How I “Cheated” My Way Into FAANG Interviews and Got the Offer

Alright, so let’s be real—FAANG interviews are more about playing the game than being the best engineer. I didn’t grind 500 LeetCode problems, and I didn’t have a perfect resume. Instead, I hacked the interview process by understanding how hiring actually works. Here’s exactly what I did:

Step 1: Skipping the Black Hole (Cold Applications Are a Waste)

  • I never applied through company portals. They get thousands of applications, and ATS filters out most of them.
  • Instead, I targeted engineers and hiring managers on LinkedIn and asked for referrals.
  • I kept my messages short and to the point: “Hey [Name], I’m really interested in [Team/Company] and I’d love to apply. I have [X years] of experience in [Relevant Skill], and I think I’d be a great fit. Would you be open to referring me?”
  • This got me multiple referrals in a week, and I went straight to recruiter screens instead of waiting in the void.

Step 2: Only Studying What Actually Gets Asked

  • Instead of grinding hundreds of LeetCode problems, I reverse-engineered the interview questions:
  • I searched Glassdoor, Blind, and LeetCode discussion forums for recent questions from my target company.
  • I found patterns—most companies ask the same 10–15 core problems repeatedly.
  • Instead of solving 500 random problems, I studied:
  • Top 30 questions per company (sorted by frequency)
  • Patterns, not solutions (e.g., “Oh, this is just a sliding window problem with a twist.”)
  • Mock interviews on Pramp and with friends to get real-time feedback.
  • Result? I was solving interview questions in under 10 minutes instead of struggling through brute-force solutions.

Step 3: Finessing the Behavioral Interview (It’s a Scripted Test)

  • FAANG behavioral rounds aren’t about “personality”—they’re looking for structured answers.
  • I prepped 5 stories using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) and adapted them on the fly.
  • The key? Always show impact with metrics. Instead of saying: “I helped optimize a backend service,” I said: “I optimized the backend service, reducing latency by 40% and saving $500K in cloud costs.”
  • Biggest trick? If they ask about failure, always spin it into a win (“I learned X, and it led to Y success later”).

Step 4: Exploiting the Hiring Process Loopholes

  • I timed my interviews strategically—companies move faster when they know you have other offers.
  • I sought out hiring events and “bar-raiser” systems (Amazon, for example, has bar-raisers who can override bad interviewers).
  • I built relationships with my recruiter—they have power to push through borderline candidates and help with negotiations.

Step 5: Offer and Negotiation Hacks

  • Once I had one offer, I used it to pressure other companies to move faster.
  • I acted slightly disinterested—companies chase candidates who seem in demand.
  • I negotiated hard:
    • “I love the opportunity, but my other offer is at $X—can you match or improve it?”
    • “I was hoping for a higher base/signing bonus to align with market rates.”
    • Result? +$40K increase in total compensation.

The End Result?

  • FAANG offer with $300K+ total comp
  • Minimal time wasted on irrelevant prep
  • Less stress, more control over the process

Moral of the story: The FAANG hiring process is NOT a meritocracy—it’s a game. If you know how to play it, you don’t need to work twice as hard as everyone else. Just be smarter about it.