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I'm an iOS engineer with ~5 years of experience. I just joined Apple. I'd competing offers from Amazon, Facebook, Lyft, & Twitter.
I'll share what I learned & how I did it.
(Note: "Top tier" companies aren't a measure of your personal worth. Also, this is what worked for _me_.)
I'll share what I learned & how I did it.
(Note: "Top tier" companies aren't a measure of your personal worth. Also, this is what worked for _me_.)
In preparing, I bucket four broad categories:
1. EQ ("emotional quotient") skills.
2. Classic whiteboard interview.
3. iOS specific — Swift language & app development.
4. System design. https://www.procurious.com/procurement-news/stop-calling-soft-skills
1. EQ ("emotional quotient") skills.
2. Classic whiteboard interview.
3. iOS specific — Swift language & app development.
4. System design. https://www.procurious.com/procurement-news/stop-calling-soft-skills
EQ skills takes the longest to prepare — years even. You can't, for example, cram for communication skills. I expect to be honing leadership for years. Etc.
Smattering of book recs:
"The Effective Engineer", "The Manager's Path", "Man's Search for Meaning", "Atomic Habits"
Smattering of book recs:
"The Effective Engineer", "The Manager's Path", "Man's Search for Meaning", "Atomic Habits"
For the whiteboard style algorithms interview I used http://LeetCode.com & @algo_expert. Also, http://Pramp.com for mock interviewing. Be strategic in how you prep — focus on arrays one week, binary trees another week, etc. It's all about consistency.
For the Swift language, honestly the official docs are great. https://docs.swift.org/swift-book/LanguageGuide/TheBasics.html
For a deeper dive, I recommend @objcio's 'Advanced Swift'. https://www.objc.io/books/advanced-swift/
For a deeper dive, I recommend @objcio's 'Advanced Swift'. https://www.objc.io/books/advanced-swift/
Practice making simple apps within a time limit (~1-4 hours). There's honestly a lot of design & implementation overlap. (Hence, MVC.)
Examples:
- A photo browsing app (eg. Instagram)
- A Todo app
- A shopping app (eg. Product selection & checkout0
- A Tinder-style dating app
Examples:
- A photo browsing app (eg. Instagram)
- A Todo app
- A shopping app (eg. Product selection & checkout0
- A Tinder-style dating app
I really enjoyed this video about architecture & system design interviews.
You'll want to showcase:
- Edge case coverage (or, at least, noticing)
- Scalable solutions
- Clear communication
- How to make effective tradeoff decisions
You'll want to showcase:
- Edge case coverage (or, at least, noticing)
- Scalable solutions
- Clear communication
- How to make effective tradeoff decisions
Additional notes:
- Schedule interviews within a 1-2 week window for ease of negotiation.
- If you even _think_ you might want to change jobs. Start preparing _now_. Interview prep takes a lot of time.
- Reach out to people. It doesn't hurt to ask & people usually like to help.
- Schedule interviews within a 1-2 week window for ease of negotiation.
- If you even _think_ you might want to change jobs. Start preparing _now_. Interview prep takes a lot of time.
- Reach out to people. It doesn't hurt to ask & people usually like to help.
- Continually keep you're LinkedIn & résumé up to date! Maybe every 6 months or so. It helps keeps you honest about how your career is progressing & what your accomplishing.
- Interviewing is messy. You can bomb one & then do fantastic on the next. Be kind to yourself.
- Interviewing is messy. You can bomb one & then do fantastic on the next. Be kind to yourself.
Here’s I tweet about my “Lessons from 5 years of iOS engineering experience.” https://mobile.twitter.com/Andi_Rohn/status/1350299906183860226
Here I write about technologies to stay relevant as an iOS engineer. https://mobile.twitter.com/Andi_Rohn/status/1378861859055407108
Junior & aspiring devs this is for you!
Tips on résumé writing so you can actually get that interview. https://twitter.com/Andi_Rohn/status/1345218260543787010
Tips on résumé writing so you can actually get that interview. https://twitter.com/Andi_Rohn/status/1345218260543787010
P.S. This isn't (necessarily) something to "aspire" to. I wanted to...
- Showcase a trans woman "succeeding"
- Help others from marginalized groups
What's important about multiple big tech offers is for negotiation. I raised my salary about $50k(!) because of competing offers.
- Showcase a trans woman "succeeding"
- Help others from marginalized groups
What's important about multiple big tech offers is for negotiation. I raised my salary about $50k(!) because of competing offers.
