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Lambert Liu, 22, recently graduated and software -engineer at Graphite, an AI code -rating platform.
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Liu supplied internships at Google and Replit, an AI startup of Software Development, while he is at university.
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He gave Business Insider his top tips for landing a job at an AI startup.
This share-to-essay is based on a conversation with Lambert Liu, a software engineer. The following has been processed for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified his employment and academic history.
For most computer science graduates it is a no-brainer to work for Big Tech.
Most of my classmates were attracted to large technology companies such as Google, Meta and Amazon because they promised prestige, stability and a structured career path.
But I noticed that I fell into a second group of students, one who is actively looking for vacancies at startups for the steep learning opportunities and potential equality upside down when the startup becomes public.
I made that decision after I did internships in both Big Tech and startups.
I did two internships at Google during my second and junior years at the university.
When I did an internship at Google for the first time, I really enjoyed it. But when I went back for a second round, I thought my growth was planned there. I didn’t see myself working there in the long term.
At the end of my junior year I did an internship at Replit, an AI startup of Software Development. That experience was refreshing because I got impactful projects. I realized that I wanted to work at a startup, and that led me to my first job at Graphite, an AI code rating platform.
Here are the top tips that I have if you want to find a job at an AI startup.
Big Tech Experience helps
If you are the way I and Startups want to give a chance after the internship only at Big Tech, don’t worry. You do not need an internship experiences from the past with startups to work at one.
Interning with a large technology company helps employers to demonstrate that you have a strong general technical basis. You know how to do a great technical design and great tests. You stint with Big Tech, recruiters tell that you are able to write a clean code and send them reliably.
It is good to have startup experience, because you are more used to dealing with ambiguity and to think quickly on your feet. But that can easily be solved by working on your own personal projects, which brings me to my next point.
Build more projects
I personally worked on many passion projects in my downtime when I wasn’t working. Working on these projects not only developed my skills, but it also helped to strengthen my approach to solve problems.
In fact, those projects do not have to be AI-related. You can use AI tools to strengthen your productivity as an engineer, but you should not limit yourself to working on AI projects.
Building AI projects is also not a condition for working in an AI startup. They generally look for great engineers, and whether you build projects with AI or not, there are many ways to prove your thinking and technical skills.
Leetcode is still important, but not much
Solving algorithmic and coding problems on Leetcode, an online learning platform, is still important when you prepare for technical interviews at startups.
That said, there is much more emphasis on someone’s ability to deal with ambiguity and to tackle non-technical areas such as product thinking. This is especially the case because every engineer can use AI to write code.
By working on your own projects, you can strengthen your problem -solving skills. If you have to build something new, forces your perspective to develop and taste for approaching problems, so that you can better treat the interview.
Get good in system design thinking
My job interview at Graphite was the first time that I was ever asked about system design. That is usually not asked about new graduates. When it comes to system design, companies not only assess your technical skills, but also your approach to problems.
I learned a lot about thinking of system design when I followed a course about human computer interaction at the university. I have learned how to achieve problems and then build a technical basis to resolve them. The course also gave me some practical experience when I built a project.
Fundamental courses such as algorithms and data science are important, but entering areas such as human-computer interaction will be useful when you start interviewing.
Be a holistic engineer
If you want to excel at a startup, you must strive to be a holistic engineer. You have to work at a fast pace. And moreover you have to show that you really care about your users.
You can now start that when you are an internship. Show your bosses that you really care about your profession and want to make the best possible product.
Take the owner of your work as much as possible. At AI startups such as Graphite we go fast, so we are looking for employees who can deal with that speed and produce high quality work.
Do you have a story to share about working at an AI startup? Contact this reporter on [email protected].
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