'How to Get a Job at the Big 4 - Amazon, Facebook, Google & Microsoft' by Sean Lee

Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft - sometimes called the Big 4 - are companies well known for their pay, perks and prestige. Sean Lee, a student at UBC who has interned as a Software Engineer at two of the Big 4, discusses why you should aim to land your next internship at these companies and how you can get them.
Speaker: Sean Lee, CS Alumni at University of British Columbia
LinkedIn: / sangjunglee
"Cracking the Coding Interview": amzn.to/351HHSp
The talk covers:
- Why you should aim to get jobs at these companies
- Clearing myths and doubts
- 2 simple steps to getting a job at the Big 4
- Students' interview experiences
- Useful tips/resources
- Talk hosted by UBC ECE Student Society (UBC ECESS)
- Filmed and edited by Joseph Hsu
** Disclaimer ** The speaker and the organization ECESS are not affiliated with the Big 4 in anyway. The speaker, at the time of the presentation, was a student of UBC and did not represent any of the companies he has worked for, will work for, or is talking about in the presentation.

[@epistemophilicmetalhead9454]

3:00 why the 4? try to start with working for a big company 5:00 pay 6:10 roles Getting a job IS obvious step 1: get an interview concise resume that focuses on impact of your work work on projects that concern with what you wanna do. You won't be happy with every one. Keep doing em anyway GPA ain't everything you won't get an interview if you don't apply another way to get an interview is to participate in coding challenges try to get an interview with the help of an existing employee's referral step 2: the interview 20:30 - 22:15 cracking it: 22:50 - 24:30 behaviour: 24:35-24:52 list of questions: search on the internet for questions for your prospective role in the company practice: 26:00 mock interview: 26:30-29:32 find patterns in different problems 30:03 36:00 37:03 39:11 40:31 41:42

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[@sebster100]

This isn't a talk about how to get a job at the big 4, this talk is much grander, it is about how to take yourself seriously as a professional.

[@sebster100]

literally, I'm a math major, I want to be an academic, but this this still so amazing.

[@sebster100]

Also, Sean Lee seems like one of the rare and wonderful people who organizes communities and produces a group of people who all climb and lift as they go.

[@nulee2009]

As a full time employee at a company he mentioned I don't know why I watched this video from the beginning to the end, and I have to say, I am very inspired, and very motivated in a general sense of life

[@YandryPozo]

+牛力 thanks for your comment, it's double inspired !! :)

[@guitarockdude]

Same here. Great video.

[@Golden2Talon]

of course you are asian, just like the audience and the speaker himself lmao

[@JarJarBinkz68]

@@Golden2Talon qualifications and skills > physical appearance.

[@tdsimpson]

He should do this as a TED talk

[@xtzyshuadog]

Taylor Simpson This speech is better than a TED talk, it shouldn't be formatted for that

[@nesteaC]

Since when did Ryan Higa become a software engineer? He's smarter than I thought.

[@muhammadsaadmansoor7777]

what??? Ryan Higa? do you really mean NigaHiga

[@tha1ne]

who is ryan higa? you mean nigahiga

[@TreeWood]

wait who the hell is ryan higa? You talkin about Niga Higa?

[@BlitzN7]

Ryan Higa? I think you meant NigaHiga

[@johnryangranada8026]

LoL I love the comments above mine! hehe xD

[@eahefnawy]

that guy has AMAZING public speaking skills. I'd hire him just for that!

[@darkdancerman]

ikr

[@_jasonxie]

+Eslam A. Hefnawy lol you hv high standards. must be an engineer.

[@eahefnawy]

haha yep I am :)

[@alimohiuddin6722]

+Eslam A. Hefnawy are you a boss at a company?

[@luceean]

he reads to much and doesn't know the info.

[@imransefat8770]

he said, " I never worked at Microsoft" and now he's working in Microsoft as a Software Engineer! damn!

[@StonkeyKong]

…and now he’s a Software Engineer at Google. 😂

[@blackjackool]

@@sanjay3291 and now he's a software engineer at Tesla 😂

[@allan1827]

And he's a software engineer in Coca cola

[@RjS411]

And now he's a software at engineer 🙃

[@jacksonsmith6373]

now he

[@Papayalexius]

Wow, I never thought I'd gonna go through the all 42 minutes but his attitude kept me there. Great talk, precious and I agree on aaaall you said! Thanks Sean!

[@ajbro6428]

IKR

[@josephrenteria9667]

wait. This video was 42 minutes?!

[@troybrahful]

@@josephrenteria9667 that's what I said as I was reading this lol

[@danteeep]

same.. i got a job offer already but i really enjoyed this video ! and i actually learned a lot !!

[@ZorakWars]

I watched this video first 6 years ago that set me on my interview preparation path. Before this video, I considered these top tier companies out of my reach considering my grades and university. Through the preparation, I got an internship at one of the big 4 and came back to work full time. It's been instrumental in my career path and life. Thanks for this video. This is personally one of the most impactful videos I've ever watched.

[@zeynepbasak5283]

Wow! Congrats 🎉🎉 that's my future goal as well

[@DeEwokMoordenaar]

I normally don't comment. And this comment is going to be put at the bottom of the 746 already existing comments. But, Sean Lee, thank you. This was incredible. I'm struggling with all of this and watching your presentation has given me newfound hope.

[@Rainman___]

Took a lot for him to admit how it took him 6 years to get a 4-year degree. Very humble

[@gawdstockton483]

Rainman Honestly, if it meant more relevant work experience, then it was hardly a stain on his résumé. Almost no employers will give a shit how long it takes you to graduate, regardless of how long the program is supposed to take traditionally.

[@qisisiq]

well i'd also assume it's from the fact that he failed multiple core courses lol

[@gawdstockton483]

Do you know he actually failed multiple core courses or no?

[@qisisiq]

yeah, at around 37:20 in the video he tells the story of how he failed data structures/algorithms and software engineering, which are both core courses

[@gawdstockton483]

Okay, thanks. Did he ever state his overall GPA? I don't know how it works at UBC, but at my university, you needed to get about a 2.8 GPA among core classes in order to declare a CS-minor or major. So perhaps he didn't truly fail, but he merely didn't hit the cutoff GPA? I

[@tedwu9628]

The value of this video is probably more beneficial than the 5 year education I have done from UBC LOL. Watched this video from time to time when I started to feel unmotivated. Me and a group of friend (Computer Engineering undergrad at that time) followed his suggestion from the video, everyone actually ended up in big tech companies 1 year later (Google, Amazon, SAP ...etc). I also got a chance to interned in Amazon and received a full time return offer from Amazon. Trust this video and good luck guys :)

[@sravanthkumarchintalacheru1359]

Ted Wu, that's awesome man! Keep rocking the show ❤

[@fr5229]

GREAT talk. What a personable, humble guy. Usually speakers on this topic can come off as arrogant, but he countered that by minimizing his talents and magnifying his failures in a humorous way. He appears to keep the audience engaged while providing relevant resources and strategies.

[@NR-gp2il]

Silicon Valley is filled with Arrogarnce

[@isaacformato8210]

love this literary analysis

[@stt.9433]

I agree but I think he failed courses it wasn't because he was stupid. It was because he prioritized his interviews over his school work at Columbia. Not mention going to Columbia automatically makes you smart.

[@anshulvairagade1604]

"If you know python , that all you know They have a position for you" That gave me a boost!

[@Gotinox]

The Bibles: 22:50 Websites with solutions to questions: 25:34

[@paraescucharrap]

Thanks

[@Puporing]

Most of the advice here is true to any professional/competitive job. Opportunity exists for those who have put in the preparation without knowing when they're going to succeed.. and in this journey perseverance through the darkest times prevails. :)

[@thomasalias8492]

I watched this video 10 years ago and now, I'm the CEO of Google. Thanks, Sean!

[@prabaldas1859]

CEO?? what about sundar pichai

[@KaboodleMan]

Prabal Das r/wooosh

[@abdicolestudios8899]

Prabal Das this is sundar

[@agentdark64]

Tim Foolery, I have a question for you. Do you actually believe that having a 5 month interview process actually attracts top talent to google/facebook/amazon? Given that the top talent can likely find other offers within 2 weeks?

[@ninaxx1666]

Lmao

[@AlexanderNorton]

I just got a call and was told I'm going to be an intern @Amazon! Thank you so much for the motivation and information during my application stages. Much appreciated, great talk!

[@sjlee4968]

Congrats. Good luck on your internship, and get that return offer!

[@zuesbenz]

when is this video going viral?! i am 44 years old, getting to be 45, i learned a thing or two from you. kudos for putting this video.

[@qwarlockz8017]

People should watch this vid on a regular basis. It just helps to get over the fear of interviewing!

[@eruzen2272]

I followed your advice and landed a job at Google 2 mins ago. Thanks!

[@xbplays9311]

really?

[@chemicalimbalance7030]

XB plays no, he was just replaced by me.

[@jetmech9287]

How is your career going? Do you pledge allegiance to Mao every morning? Enjoying the destruction of our nation?

[@RickySolorio]

I can't believe I skipped on this video so many times because man this was so inspiring; Sean Lee is the man!

[@danielmafileo4078]

Ricky Solorio same, I saw this video pop up 2 years ago and now I just watched it🤦 great info and advice too!

[@SpencerDavis2000]

I love this guys talk. It is so inspiring to see when somebody has to struggle through something and they 1. don't give up or get discouraged 2. keep it up and look at the big picture and eventually succeed. Awesome talk!

[@8rbacademic]

I watched this video 7 years ago, and after completing my degree and graduating I got an offer for a Big 4 company. I can't believe watching this video have helped me so much, and something that sounded like a dream a couple years ago is now a reality. Thank you so much for opening the doors for me for interview preparation , leetcode, CTCI, and resumes, and portfolios. My 8 year's ago self would be proud of the achievements of my present self and would not believe this was possible. Keep trying and keep working, because it is possible.

[@cannotbestopped11]

I was in this room and was greatly inspired by this guy. I just got a job at MS as a PM and his words definitely helped me along the way. Don't fear failure. Thanks Sean Lee

[@victornyamu2547]

How is the pay?

[@MattStrom1]

The best advice in this video is about perseverance. Thanks for being totally honest by disclosing all of your failures along the way. That speaks louder than credentials ever will.

[@burstingbookshelf]

Thanks for posting this. I followed his recommendations and got a job with one of the big 4! Your tips were super helpful and they were what made the difference for me getting the job.

[@prakash_77]

I love this guy. He put himself out there and made himself vulnerable. To convince us we all have whatever it takes to fulfill our dream. He got really emotional by the end. Such a great person. This talk made my day! Thanks Tiana, Joseph and Sean Lee.

[@sheababeyeah]

Probably one of the best talks I have ever watched. I've seen it two times now and will continue to watch it once a month until I get an offer at a big 4.

[@DharokWretched]

From someone who interviewed with one of these companies several times and didnt get an offer, this is fantastic!

[@ranjith4912]

got internship at Microsoft by following his instructions

[@jsayram]

I thought I was only going to watch like 10 minutes of this. I watched the whole thing! More motivated than ever. This guy is good.

[@masoncdyer]

A true legend. I'm grateful to have been able to watch this. I appreciate you Sean, and Tiana for sharing this with the world

[@deity..]

Not a bad speech. Even though I'm not a software engineer a lot of these tips are a great reminder of what I need to do to get a career in the future.

[@robertcasey9550]

This is an inspiring presentation. Sean's qualities as a speaker tells me he'll go far in his career.

[@rubengazaryan2783]

OMG! What an extremely open minded, positive, intelligent and kind person! Huge Respect!

[@mikewoolf7214]

Hands down one of my favorite speeches. Particularly for the end. Thank you for letting people know you don’t need to be a guru to be a software engineer.

[@martinmle]

Thanks for this! Starting Software Engineering next year and while its still early, this is really inspiring!

[@EstebanQuijada]

I feel so inspired and motivated. Lowkey my eyes almost got watery lol I didn't expect to be moved by this

[@pradiptasarma4867]

I don't know how many time I've watched this talk. This is amazing.

[@arampesu151]

I love this guy. Not for his tips but more for the last 10 mins of Empathy and talking about himself openly. For getting emotional and wishing from bottom of his heart.

[@XxSmAsHeN619xX]

Watched this video and now I own all 4 companies! Thanks Sean!

[@tdreamgmail]

I know why he got hired now... amazing dude!

[@akaSODA]

Thank you very much for your genuine speech Sean. I will keep in mind your words. "Never be discouraged"

[@lupusnupus4887]

All the videos on KZbin on motivation and stuffs summed up in a 42 min session. Thank you very much !!

[@RonnieDFTBA]

Man that was inspirational. Especially when he told us he failed CPSC 221 and CPSC 310. You're awesome dude!

[@anewbeginningquinn]

I couldn't believe it when he said his GPA was 2.3!! My GPA is 4 on 4.3 and I don't have half of his knowledge..He's really great at motivating us!

[@elmehdinaor763]

Lol which means that GPA are bs !!! It’s more about skills. The education system in the whole world is a true waste of time when it comes to building really good engineers. I Hope this will change in the near future

[@lianhong542]

Oh my God Saw this in my recommendation. You don’t know how much I need this video . Thank you for inspiring!

[@prosoftmedia3634]

Hey! I love this talk. I'm preparing and hoping to get there. But I just love to listen to this talk again and again. Thank you so much for sharing this.

[@levoils65]

Yahoo built the Internet around business, Google made the internet around search term, Facebook transformed it to be around people.

[@tagged5life]

He has amazing presentation skills!

[@ElsaAndAnnie]

Very powerful statement!! "If you are not getting this year, you are preparing for the next year!" Love your video friend.

[@anandhkishan1562]

Usually I wont sit through 40+ mins presentation in a single watch. But this is too awesome to ignore. Great talk with facts for every software engineers out there.

[@Mr3lusion]

Got the job at Microsoft. Thank you for the inspiration!

[@RichSFS]

This was a great talk, you are great at public speaking man

[@siddharthsingi6772]

Absolutely loved this video!! Its the best version of a motivation talk and a technical talk combined.

[@mryup6100]

This speech was too beautiful! I almost shed a tear. Definitely saving this for future purposes!

[@wishingbottle]

I think I'm gonna set this to autoplay in the morning, so motivational :')

[@Parthsean]

Thank you so much for sharing the video and the experience.

[@mcflycalifornia]

This is probably the best video about getting job at the big 4 or generally in technical roles. I am so thankful to you man. I just moved to America with my wife from Pakistan and I am a computer engineer but I worked in non-tech fields back home because I was always afraid to do programming but now I have embraced it. I am doing a lot of self-learning, learning SQL, python on my own and your video has motivated me to learn more. Thanks for this! I will pray for your health, success and happiness.

[@habiebiee1]

Although I am not interviewing with the big 4,but i think watching this video can calm me down,thank you.

[@amorphousface2401]

I am so inspired and I don't even want a job at the Big 4. I just want to find a babysititng job.

[@seanwar]

When I got an offer from Amazon everybody was asking how did I do it and I share this video along with the resources he mentioned. There is no other way I would have done it. I think I have way more failures than him. I was not applying for an internship but it really helped me to stay motivated. Thank you, man! And thank for an excellent job recording and sharing it.

[@tushensu]

One of the best talks about achieving a goal ever! Wow!

[@professorfontanez]

I love your presentation skills. And the point of simple vs. easy was nothing short of brilliant. I loved it.

[@jasonspeer3327]

Great public speaker! And great message!

[@omyadixit]

Very Informative and inspirational. Hope I get an internship in O(4) this summer.

[@rashmichauhan8675]

I just loved this ! I listened to him for full 42 mins just to make sure that I don't miss anything which might help me in my career and I was damn right !!

[@lilypotter168]

Thanks for being so strong and inspirational! I hope you always continue to encourage people with your stories from even other parts of your life which i'm sure is also very inspiring!

[@2MinTz2]

Thank you for sharing this! It's actually really motivating for me to study harder everyday instead of last minute.

[@Jelloz104]

Damn, that was really inspirational.

[@annette2687]

Amazing and inspiring talk. I can't wait to see what kind of startup he creates. His mindset is already there.

[@J235304204]

Better interview prep video than most, especially the last 10 minutes, I always knew we need to constantly practice and train, but did not think that it is that important until he pointed out.

[@sophiascoggins9883]

I have worked 30+ years in software / system engineering. His speech is still very inspiring. Those big 4 companies and other high tech companies tend to hire newly graduate students, who have higher successful rates to pass those academic questions. In my 15+ software development experience, I don't deal with algorithms as much, but other environmental, tools, packaging issues. So, the mid/late career software engineers actually have a harder time to pass those academic coding interviews. Not that we are not good programmers, but the experience often didn't get considered in those first step academic 45 min interviews.

[@divyanshusingh5278]

Do you think they even give you a chance if you’re not from those prefigured colleges?

[@pianoshaman2807]

I watched this back in late July 2021, unmotivated, complacent with returning to my current company after interning there for 3 years. This video popped up. I watched through the whole 42 minutes, it left me with weird feelings. I started the grind then. At first it was really tough, can't even solve leetcode easy, now I can solve a medium 50/50. I have a final with microsoft scheduled in 3 weeks. If I pass it, part of it owns to this video that motivated my ass to grind.

[@mouminali1380]

did you pass

[@pianoshaman2807]

@@mouminali1380 unfortunately I passed 2/3 rounds ,but I got another offer that I am very happy with

[@ImmersiveDragon]

this man has the best tips and advice in the world. great power points.

[@paulina5247]

One of the best talks I have ever watched, thank you for that!

[@apprupai]

I was so dumb when I was his age. Sean displays amazing leadership potential. Truly inspiring.

[@ralphmalph6835]

Wow! Thanks for the inspiration, Sean Lee!I have been out of school for over 10 years and only worked 3 of the years in the computer industry, and it was only a computer operator job that I didn't need a B.S. in Computer Science for! I never felt confident. I didn't know how to start. (Well, I had the degree, but felt so inept I didn't want to pursue the necessary course of action that you have stated here.) My GPA is about 3.2, so what you told us about your GPA was inspiring! (I failed Ordinary Differential Equations twice - took it 3 times and got an A)Also, what you told us about (major) companies not really caring about your GPA was inspiring!Thank you very much! I have laid out a game plan based on this video, and I am going to do what you have outlined here! I will report back with the good news! You rock, buddy! Thank you!

[@sravanthkumarchintalacheru1359]

How's everything going on now, brother?

[@animakuz]

What an amazing talk. I've been lazing around for too long. Time to get to work!

[@shantanusinha3609]

This is one of the most inspirational video I have seen in a long long time!

[@bballsniper]

i was seriously considering not doing comp sci anymore but I'll try to stick through it, especially when he said he failed 2 comp sci courses and has a low ass gpa

[@fl333r]

It's been 3 years. What's your status update?

[@glaivx3821]

where's our update, bro? can't just leave us hanging

[@fl333r]

@@glaivx3821 prolly too successful and busy for peons like us

[@toufonglee5073]

@@fl333r Or he decided to not go through with it. Either way, hope all is well?

[@cplusplussizeddick1430]

Commenting for update notification

[@TheTigerPsy]

Extremely well done.

[@ElsaAndAnnie]

I regret why I did not apply to any of these big 4 tech companies for so many years!!! Your speech inspired me and many!!! Thanks.

[@mohycs]

Amazing talk. I love Sean Lee's outlook on hard work and perseverance.

[@maxwelljann5462]

I'm exactly like that guy. 7 years for a 4 year degree. Academic probation and 2.3 GPA and failed game design even though I make games. Love the story.

[@dukenukemgamer]

These are honest. These companies need talent. They express over and over how many seats are empty at these companies because the education system isn't producing enough talented youths.

[@iffyschannel]

What do you mean by talent? What kind of talent?

[@jp-gy3vh]

I’m going to follow this advice until I get an interview. I haven’t even finished the video yet but I know it’s gold.

[@vikassrivastava007]

this gave me more info on interview tactics than 2 years of grad school. thanks so much man !!

[@jaimecristalino]

Thanks for the video!

[@ImNoHeroSCA]

thanks for the upload

[@AndrejBuday]

Great lecture. Many points apply to regular software engineers, not only students. I have to say that Sean told few quotes which I wrote down. Especially when he talks about writing the number of failures on the resume, that is a brilliant empowering thought.

[@Immortalprodigy1]

Yes. This is really good presentation, and I' am glad to see somebody with the similar situation as me --regarding school. So, this was not only inspirational, but galvanizing as well.

[@BeniaminBia]

I've got an offer from one these big 4 few months ago, this video would have been very useful few months ago.

[@mythstriker8671]

I have never programmed in my life. Never a single line of code yet I was able to sit through this entire lecture without getting bored and actually extremely interested. Massive Props.

[@sravanthkumarchintalacheru1359]

Mythstriker86, did you try coding after watching this video?

[@NirmalSilwal]

This video session is probably the best video on the internet regarding this topic. Thank you so much for posting this classroom presentation here. I will come back one day here to comment about my offer on one of these top 4 FAANG company. Mark my word! This is my public commitment.

[@nehasrivastava4282]

He is just amazing!....I absolutely love the honesty with which he tells his past failure. You are a true role model. Hope to see you in the Big 4 ..:D

[@laurisskraucis2247]

Amazing talk! Informative and interesting to listen! Sean is a legend

[@lutris426]

"A quick presentation"

[@zey9595]

No, that was not quick. It was "short presentation"

[@shafiemukhre]

This is incredible and so inspiring, thank you for sharing and opening your failures to show that it is completely possible!