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Comment by nunez | Hacker News Reader

Casual interviews definitely still exist, though the companies those jobs are attached to are typically not tech and pay less.

Consulting positions also don't have much leetcode BS. These have always focused much more on practical experience. They also pay less than Staff+ roles at FAANGs.

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Most of the consulting positions I’m aware of also hire a far lower talent caliber than FAANG, so they need bodies, not top talent.

I have worked at a company who had a casual, experienced-based, conversational interview. The engineering there was atrocious, and I left as soon as I could.

If you can talk your way into a position, that says a lot about the level of talent there. Top talent wants to work at a place that has a transparent and merit based performance bar, and you can’t smooth-talk your way into a job.

If you’re referring to body shop consulting agencies this may be true, but IME as an IC consultant in DS/ML, my rates are well above Staff+ at FAANG, and nobody has ever tried to leetcode interview me. Yes, I have to do a lot of smooth talking, but performance is extremely transparent: if I don’t deliver, I don’t get paid. Honestly I doubt I could pass a leetcode style interview, and I’m glad I don’t have to do that anymore.

That and there are high-quality boutique consulting firms that are happy to pay big bucks for super skilled people

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