Have you been stuck on the question, “How to prepare for a software engineering interview?†Well, it happens to everyone. And, with so many books and guides available for technical interview preparation, deciding on the best book to master your coding interview preparation can be difficult.
The competition for a software developer or software engineer at tier-1 companies such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google is fiercer than ever. To have an advantage in your dream job interview, your core programming knowledge must be strong, and your skills must be sharpened. To help you prepare for technical interviews at Google and other tier-1 companies, we’ve compiled a list of the best books to read. We’ll also go over some software engineer interview prep tips for FAANG+ companies.
If you are preparing for a tech interview, check out our technical interview checklist, interview questions page, and salary negotiation ebook to get interview-ready! Also, read Amazon Coding Interview Questions, Facebook Coding Interview Questions to Nail Your Next Interview, and Google Coding Interview Questions for specific insights and guidance on coding interview preparation.
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This article will cover:
- Best Books for FAANG+ Interview Preparation
- How to Prepare for Software Engineering Interviews at FAANG+ Companies?
- FAQs on Books That Help You Land as an SDE Job at FAANG+ Companies
Best Books for FAANG+ Interview Preparation
Preparing for a Google technical interview is a difficult task. It’s not going to be easy for any other FAANG+ company. You must be a master of your programming skills and understand the fundamentals. Choosing the right method of preparation is critical for acing coding interviews. Here are some books that can help you strengthen your core and refine your skills as you prepare for your next SDE interview at FAANG+ companies:
- Data Structures Through C in Depth by S.K. Srinivasan and Deepali SrivastavaÂ
- Cracking The Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowellÂ
- Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems by Martin Kleppmann
- The Pragmatic Programmer: 20th Anniversary Edition, 2nd Edition: Your Journey to Mastery by David Thomas, Andrew Hunt
- Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship by Robert C. Martin
- The C Programming Language by Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie
- Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software by Erich Gamma, Richard HelmÂ
- Clean Architecture: A Craftsman’s Guide to Software Structure and Design (Robert C. Martin Series)
- Software Engineering at Google: Lessons Learned from Programming Over Time by Titus Winters, Tom Manshreck, et al
- A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms, Second Edition: Level Up Your Core Programming Skills by Jay WengrowÂ
- Elements of Programming Interviews: The Insiders’ Guide by Adnan Aziz, Tsung-Hsien Lee
- System Design Interview – An insider’s guide, Second Edition by Alex XuÂ
- Programming Interviews Exposed: Coding Your Way Through the Interview by John Mongan, Noah Suojanen Kindler
- The Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide: How to Learn Programming Languages Quickly, Ace Your Programming Interview, and Land Your Software Developer Dream Job by John Sonmez and Simple Programmer
- A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms, Second Edition: Level Up Your Core Programming Skills by Jay WengrowÂ
- Elements of Programming Interviews in Java: The Insiders’ Guide by Adnan Aziz, Tsung-Hsien LeeÂ
- Grokking Algorithms: An Illustrated Guide for Programmers and Other Curious People by Aditya BhargavaÂ
- Get That Job!: The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Interview by Thea Kelley and Orville Pierson
- Elements of Programming Interviews in Python: The Insiders’ Guide by Adnan Aziz, Tsung-Hsien Lee
- How to Answer Interview Questions: 101 Tough Interview Questions by Peggy McKeeÂ
- The Passionate Programmer: Creating a Remarkable Career in Software Development (Pragmatic Life) by Chad Fowler
- A Programmer’s Guide to Computer Science: A virtual degree for the self-taught developer by Dr. William M Springer II, Nicholas R Allgood, et al.
- 40 Algorithms Every Programmer Should Know: Hone your problem-solving skills by learning different algorithms and their implementation in Python by Imran AhmadÂ
- The Self-Taught Computer Scientist: The Beginner’s Guide to Data Structures & Algorithms by Cory AlthoffÂ
- Computer Programming for Beginners: Fundamentals of Programming Terms and Concepts by Nathan ClarkÂ
How to Prepare for Software Engineering Interviews at FAANG+ Companies?
When preparing for software engineering interviews at FAANG+ companies, customize your preparation based on your target company and specified requirements for the role you’re applying for. Here are some resources and tips to help you in your journey:
How to Prepare for a Software Engineering Interview at Google?
To land a software engineer job at Google, technical expertise is paramount. You can begin by focusing on your Google technical interview prep.
Here are some prep tips and guides to help you crack your Google technical interview:
- Strengthen your technical core competencies and sharpen your technical skills with topic-wise preparation. You can focus on Google Software Engineer Interview Questions.
- Go through the most asked Google Whiteboard Interview Questions and solve as many as you can.
- Brush up your system design skills and solve previously asked Google System Design Interview Questions for Software Engineers
- Go to Google Careers Page to see what they’re looking for and apply to the roles you’re the best fit for
- Check out our page on what to do the night before your Google Onsite Coding Interview.
With the technical preparation out of the way, you can:
- Check the information on Google Software Engineer Levels and Google Software Engineer Salary.
- Start preparing for the first interview stage, the Google Phone Screen Interview.
- Take a look at Google Leadership Principles Interview Questions, Google Behavioral Interview Questions so that you can utilize the interview time only, giving information most relevant to the interviewer, your desired company, and your desired role.
How to Prepare for SE Interview at Amazon?
Here are some pages you can go through to prepare for an Amazon software engineer interview:
- Amazon Jobs Page
- Amazon Front-End Engineer Roles and ResponsibilitiesÂ
- What Does an Amazon Software Development Engineer Do?Â
- Software Engineer Job Levels at AmazonÂ
- Amazon Software Engineer Work-Life Balance
- Amazon Onsite Interview Questions
- Amazon Software Engineer Interview Questions, Process, and Prep Tips
- Amazon Coding Interview Questions
- Dive Deep Amazon Interview Questions
How to Prepare for a Software Engineer Interview at Facebook?
These resources will help you with your software engineer interview prep at Facebook:
- Facebook Careers
- How to Get Software Engineering Jobs at FacebookÂ
- Facebook Software Engineer Salaries
- 80 Facebook Phone Interview Questions
- Facebook Interview Questions and Process for Software Engineers
- Facebook Coding Interview Questions to Nail Your Next Interview
- How to Answer the “Why Facebook?†Interview Question
- Facebook Leadership Interview Questions
- Facebook System Design Interview Questions
- What Is the Role of a Facebook Front-End Engineer?
How to Prepare for a Senior Software Engineer Interview?
If you are targeting a senior software engineer role, you can check the following pages to nail your technical and coding interviews:
- How to Become a Senior Software Engineer — 5 Must-Have QualitiesÂ
- How to Land a 500K Job in Tech — Job LevelsÂ
- Different Software Engineering Levels in Big Tech Companies
- Top SQL Server Interview Questions for Freshers and Experienced Developers
- Top Scrum Master Interview Questions for Freshers, Intermediate, and Experienced Candidates
FAQs on Books That Help You Land an SDE Job at FAANG+ Companies
Q1. How do I prepare for a job interview at FAANG?
When preparing for a FAANG interview, here are some tips: thoroughly read the job description. Learn about the core values, goals, and any important news related to the company. Update your LinkedIn profile. Customize your resume for every company and role you apply for. Practice not just through technical coding tests but also mock interviews. If possible, learn more about your hiring manager through social media. Practice most asked previous interview questions.
Q2. Which programming language is best for FAANG?
The most popular programming languages in FAANG are Python, Java, JavaScript, C, C++, and Go.
Q3. Is Java used in FAANG companies?
Yes! Java is used a lot in FAANG+ companies and often for developing android applications, coding severs, and back-end development.
Q4. What should I learn for SDE interviews?
You should learn Object-Oriented Programming, Data Structures, Algorithms, Mathematics and problem-solving skills, Computer Science concepts, and any other skills relevant to the specific company and role you’re applying.
Q5. Is Python allowed in coding interviews?
Yes! Coding in Python is allowed in tier-1 companies unless there is a specific role requirement and your proficiency in another language needs to be tested.
Ready to Nail Your Next Coding Interview?
Whether you’re a coding engineer gunning for a software developer or software engineer role, a tech lead, or you’re targeting management positions at top companies, IK offers courses specifically designed for your needs to help you with your technical interview preparation!
If you’re looking for guidance and help with getting started, sign up for our FREE webinar. As pioneers in the field of technical interview preparation, we have trained thousands of software engineers to crack the toughest coding interviews and land jobs at their dream companies, such as Google, Facebook, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, and more!
