Google, Microsoft, Amazon Hiring: What Skills Do They Actually Look For?
What skills do Google, Microsoft, and Amazon look for when hiring software engineers from India in 2026? DSA, system design, and the full hiring process explained.
FAANG (or MAANG) jobs are the aspiration of millions of CS students. The hiring bars are high but well-defined. Here's exactly what these companies look for.
The Common Thread Across All Three
Despite different company cultures, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon test three things:
- Algorithmic problem-solving (DSA) — consistent across all three
- System design — for SDE-2 and above; increasingly asked even for freshers
- Behavioral interviews — structured differently per company
Google's Hiring Process
- Rounds: 1 phone screen + 4–5 on-site (virtual) rounds
- DSA focus: Medium to Hard LeetCode. Graph problems, tree traversals, DP, string manipulation
- System design: Large-scale distributed systems — design Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube
- Behavioral: "Googleyness" — curiosity, collaboration, intellectual humility
- What stands out: Exceptional problem-solving speed AND ability to communicate thought process clearly
Microsoft's Hiring Process
- Rounds: 4–5 technical rounds + 1 HR
- DSA focus: Medium LeetCode, less emphasis on Hard than Google
- System design: Moderate complexity — design a parking lot, URL shortener, notification system
- Behavioral: Respect, accountability, growth mindset (Microsoft's core culture)
- What stands out: Clean code, good communication, demonstrated product thinking
Amazon's Hiring Process
- Rounds: Online assessment + 5–6 interview rounds (loop)
- DSA focus: Medium LeetCode — arrays, trees, graphs, greedy
- System design: Required for SDE-2+ — design DoorDash, Amazon warehouse system
- Leadership Principles (LPs): This is Amazon's uniqueness. You MUST prepare 2–3 stories per LP
- Customer Obsession, Bias for Action, Dive Deep, Deliver Results, Invent and Simplify (14 total)
- What stands out: Data-driven thinking and concrete examples using the STAR format
How to Prepare: 6–12 Month Plan
| Milestone | Activity |
|---|---|
| Month 1–3 | Solve 150 Easy/Medium LeetCode systematically by topic |
| Month 4–5 | Solve 75 Medium/Hard. Practice under time pressure |
| Month 5–6 | System design: read Grokking the System Design Interview, design 10 systems |
| Month 6–8 | Mock interviews (at least 20 rounds with a partner or platform) |
| Month 8–9 | Behavioral prep (for Amazon: write out all 14 LP stories) |
| Month 9–12 | Apply, interview, iterate |
Realistic Expectations
- Most successful candidates apply 3–5 times over 2–3 years before landing a FAANG role
- IIT/NIT brand helps for initial shortlisting but does NOT guarantee success
- Many FAANG engineers in India come from average colleges — skills + persistence win
About Satyaki Das & Classroom Tech
Satyaki Das is the Founder of Classroom Tech and Co-Founder of XShare. He holds an MTech in Computer Engineering from Jadavpur University and an MCA from Techno Main, Salt Lake, Kolkata. A Java Full Stack Developer at TCS, GATE-qualified, and Codevita Rank 848, Satyaki has 11+ years of teaching experience mentoring BCA, B.Tech, MCA, and working professionals into roles at TCS, Wipro, Infosys, Accenture, EY, Deloitte, and Capgemini.
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Satyaki Das (Codevita Rank 848, GATE qualified) has mentored students specifically for high-competitive placement preparation. Connect on LinkedIn or book a session at Topmate.