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Google L3/L4 Prep — 12 Month Plan
Started: 2026-05-04 (Mon, Week 1 of Max sprint, alongside building) · Target: Apply Feb 2027
~2 min read·updated 5/29/2026
Google L3/L4 Prep — 12 Month Plan
Started: 2026-05-04 (Mon, Week 1 of Max sprint, alongside building) · Target: Apply Feb 2027
The bar for L3/L4 SWE in India: 400+ LeetCode solved, mid-level system design, strong portfolio (already covered by Pillar 1-3 builds), referral or strong cold application, behavioral STAR fluency.
12-month timeline
| Phase | Months | Focus | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | May–Jul (3 mo) | Neetcode 150 (Easy → Medium), patterns | 150 problems, all patterns recognized |
| Grind | Aug–Oct (3 mo) | Medium 100 + Hard 30 + DDIA + System Design Primer | 280+ total, design any system in 45min |
| Mock + Apply | Nov–Jan (3 mo) | Pramp/interviewing.io + behavioral STAR + referrals | 60% mock pass rate, 5+ referrals |
| Interview | Feb–Apr (3 mo) | Apply, interview, negotiate | Offer or strong feedback |
Daily commitment (non-negotiable)
- 07:00–08:30 — LeetCode (1.5h weekdays, 1h weekends)
- 21:00–21:30 — System design reading (DDIA chapter; week 13+ replace with mock interview Sat/Sun)
That's ~12h/week. Skipping is what kills people. Treat it like brushing teeth.
Reference docs
neetcode-150.md— week-by-week problem schedule (Phase 1)dsa-prep/— comprehensive DSA reference notes aligned to Neetcode weeks (concepts, templates, walkthroughs, pitfalls)system-design-syllabus.md— DDIA + System Design Primer chapter mapping (Phase 2)behavioral-star.md— Yash's stories, mapped to common Google behavioral questionsreferral-targets.md— list of Indians at Google to reach out to via LinkedIn (Phase 3)
Tracking
LeetCode count syncs to Life OS Module 2 (Tasks + Habits with LeetCode subtype). Daily heatmap. Public dashboard at os.yashrajgupta.dev/public/leetcode for accountability — or share screenshot weekly on Twitter.
Resources (free vs paid)
Free (use these):
- Neetcode 150 problem list + YouTube videos
- LeetCode itself (free tier — premium NOT needed for first 200)
- System Design Primer (donnemartin/system-design-primer on GitHub)
- Designing Data-Intensive Applications (book — pirate or buy ₹500 used)
- ByteByteGo newsletter (free articles)
- HelloInterview free system design walkthroughs
- /r/cscareerquestions, Blind for vibe checks
Paid (only if needed):
- LeetCode Premium ($35/mo) — only when you start company-tagged practice (Phase 3)
- interviewing.io ($150-$200/mock) — last 4 weeks before interview
- Pramp (free) — peer mocks throughout
Skip:
- Cracking the Coding Interview (outdated for FAANG patterns)
- Educative.io ($59/mo) — overlaps Neetcode for free
- AlgoExpert ($99/yr) — Neetcode covers same ground free
What NOT to do
- Don't grind random problems. Stick to Neetcode 150 → company-tagged → Hard mix. Pattern repetition > random volume.
- Don't read every system design article online. Pick DDIA + SDP, finish those, then expand.
- Don't avoid mock interviews. The first 5 are awful. Do them anyway.
- Don't apply before Phase 3. Cold-applying with weak prep = wasted referral. Wait until you can pass mocks 60%+.
Referral strategy (Phase 3)
By month 7, you should have:
- Shipped 4+ products (resume content)
- Build-in-public Twitter with 1k+ followers (your warm-intro vector)
- LinkedIn DMs sent to 30 Googlers in Bangalore/Hyderabad/Gurgaon over 2 months — be specific about what you've shipped, not "can you refer me?"
Goal: 5+ active referrals submitted by Month 9.
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