, check common topics, and things that you may have forgotten. But besides that, always be ready to take notes about the things they ask you in the interview, especially the ones you don’t know or would answer differently. They’ll likely repeat in the future.

4th - Be Respectful

Always be respectful, even when they do something like rejecting you after telling you that you are the one. Keep calm; you may need them in the future, or maybe they’ll need you.

5th - Negotiate Your Vacations

Before signing anything, remember to negotiate your vacations. You’ll thank me later.

6th - Do Your Interview with Ease

If you feel like you need more help with your interviews, consider checking Programming Interviews Exposed.

We Are In - First Week 🥳

Great, I got in, and it’s my first week. I have a ton of meetings where they explain everything about the company structure and who to consult in every case.
I saw no code for almost a week, and the only thing I had to do was enter endless meetings with people explaining important things that I didn’t care about.

You may be asking why I’m explaining this, and it’s because I want you to know what your first week at a big-tech company is likely to be like. I won’t spend much more time on this because there isn’t much to say here.

My Advice

The first week was simple, but I made a ton of mistakes this week.

1st - Pay Attention

OMG! I hate meetings, like any other human being. But you know what I hate more? Getting information that I’m not looking for. Because of this, when they were explaining the company structure, the people to consult, and many other important aspects for the future, I didn’t pay attention. Due to that, weeks later, I didn’t know what to do with my paperwork or my doubts.

So next time, pay attention and take notes about everything and save the presentations.

2nd - Do Your Paperwork!!!

Another thing we all hate: paperwork and bureaucracy. It’s a big company with great benefits, so don’t expect it to be without bureaucracy or tons of paperwork. Follow my advice and do it as soon as you receive it.

Take advantage of this first "free week" that they give you because you won’t have a better opportunity to finish all this, and more will come.

A Month In 🆘

A month went by, and I was completely lost. I was doing some tasks, sure, but I didn’t understand the project structure. The number of repositories was ridiculous, and every time I needed to start a new task, it was a pain. So I decided to systematize the process that I had been following to solve each task.

My Advice

1st - Consider the Investigation

You are new; you know little to nothing about the project. You’ll need to explore, ask, collect information, and only then will you know what you are dealing with. Take that into consideration when your manager asks you for a time estimation. Stay accountable and deal with the investigation as soon as you can. After that, you’ll be able to focus.

2nd - Find the Right People

One of the easiest and most powerful soft skills you can develop is knowing who the right person is for every problem. If you master that, you’ll be able to ask and execute, solving problems way over your head and learning a ton during the process.

3rd - Know How to Ask

Finding the right person can be complicated, but there’s a trick. Find the highest person in charge that you can reach and ask, "Who do you think is someone who can help me with this?" Go to that person, briefly explain what you need, and always add something like, "{Person who gave you their name} told me that you are the best person to help me." This always makes everything smoother, appealing directly to their ego. Finally, if that is not the right person, you can always ask if they know someone who can help you, and you repeat this recursive process.

4th - Find Your Place

Pay attention to what you are learning and what you do better than your peers. Probably the intersection between those things is the place where you can get the most out of yourself. For example, I’m really good at refactoring code, and I love doing it. I also like investigating; it makes me feel like a detective. So the best place for me now is solving defects.

The End

I hope you found my post useful and entertaining. Did it help you in any way? Yes 🥳, amazing. Did you know that you can help me? If you want to know more, click on the green button 👇.