How to Get Placed in a Product-Based Company: With A Roadmap

To be at the forefront of innovation - you can get this opportunity only at a product-based company. 

Getting placed in a product-based company is not only rewarding in monetary terms but also the environment gives you ample space to enhance your skills and think outside the box.

If you are currently working in a service-based company, performing the same tasks day in and day out for your clients, sooner or later you’ll reach stagnancy.

Gaining experience at a service company is a good starting point but ultimately, you have to make the decision to make the switch if you want to grow professionally.

In this article, I’ll help you understand how to get a job in a product-based company and will also share a 6-month study roadmap to get into product companies.

So, let’s get started! 

Steps to Follow to Get Placed in Product Companies

Tough, yes.

Impossible, no.

Getting into product-based companies is competitive but there are a lot of people who are getting placed there even if they are from a tier 3 college.

You have to be willing to put in the hard work to get into these companies.

Here are the steps to help you get placed at MAANG or top product companies:

🟢 Create a list of top product companies

Each company has different parameters when it comes to interviews. 

If you take service-based or consulting companies, they don't focus much on the DSA.

You can expect language-specific, project-related or maybe tools-related interview questions. 

On the other hand, let's say you're applying to MAANG companies, the focus is little on what kind of projects you did and what kind of tech stack you used.

They tend to focus more on your problem-solving skills and whether you have a strong knowledge of DSA or not. 

The first thing you should do in your interview preparation is shortlist the product companies that you want to target. 

Create a list of the top 10, 20 or 30 companies and research their interview process, what's the pattern of the interviews and the topics they focus on. 

• Whether there are questions from the tech stack or not?
• Which DSA topics do they focus on? 
• How many rounds of interviews are there?
• What are the judging criteria?

Make a note of all these things. 

This will give you a fair idea of what needs to be prepared, how to prepare, and the difficulty level of questions asked.

🟢 Plan the topics to prepare

The next step is to create a preparation roadmap. 

A minimum of 6 months is required if you want to be fully prepared for your product-based company interviews.

Of course, this will be affected by a lot of factors such as time, current skills, experience, etc.

An experienced professional working full time looking to switch from service to a product-based company will have less bandwidth compared to a final-year student. 

Someone whose fundamentals are already strong before creating a preparation roadmap may need just 4 months.

The plan should be personalised and flexible.

You can either create your own roadmap or take help from professionals already working in your target product companies.

The road map should be created in such a way so that at the end of it, you feel well-prepared and confident to sit for the interviews.

🟢 Topics to study + resources

🔶 Programming language:

The first thing to consider is choosing a programming language. You can either choose C++, Java or Python. 

The companies are not looking for a programming language but good and talented developers who can write efficient code.

Java is preferred by most because it's easy to learn and write code and is often used for backend systems. 

C++ is the fastest language in terms of execution.

Core technologies such as database systems where speed matters are written in C++. 

If you know one language, it's easy to switch to another because the concepts will have little difference and are transferrable. 

So don't get too caught up in trying to learn multiple languages at once and get confused hearing people's opinions. 

In this industry, all the codes are not written in procedural programming.

It's written in a class format with number variables so it's important to know the OOPs concepts.

Hence, choose a programming language that has proper object-oriented concepts and know the ins and outs of it. 

🔶 Data Structures and Algorithms

Data structures and algorithms are the building blocks of computer science.

They are essential to creating optimised and scalable software.

Once you are done with the programming language, you can start learning data structures and algorithms. 

LeetCode and GeeksforGeeks are great platforms to start out with your DSA journey.

If you are a beginner, go with GeeksforGeeks as it has a good collection of tutorial videos.

And then move on to LeetCode for challenging and advanced questions.

Check this in-depth guide on DSA preparation to prepare for the DSA interview round.

🔶 System Design

Even if you are a fresher, you need to have knowledge of LLD (low-level design).

In fact, in some product-based companies, you can expect LLD questions even for an entry-level position.

LLD involves understanding how to design individual components of a larger software system in a way that is efficient and effective. 

For HLD, you need to have a fair idea of basic concepts such as what are databases, what is database sharding, what is caching, etc.

There can be exceptions so while planning, check out the job descriptions of your target companies to see what they are looking for.

For LLD, you have to be familiar with OOPs concepts, design patterns and production-level coding.

Educative.io is a great platform where you can find a range of resources and courses to practise system design.

🔶 CS fundamentals 

OS (Operating systems) is extremely important for tech roles.

Focus on OS concepts such as process management, memory allocation, and file systems. 

Adding DBMS (Database Management System) and Networking to your portfolio can give you a competitive edge over others and demonstrate your ability to solve complex systems.

🔶 Puzzles

If you are going to Adobe for an interview, there will be a compulsory puzzle question. 

It can be either from probability, mathematics or some other topic.

These types of questions help the interviewer assess your problem-solving and creative thinking skills.

Hence, practice solving different types of puzzles to get familiar with the process.

🔶 Behavioural questions and communication skills

In Amazon, around 30% or more weightage is given to behavioural questions.

The remaining 70% is for DSA, system design and other remaining topics. 

Hence, practise common behavioural questions using the STAR interview (Situation, Task, Action and Results) method.

These questions will be situational and will require you to get creative and think on your feet.

You also need to be concise with your answers and seem like you know what you are talking about.

List down the company-specific questions and practise answering them, take the help of mock interviews to strengthen your communication skills.

To improve your interview skills, here’s a STAR interview method guide with common behavioural questions to help you frame your answers and excel in behavioural interviews.

🟢 Execution of created strategy

Instead of solving 10 DSA questions in a day and not solving anything for the rest of the week, solve 2-3 questions every day and maintain this consistency without a single gap throughout the decided timeline.

This way you can keep up with the goal without burning yourself out.

Remember, consistency is the key to achieving your goals and getting placed in the product companies.

🌟 Want to get placed at MAANG or targeting other product companies?

Connect with me on a FREE 1:1 Strategy Call to get your doubts cleared!

6 Months Study Roadmap to Get into a Product-Based Company

Here’s a sample preparation roadmap for 6 months to help you get placed at product-based companies. 

I have considered Java as the programming language for this roadmap.

You can replace it with your preferred programming language.

📌 Looking for a personalised learning roadmap to prepare for product-based companies? 

Connect 1:1 with an industry mentor on a FREE Strategy Call!

How to Apply for Product-Based Companies?

If you are from an elite institution, then you don’t have to worry much about the application process because of campus placements.

However, if you are not from a tier 1 college, then you'll have to work your way up.

Applying off campus, especially for a fresher position is going to be challenging as HR receives a lot of applications making your resume difficult to stand out. 

However, there are still several ways how you can land a job at these product-based companies.

Here are the steps you should follow in order to apply for product-based companies:

✅ Get referrals from networking

Leveraging LinkedIn for job search could be your best possible option to get into product companies.

A lot of people that I know successfully got hired through LinkedIn.

Either the HR approached them or they got in through referrals.

Referrals highly increase your chances of getting in but how to get them?

Go to LinkedIn and connect with recruiters and employees of your target companies.

And work on building a genuine relationship.

Talking about the business directly won’t take you anywhere.

Getting a referral is also going to take some time so while you are preparing for your interview on one hand, build connections on the other.

You don’t have to follow a rulebook for this.

Just be yourself and engage with their posts, talk about common interests and get to know them better.

Don’t get demotivated if you are not getting replies immediately, be patient and keep working on your skills.

✅ Be open to internships and entry-level roles

You can also break into the product-based industry through internships and entry-level positions. 

This will give you exposure and a chance to grow in your career.

You’ll gain hands-on experience and a chance to connect with professionals in this industry.

The internships can get converted into full-time roles if you perform well.

Hence, keep on applying to the openings.

Let's say you apply to 20 companies, and if you have the right skills, you can expect to hear back from 3-5. 

Find opportunities and tailor your resume for each of the roles you are applying for.

Also Read: How to Land an Internship at a MAANG or Top Tech Company?

✅ Build a strong resume and portfolio

Every single line in your resume should mention why they should hire you or why you are the perfect fit for the role. 

Don’t make the mistake of sending the same resume to all the openings you have shortlisted.

Tailoring your resume for each will highlight your willingness and dedication to join that company.

Align the information in your resume with your skills, experiences, projects, etc.

Talking about projects, be prepared to discuss them.

They show your skills and knowledge to potential employers.

You need to talk about your involvement, approach, the outcome generated and how you can contribute to the company.

The projects can either be the ones that you created in coursework or in your job or some personal side projects.

The side projects can be anything from building a mobile app to creating a website or contributing to open-source software. 

When you are adding your projects to your portfolio, think about how relevant it is to the role.

For example, if you are applying for a front-end developer role, you might want to showcase projects that demonstrate your skills in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and web design. 

Similarly, if you're interested in a job as a data analyst, you might want to highlight projects that showcase your skills in data cleaning, visualisation, and statistical analysis.

You can also take the help of a mentor to guide you or give you feedback on your projects before adding them to your portfolio.

Ideally, it can be on some real-world problem that you faced before.

In the interviews, you need to explain the significance of your projects and provide specific examples of the impact they have made.

✅ Leverage online resources

There are a ton of online resources that you can use to your advantage such as coding blogs, tech forums, social groups, etc. 

You can stay up to date with technology trends, industry insights, and best practices using these resources.

You can connect with like-minded individuals and collaborate and contribute to open-source communities.

This can help you with your coding skills and also open the door to better opportunities.

Wrapping it up

Finally, we are at the end of the article!

I hope that you find the above-mentioned tips on how to get placed in a product-based company useful.

In short, you need to have a proper plan and dedication to break through into product-based companies.

I have been in your shoes so I know the problems you’ll face or are facing in your interview preparation.

And as a mentor and an employee at one of MAANG companies, I can help you at each stage of the process ensuring that you get hired at your dream company.

So, what’s stopping you?

Let’s get on a FREE 1:1 call and discuss the things that you need to reach your goals. 🚀

You may also like: 

How to Switch From Service-based to Product-based Companies

How to Switch Jobs in the IT Sector: Here's a 5-Step Process