Video summary

there's only 3 parts of getting a tech job

Main summary

Key takeaways

Educational

Main ideas / lessons

  • Getting a tech job can be broken into 3 phases.
  • The key is to identify your bottleneck (the one part blocking you) rather than trying to improve everything at once.
  • Each phase has specific deliverables:
    1. Resume + credibility to get interviews
    2. Interview communication (behavioral stories)
    3. Technical testing preparation (DSA/LeetCode + related skills)
  • The speaker emphasizes an “80/20”-style approach: once your bottleneck is fixed, it compounds and keeps improving future applications.

Detailed 3-phase methodology (instructions)

Phase 1: “Get interviews” (resume, credibility, LinkedIn, networking)

1) Fix your resume first

  • Don’t rely only on “I’ll just LeetCode.”
  • If your resume is weak, improving LeetCode won’t solve interview scarcity.
  • Use a “stair-step” diagnostic approach:
    • Step 1: “Is my resume good?” → fix it
    • Step 2: “Are my behavioral stories good?” → fix them next
    • Continue onward
  • Adjust expectations by experience level:
    • Interns: bar is lower; mostly projects if you have no job experience
    • Staff/experienced engineers: bar is much higher; more extensive proof is needed

2) “Cheat code” for interns/juniors: real project credit via freelancing/contracting

You can do projects for others (including free), but treat it as real work:

  • Build for a friend/family/business
  • Code it “like a real contractor”
  • Put the business name on your resume
  • Label it as freelancer/contract work

Why it matters:

  • Teaches production-level engineering
  • Gives real resume experience and story material
  • Can reduce resume gaps (especially if laid off)

3) Use application metrics to validate resume quality

  • Apply widely and measure outcomes.
  • Example benchmark:
    • If you apply to 100 places and hear back from about 1%, that’s “decent enough” to proceed.
  • For long-term targets:
    • Aim for 5–10% responses on cold applications.

4) Optimize LinkedIn for inbound signals

  • Check your LinkedIn effectiveness:
    • If you’re not getting reached out to daily or at least 2x per week, your LinkedIn profile likely has issues (especially for senior/mid-level roles).
  • Resume helps with screening, but LinkedIn should also generate inbound opportunities.

5) Increase referrals through networking

Networking channels mentioned include:

  • Twitter/X posting (“Twitter maxing”)
  • YouTube (posting or engaging)
  • Twitch (streaming/chatting; people may help or refer you)
  • DMs
  • Conferences and messaging random people
  • “Touch grass” → attend real-world networking too

Goal: referrals and opportunities, and to improve the perception that you’re a strong engineer.

6) Bottleneck rule for Phase 1

  • If you aren’t hitting the benchmarks (interviews/referrals/inbounds), focus only on Phase 1 first.
  • Avoid wasting effort on other areas (like LeetCode) until resume/interview access improves.

Phase 2: “Sound like a strong engineer” (behavioral prep + mock interviews)

1) Prepare behavioral stories in advance

  • Don’t wing interviews.
  • Write down likely/common questions and answers.

2) Use STAR formatting

  • For common behavioral questions, prepare responses using:
    • STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result)
  • This helps answers come out smoother and uses the “right vocabulary/trivia.”

3) Practice with multiple opinions

  • Mock interviews are critical.
  • Prefer feedback from 3–5 people, not just yourself.
  • AI (ChatGPT) can help if needed, but human/expert feedback is described as “worth its weight in gold.”

Phase 3: Technical testing (DSA/LeetCode + fundamentals + design)

1) DSA / LeetCode plan depends on experience level

  • For interns:
    • Do Blind 75
    • If you can complete 75 LeetCode problems, you’re “a monster as an intern”
    • Then focus mainly on mock interviews (suggested: ~10 mock interviews with peers)
  • For non-intern / senior-ish / more experienced:
    • Do about 150 problems
    • Speaker mentions 500 as aspirational, but says 150 may be enough
  • Emphasis: DSA is the “core roadmap,” but effort should match your bottleneck.

2) Also cover low-level design (LLD)

Practice:

  • How to design code
  • Clean code style for your language
  • Ability to code mini-projects

3) Take-home tests and OA readiness

  • After DSA + LLD, the speaker claims:
    • Take-home tests become “extremely easy”
    • Online assessments (OA) also become easier

4) System design is separate

  • Mentions system design/AI system design exists, but says it’s for another video.

Overall “fix the bottleneck” workflow (explicit order)

  • Step 1: DSA / LeetCode first (coding fundamentals)
    • Learn programming language usage: loops, standard library, basic coding mechanics.
  • Step 2: Build projects for others (for intern/junior credibility)
    • If lacking confidence, build for yourself until ready, but helping others is encouraged.
  • Step 3: Behavioral stories
    • Prepare + practice with STAR + mock interviews.
  • Additional framing:
    • If one area is failing (resume, stories, coding), fix that specific bottleneck first—doing everything at once is inefficient.

Program promotion (speaker’s offer)

  • The speaker says they are offering a program to help 7 software engineers get jobs in under 90 days.
  • Claims/Examples provided:
    • Helped Andrew pass interviews and get $255,000 in under 22 days
    • Helped Ohm pass Google onsite
    • Helped another person get two job offers totaling $160,000
  • Stated program structure:
    • Fix resume
    • Fix coding abilities / technical roadmap
    • Fix behavioral interviews
  • Call to action:
    • View/apply using the link mentioned by the speaker (link not included in the text provided).

Speakers / sources featured

  • Speaker (primary): Unspecified YouTube presenter (not named in the subtitles)
  • Other referenced people:
    • Andrew (client/student)
    • Ohm (client/student)
  • Platforms / tools mentioned:
    • LeetCode
    • LinkedIn
    • ChatGPT
    • Twitch
    • Twitter (X)
    • YouTube
    • Blind 75
    • STAR method (behavioral interview technique)

Original video