'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

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.

[epistemophilicmetalhead]

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

[nulee]

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

[fr]

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.

[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!

[sebster]

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.

[Icecrax]

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

[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.

[nesteaC]

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

[imransefat]

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

[tedwu]

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 :)

[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. :)

[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.

[eahefnawy]

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

[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!

[MattStrom]

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.

[SpencerDavis]

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!

[anshulvairagade]

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

[RickySolorio]

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

[Rainman___]

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

[qwarlockz]

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