> Last week I received a rejection email from the recruiter, and at first, I thought it was a mistake, and laughed it off. I checked in with my referral and he inquired into it and lobbied on my behalf, but in the end, it didn’t change the situation.... The thing that bothers me is that I didn’t even get a phone screen. I didn’t even talk to a recruiter over the phone. After all this work and enthusiasm, I didn’t even get a chance to prove myself.... After speaking with some folks related to Google, the best I can determine is that they decided to pass because there wasn’t a good fit on any teams where I might be qualified. This is in agreement with the rejection email I received — there were no roles fitting my experience and background.
> I’ve been hired as a Software Development Engineer at Amazon!
Assuming you can get to the actual interview stage, the fastest option is to prepare by just grinding leetcode to maximize your chances of passing the interview. That won't help with aspects like the system design or behavioral interviews, but grinding leetcode will give you a better chance of passing the coding interview compared to studying CS theory.