How to get placed in Product-based Companies (FAANG)?

Getting a job at product-based companies is a dream for many. The reasons for the same are the pay, perks, and prestige that the candidate receives while working in such companies. Product-based companies or FAANG is an acronym used in finance technology (or fintech) companies, that refers to five of America's leading technology companies such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google. Why do people run after these jobs?

• Good work quality and projects
• High CTC
• Good work-life and flexible hours

The shots at dealing with new tech stacks are extremely high as there will always be an extent of regularly improving the product. As the requirement of emphasis is more, so does the salary. In addition to this, one would get extensive learning opportunities. The better you work, the better your experiences will be.

Prerequisites of Product-based Companies

To get a job in FAANG, a candidate must have the following prerequisites for a product-based company:

• Strong foundational knowledge
• Good problem-solving skills
• Ability to properly use your knowledge and skills
• Culturally fit for the company/team

Tips to get into Product-based Companies

• Resume: Your resume should be short and must contain keywords that the job requires. Always check the job description before applying to such companies. Fill your resume with such keywords to get most of the attention from the recruiters. The main reason behind this is, the HR spends only 10-15 seconds on one resume while shortlisting candidates for an interview. Within these 10-15 seconds, if they get the desired job skills, they will shortlist your resume for the interview round.
• Linkedin: These days, Linkedin is the second-best recruitment tool. Making a good LinkedIn account and connections helps a lot in getting the desired job. Sometimes the recruiter shortlists profiles of suitable candidates from there.
• Skills: If you are fresher in the field with zero knowledge. You develop the required skills by learning Hackathons or taking some coding challenges on some good sites.
• Internships: If you have internship experiences, do mention them in your resume.
• Certifications: To get into product-based companies you should have problem-solving and system design skills. There are multiple online certifications courses available to elevate your skill. Online certification courses are easily available and can be completed from the comfort of your home. Additionally, these certifications will attract the recruiter’s attention and will make you stand out from other candidates.
• Data Structures and Algorithms: Almost every tech-giants like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Adobe conduct multiple interviews to evaluate applicants’ problem-solving skills and knowledge of data structures and algorithms. One should learn different algorithms and solve a lot of problems by using them. For having a command of Data Structures, you need to be well versed with the basics – Arrays, Linked Lists, Stack and Queue, Strings, and finding the Time-Space Complexity for the solutions.
• System Design: Systems design is the process of defining the architecture, product design, modules, interfaces, and data for a system to satisfy specified requirements. Systems design could be seen as the application of systems theory to product development. Knowledge of System Design will prove beneficial for students applying in FAANGs. There are various online System Design courses are available to prepare for your interview.
• National-Level examination: If you have appeared for any national level examination, mention your scores in the resume.
• How to apply: You can apply to these companies via consultancies, referrals, LinkedIn, Naukri.com.

Tips to crack interview rounds

Most of the product-based companies or FAANG have a similar kind of interview process which includes:

• Aptitude and Logical Reasoning Test: The aptitude test is basically conducted to filter out candidates from the crowd. As a huge number of candidates apply for the job profiles in these companies, this round helps in filtering out the good candidates for the next round.
• Technical Round: The second round, the technical round, is quite important as the interviewer checks the technical skills of the candidates for the desired job profile.
• HR Round: The last and final round includes the HR round, where the candidates come across things such as work pressure, coordination with co-workers, life in college, short term or long term goals, why do you want to join the organization, etc. Keep your mindset positive for this round and try to avoid negative thinking at this point.

Salary Structures of Product-based companies in India

The average salary structure of a Product Designer is INR 7.33 LPA in India. The salary structure of product-based companies varies according to their job positions and work requirements. Some of the salary structures of the product-based companies for various job profiles are mentioned below:

Salary Structure in India

All in all, having a clear idea about the hows and whys of the product-based companies will be an added advantage to get among the list of FAANG’s employees. Start building your skills and prepare to ace the interview.