No it’s totally right. Going in cold is basically impossible. You have to be ready to regurgitate leetcode answers, “approved” system designs, STAR stories about your career that show various BS story arcs. And of course pretend like you’re not just regurgitating for… reasons. It’s all a bizarre cargo cult acting session at this point.
Big companies even send you a study guide these days ffs
Amazon sent me a study guide......I told the recruiter I'm going to pass.
Until, I don't have a job I'm not grinding leetcode. I also dislike people who refer to themselves as ex-faang. I really don't care.
I thought it was just the leetcode, but it's the behavioral questions and system design exercises, too.
Eh, I'm coming across as cynical. I'll be fine--I just wish we (as an industry) had a better system.