Is it worth joining Interview Prep Bootcamps?

In the fast-paced world, everyone seeks the shortest route to achieve long-term success. However, shortcuts are not applicable when it comes to landing a job in a top tech company like Facebook, Google, or Microsoft. Such renowned companies often have a multi-layered interview process to test a candidate’s competency on different levels. The process includes coding interviews, system design interviews, cultural-fit interviews, object-oriented design interviews, checking OS and Concurrency concepts, cognitive abilities assessment, etc. In this blog, we will understand if it is worth joining an Interview Prep Bootcamps.

Most job seekers enroll in interview prep courses to pave their way through the competitive job market with end-to-end career assistance. If you are also considering joining an interview prep Bootcamp to crack your next tech job interview, you need to determine if it is actually worth it.

Let’s analyze all aspects of interview prep Bootcamps, how they function, their outcomes, and why they are not as effective as getting technically trained to build a career in technology.

What is an Interview Prep Bootcamp?

Interview Prep Bootcamps are career support institutes that provide fast-track interview preparation courses like coding interview bootcamp, programming interview bootcamp, etc., to try and assist candidates’ clear interviews. These Bootcamps offer a crash course in coding concepts, commonly asked technical interview questions, and non-technical know-how employers look for in their potential candidates.

Several interview prep Bootcamps like Interview Kickstart, Interview Camp, AlgoExpert, Interview Cake, and Coderbyte provide short-term courses to prepare candidates for coding interviews in leading tech companies.

The interview prep courses are designed to provide an intensive and fast-paced route which sometimes consists of solving 100’s of coding problems within a short span of 4-6 weeks to assist candidates to clear interviews.

Pros and Cons of Joining an Interview Prep Bootcamp

Who Should Apply for Interview Prep Bootcamps?

An interview prep Bootcamp is suitable for you if you are:

• Someone who needs guidance for interview preparation and a job switch
• You already have experience in the field in which you want to get a job, but you just need to sharpen your programming and interview skills.
• Looking to improve your technical interview skills with a domain expert
• An individual who wishes to learn quick coding tricks and tips demanded by the industry
• Need to refresh data structures and algorithms, and system designs

Skills Top Companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft look for in Candidates While Interviewing:

Tech giants have recently been given a new acronym by Jim Cramer from CNBC, who replaced FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google) with a new acronym for the new hot technology companies as MAMAA -META (Formerly Facebook), Alphabet (Parent company of Google), Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple. Companies only hire the best talent. These companies are constantly bombarded with hundreds of thousands of resumes from skilled developers, engineers, data scientists, designers, and product managers; thus, you must be at your A-game to secure a job there.

To help you out, we have analyzed interviews given by people at MAMAA companies- META (Formerly Facebook), Alphabet (Parent company of Google), Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple and based on our research, we have picked out the most in-demand skills that these companies commonly look for in candidates. Below are the must-have skills in the order of importance you need to be good at to get hired in a MAMAA company or, in general, in a good technology company:

• Coding skills (competency in popular programming languages like Python, Java, C++, SQL)
• Data Structures & Algorithms
• Cloud Computing (familiarity with AWS, Azure, or other cloud platforms)
• Distributed Systems
• Full Stack Development
• Business Intelligence and Analysis
• Cybersecurity
• AI, Machine Learning, & Deep Learning
• Big Data, Data Analysis, Data Mining, and Data Science
• Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
• Agile Methodologies (project management for software development)
• General cognitive abilities and soft skills (leadership, communication, teamwork, time management)
• Critical thinking and problem-solving abilities

Are Interview Prep Bootcamps worth it?

• Now let’s just cut to the chase; if you are thinking of joining a coding or programming interview bootcamp as a complete fresher, then it might not provide you the desired outcome as it requires you to be well-versed in a diverse range of skills beforehand. You may also fail to cope with their intense career-building programs as it requires a lot of self-training, hard work, and dedication.

• The key to bagging a job in top companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple is a firm programming foundation. You need to take the comprehensive learning path if you are looking for a long-term career in technology. Besides, there are various foundation skills needed before taking up any interview prep Bootcamp.

• Just like a tennis player cannot win Wimbledon by only practicing the shots, or a soccer player wins the world cup by kicking balls into the goal, neither can you land a high-tech job by simply enrolling in an interview jumpstart Bootcamp.  The right approach is to learn from the basics, build a foundation, get a deep understanding of coding, acquire the necessary skills through an upskill program, prepare for tech interviews, and then apply for jobs.

• Such Bootcamps are not worth it as they only work as a cheat sheet to pass the interviews and do not support career advancement or guarantee placement.

Why do candidates struggle to get a job even after attending an Interview Prep Bootcamp?

• A recent report by Monster.com reveals that a whopping 90% of job seekers get ghosted amid the application process, leaving them disappointed and losing faith in the system.  The more rejection candidates face, the more they get distressed and undergo anxiety over the job process. However, the job market is flooded with opportunities despite a supply-demand imbalance. It is due to the shortage of the right talent and qualified candidates.

• Many job seekers fail to secure a job even after joining an interview prep bootcamp because of their inability to get through the application process, as their resume does not highlight the necessary skills and expertise that companies seek in a candidate.

• So, as a job seeker, you need to stand out by gaining industry-relevant, job-ready skills. Conduct market research and look for the most in-demand skills. Get professional training to acquire those skills and become more marketable.

What is the best way to secure a Tech Job?

• Basically, interview prep camps are fast-paced, but to get in-depth subject knowledge, you need to invest more time. Don’t be tempted to take shortcuts; instead, invest in your future by enrolling in a trusted Coding Bootcamp in California, SynergisticIT. Get hands-on training in high-demand technologies like Java, Python, AWS, Data Science, Machine Learning, MERN Stack, and Cybersecurity.

• We provide ISA in which the candidates need to pay a total of $30k with a guaranteed salary package of $75k or more. It gives a sense of surety to our prospective candidates that they will get rewarding results.

• Many candidates take these interview prep camps and other coding interview bootcamps, and then they come to us. Joining an interview prep Bootcamp as a fresher is like you don’t know how to ride a bicycle, and they are making you ride a rocket ship, which can be overwhelming. It is similar to fast food, which is quick to make but unhealthy. So, instead, you should go to a good quality restaurant that can prepare you fresh food; in this case, it’s SynergisticIT.

• An interview bootcamp might only help if you want a job, but to build a career, you need to join the best training Bootcamp like SynergisticIT, where you can leverage your new portfolio of skills you learned through the investment of time. It will guarantee that you are different in terms of skills from other job seekers in the market, and you will have a career, not just a job.

• The fee structure of interview prep camps ranges from $5k to $10k, but they often have lower success rates and poor salaries. So, why not invest your time once rather than just keep taking chances? Most coding bootcamps and Interview bootcamps claim to get their candidates jobs, but you should verify what salaries they are offering before considering them. We at SynergisticIT have a higher success rate of 97.8%, with our recent graduates making an average salary of around $85k to $150k per annum.

• Learn the real-world practical application of important technologies. You don’t need prior coding knowledge or experience to take our upskill program as we train candidates from scratch. We provide a complete learning path to students with our extensive course coverage. Our curriculum is framed according to industry standards, and we equip candidates with the basics to advance level concepts. Essentially what interview prep bootcamps offer is an existing part of our curriculum, and you don’t have to spend extra time and resources on something which is supposed to be included in the first place.

You will be more confident in pursuing your tech career when you gain the needed knowledge. After the training, we provide career assistance and prepare candidates through mock interviews, coding, and behavioral and psychometric test practices. Our seasoned recruiters work on your soft skills and market your skills to our extensive network of clients.

When you gain the needed knowledge, you will be more confident in pursuing your tech career.

Anytime you want to upgrade your skills and need a helping hand to enter or reenter the tech workforce with high-demand tech skills, reach out to us. Since 2010 we have helped 1000’s of jobseekers achieve success in the technology sector. SynergisticIT’s career-oriented training programs guarantee fast-paced, quality tech education, preparing you with top-notch skills for coveted tech roles in the industry. Reach out to us. SynergisticIT– Home of the Best Data Scientists and Software Programmers in the Bay Area!