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Best Books That Help You Land an SDE Job at FAANG+ Companies

Posted on 
December 20, 2021
|
by 
Swaminathan Iyer
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About The Author!
Swaminathan Iyer
Swaminathan Iyer
Product Manager at Interview Kickstart. The intriguing mind brainstorming ideas day and night for the creation of projects from simple “Hello World” to building strategies and frameworks.

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.

Having trained over 9,000 software engineers, we know what it takes to crack the most challenging tech interviews. Since 2014, Interview Kickstart alums have landed lucrative offers from FAANG and Tier-1 tech companies, with an average salary hike of 49%. The highest ever offer received by an IK alum is a whopping $933,000!

At IK, you get the unique opportunity to learn from expert instructors who are hiring managers and tech leads at Google, Facebook, Apple, and other top Silicon Valley tech companies.

Want to nail your next tech interview? Sign up for our FREE Webinar.

This article will cover:

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:

  1. Data Structures Through C in Depth by S.K. Srinivasan and Deepali Srivastava 
  2. Cracking The Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell 
  3. Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems by Martin Kleppmann
  4. The Pragmatic Programmer: 20th Anniversary Edition, 2nd Edition: Your Journey to Mastery by David Thomas, Andrew Hunt
  5. Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship by Robert C. Martin
  6. The C Programming Language by Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie
  7. Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software by Erich Gamma, Richard Helm 
  8. Clean Architecture: A Craftsman's Guide to Software Structure and Design (Robert C. Martin Series)
  9. Software Engineering at Google: Lessons Learned from Programming Over Time by Titus Winters, Tom Manshreck, et al
  10. A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms, Second Edition: Level Up Your Core Programming Skills by Jay Wengrow 
  11. Elements of Programming Interviews: The Insiders' Guide by Adnan Aziz, Tsung-Hsien Lee
  12. System Design Interview – An insider's guide, Second Edition by Alex Xu 
  13. Programming Interviews Exposed: Coding Your Way Through the Interview by John Mongan, Noah Suojanen Kindler
  14. 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
  15. A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms, Second Edition: Level Up Your Core Programming Skills by Jay Wengrow 
  16. Elements of Programming Interviews in Java: The Insiders' Guide by Adnan Aziz, Tsung-Hsien Lee 
  17. Grokking Algorithms: An Illustrated Guide for Programmers and Other Curious People by Aditya Bhargava 
  18. Get That Job!: The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Interview by Thea Kelley and Orville Pierson
  19. Elements of Programming Interviews in Python: The Insiders' Guide by Adnan Aziz, Tsung-Hsien Lee
  20. How to Answer Interview Questions: 101 Tough Interview Questions by Peggy McKee 
  21. The Passionate Programmer: Creating a Remarkable Career in Software Development (Pragmatic Life) by Chad Fowler
  22. 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.
  23. 40 Algorithms Every Programmer Should Know: Hone your problem-solving skills by learning different algorithms and their implementation in Python by Imran Ahmad 
  24. The Self-Taught Computer Scientist: The Beginner's Guide to Data Structures & Algorithms by Cory Althoff 
  25. Computer Programming for Beginners: Fundamentals of Programming Terms and Concepts by Nathan Clark 

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:

With the technical preparation out of the way, you can:

How to Prepare for SE Interview at Amazon?

Here are some pages you can go through to prepare for an Amazon software engineer interview:

How to Prepare for a Software Engineer Interview at Facebook?

These resources will help you with your software engineer interview prep at Facebook:

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:

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!

Sign up now!


Last updated on: 
September 22, 2023
AUTHOR

Swaminathan Iyer

Product @ Interview Kickstart | Ex Media.net | Business Management - XLRI Jamshedpur. Loves building things and burning pizzas!

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