Placement Prep & Career Switch

I'm from civil engineering. Interviewers always ask why I switched. What's worked for others?

• 58 DSA problems • 9 LLD designs • 5 mocks (2 with people from this community!) • 2 interview loops started Biggest improvement: I now ask clarifying questions before coding without thinking about it. Thanks everyone 🙏

DSA round went well: two mediums, solved both and explained the approach out loud like you all suggested. Next is CS fundamentals. Thank you to everyone in this community!

3 years as an analyst, strong SQL/BI, learning ML. Is a master's needed to switch, or can projects + experience be enough?

Quick pulse check. Notice periods are a big topic in hiring right now.

Many candidates don't know: the new employer can 'buy out' part of your notice period by paying your current employer. Not all companies do it, and the amount is negotiable. Ask early in the process.

Working full time, so ~10 hrs/week: • Mon/Wed: 2 DSA problems (mediums, timed) • Tue/Thu: LLD (one design: parking lot, splitwise, rate limiter...) • Sat: one HLD topic + a mock with a friend • Sun: rest (important!)

Freshers often think negotiating will get the offer withdrawn. That almost never happens if you're polite. Script that works: 'Thank you, I'm really excited about this role. I have another offer at X. Is there any flexibility on the base or joining bonus?' Worst case they say no. Best case you get 10-15% more, and

I've done about 600 on various platforms. Friends say I need 1000+. Others say quality matters more. What actually matters in interviews?

1. Listing responsibilities instead of results ('worked on APIs' vs 'built X that reduced Y by Z%') 2. Skills section with 40 technologies (we don't believe it) 3. 3-page resume with 2 years of experience 4. No links to GitHub/portfolio for freshers 5. Fancy two-column templates that ATS systems can't parse 6. Generic

This community is for students, freshers and anyone switching into tech. Ask questions, share resources, get resume feedback. Please include in resume review posts: target role, years of experience, and what feedback you want.