This is an in-depth Interview Kickstart review that covers the nitty-gritty of this interview prep training.
If you’ve been hearing about Interview Kickstart but are unsure whether it’s worth your money and time or not, then you should read this post to the end.
Without further ado, let’s dive in!
What is Interview Kickstart?
Interview Kickstart is an interview prep Bootcamp for SWEs. The program is managed by professionals who have a ton of experience conducting technical interviews. They aim to help Software Engineers get into the interview mindset.
Interview Kickstart offers 18 domain-specific courses that cover most in-demand tech roles such as Back-end Engineering, Front-end Engineering, Full-stack Engineering, Data Engineering, Data Science, ML Engineering, Engineering Management, TPM, etc.
All these courses are taught by instructors who are actively working at FAANG and other Tier-1 companies, making it a much more effective program.
In fact, their curriculum is also designed by these FAANG instructors and covers everything you need to succeed at a tech interview. Interview Kickstart has trained 13,500+ students. In 2021, the average salary hike received by students was 53%. The highest number of offers received by a single student is 18, and the highest-value offer was $1.2 Million!
With ~15 weeks of training (can be less/more depending on the course you choose), proprietary teaching methods, mock interviews and mentorship from FAANG experts, and a 6-month support period, Interview Kickstart is a proven tool for securing high-paying tech jobs.
Click here to register for their free webinar.
Benefits of Interview Kickstart
1. Variety of Courses to Choose From
As mentioned before, Interview Kickstart offers 18 courses. The following are the roles covered:
Each course has a tailored curriculum based on the role requirement. Here are a few examples of the course structure:
Every course includes:
- Live classes with FAANG+ experts
- Videos and course material
- Weekly live doubt-solving sessions
- Mock interviews and 1:1 mentorship sessions
- Technical + soft skills training
- Minimum 6-month support period, which includes LinkedIn and resumes building, interview strategy, and salary negotiation support
- Access to the alumni network on Discord
Interview Kickstart offering a ton of courses to choose from is one of its perks. All the courses include code practice, behavioral interview prep, mock interviews, domain training, and design practice.
Here is the complete list of the courses taught by Interview Kickstart:
- Back-End Engineering
- Machine Learning
- Technical Program Manager
- Full Stack Engineering
- Data Engineering
- Data Science
- Front-End Engineering
- Site Reliability Engineering
- Product Manager (Tech)
- Engineering Manager
- iOS Engineering
- Security Engineering
- Early Engineering
- Android Engineering
- AWS Cloud Solutions Architect
- Embedded Systems
- Test Engineering
Another thing worth mentioning is the fact that you can get started with any course and then change to another one within three weeks if you feel the need to. This means if you start with Full-Stack Engineering and then realize it’s not what you want, you can change to Data Science or any other course (if it’s within the first three weeks of registration), without any additional payment.
2. Structured & Guided Pathway
If you’ve ever prepared for technical interviews before, I bet you visited LeetCode to solve hundreds of questions, hoping to see some of those questions during your interview.
That’s the old technique, and it doesn’t work anymore because companies today have a database of 16,000+ technical questions to pull from, while the total questions on LeetCode are just 1000.
Interview Kickstart teaches you “power patterns” to solve any programming question thrown at you, even if you haven’t seen it before.
Even for non-technical questions, i.e., behavioral and leadership questions, Interview Kickstart uses the “framework” methodology that enables you to answer questions in a systematic way.
Each course is structured in such a way that all interview-relevant topics are covered, ensuring that you cover all ground.
3. Taught By FAANG+ Experts
Interview Kickstart has a huge team of 500+ instructors. These trainers are hiring managers and tech leads who work at FAANG and other top companies like Microsoft, Twitter, LinkedIn, Uber, and Rivian.
This means you have nothing to worry about regarding the quality of the content you will be taught. A prominent edge, if you ask me.
Did I also mention that you can request a specific instructor? For example, if you are preparing for an Apple interview, you can request that your tutor should be someone that has a ton of experience working with Apple. This allows you to leverage both the knowledge and experience of your teacher.
4. Personalized for Everyone
Another benefit of Interview Kickstart is the Personalized Feedback loops. Every week, you can get feedback from your instructor to know where you are lagging and how to get better.
This allows you to perfect your skill and improve in your challenging areas.
With this special treatment, it’s unlikely that you will experience hurdles during your interview. This is because your tutor might have noticed your weak points and helped you improve on them.
5. Solid Track Record
No words here. Let the numbers speak for themselves:
- 13,500 students trained
- The highest number of offers received by 1 student: 18
- Highest compensation received: $1.2 Million
- Maximum salary hike: $835,000
- 76% of offers generated are greater than $200K
It’s clear that previous students succeeded with Interview Kickstart, you could be next.
6. Mock Interviews
Interview Kickstart also offers ~15 mock interviews with FAANG+ instructors. Students can get detailed feedback from all aspects of the interview and quickly identify the area they need to work on.
7. Powerful Community
There are over 13,500 members in the Interview Kickstart Community. These are tech professionals who you can interact with and get help when you need it.
They can also give you feedback on your interviews, link you to job offers, etc. The community is a big plus for every member.
How Much Does Interview Kickstart Cost?
Interview Kickstart is more expensive than most tech interview courses.
However, the price tag is justified given the in-depth coverage, live classes with FAANG experts, role-specific curriculum, and a much wider network of instructors and alumni.
Having said that, the cost of Interview Kickstart can be anywhere between $4,800 to $9,600, depending on the program/path you choose. While there are similar options like Tech Interview Pro that cost lower, Interview Kickstart is worth the price.
Interview Kickstart Reviews & Testimonials from Pass Students
They have been many good comments from students who have enrolled in one of the Interview Kickstart courses. Here are some of the Interview Kickstart reviews you should see.
Interview Kickstart review by Sanjog Jadhav:
“I would like to thank Interview Kickstart for their amazing training program. I was able to join Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a Software Development Engineer II after completing the course. Cracking a FAANG company interview was a huge deal for me and a major credit for this achievement goes to Interview Kickstart’s coursework and instructors.
All the instructors were great. Every support session helped elevate my responses and answers in interviews to a remarkable extent. Every mock interview I gave added a huge amount of confidence to my bag.
Along with the technical aspects, the mock interviews also taught me a lot of strategies to help me do interviews calmly and confidently without any anxiety. On the actual interview day, it just felt like another session of mock interviews at Interview Kickstart.
I would like to also take this opportunity to thank each instructor I have interacted with. I do make it a point that I tell everyone in my circle that are aspiring to work at FAANG companies to join Interview Kickstart.”
Interview Kickstart review by Rupesh Dabbir:
“Interview Kickstart (IK) provides you a solid platform to not only strengthen your algorithm and interview game, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of the best/brightest minds in the industry (Faculty and students included).
It was a humble experience, to say the least. If you are looking for more than just a Bootcamp to improve your algorithmic skills or Interview skills, I would wholeheartedly suggest IK. Soham and their team have done a phenomenal job in making sure students get the right resources to set their path for success!
I’ve been their 2017 Aluminus batch and have gotten 14 offers including FAANG!
All the best to IK team and I really hope to see this venture grow into something huge.”
Interview Kickstart Pros & Cons:
Pros:
- Interview Kickstart has a large team of instructors (500+), and they are actively working at FAANG and other top tech companies. They are much more in sync with the latest developments in the tech interview space.
- Interview Kickstart offers courses tailored to your role, so you will be receiving domain-specific training.
- Unlike many other tech interview programs that offer only pre-recorded video materials, Interview Kickstart offers a combination of Live classes, videos, and course material.
- Interview Kickstart courses include weekly doubt-solving and assignment review sessions. You can also schedule a 1:1 session with a mentor.
- Interview Kickstart offers “Professional brand building,” which goes way beyond just resume building, to help you land interviews at top tech companies.
Cons:
- When compared to other tech interview programs (like Tech Interview Pro), Interview Kickstart might be deemed too expensive.
- Their courses are more suitable for experienced engineers with at least 3 years of coding experience ( I recommend this program for fresh graduates).
Conclusion – is Interview Kickstart Worth It
If you read this Interview Kickstart review to this part, you’ve definitely seen how the program can help you ace your tech interview and land you your dream tech job at FANNG.
So yes, Interview Kickstart is worth every penny. It can help you to crush your technical interviews by teaching you the soft and technical skills required. You will learn through live classes, regular expert guidance, and a comprehensive curriculum tailored to your target role.
Click here to register for Interview Kickstart’s free webinar.
Most Interview Kickstart students received a 53% average salary hike in 2021, proving that if you choose this program, the return on your investment will surely be worth it.
However, if you can’t afford the high Interview Kickstart cost and you also need to ace your technical interview, there is an option for you: Tech Interview Pro.
Tech Interview Pro is an interview prep program created by an ex-Google and Meta Techlead, Patrick Shyu, who has a lot of experience in the hiring process of FAANG. The best part is it’s almost 10X cheaper ($600 vs $5000) than Interview Kickstart.
So if you are a fresh graduate wanting to crush your tech interview but can’t afford the price of Interview Kickstart, you should go for Tech Interview Pro. Many students have gained success after taking the program. (read the full review here).
However, if you are already working and you need a crazy transition, and have $5000 to spare, Interview Kickstart is definitely a great choice. While the price is high, the result it guarantees made the price worth it.
Interview Kickstart FAQ
How long is the Interview Kickstart Course?
Interview Kickstart contains 15 weeks of training (can be less/more depending on the course you choose), proprietary teaching methods, mock interviews and mentorship from FAANG experts, and a 6-month support period.
What is the Interview Kickstart Webinar?
So before joining the Interview Kickstart program, you will need to register for their free webinar that explains to you how the training will benefit you. Whether you will be signing up for the training or not, I recommend that you join the webinar here.
How Much Does Interview Kickstart Cost?
The cost of the Interview Kickstart can be anywhere between $4,800 to $9,600, depending o the program/path you choose. You can also transition from one course to the other within the first 3 weeks of joining the training.
What is the Best Interview Kickstart Alternative?
The best alternative to Interview Kickstart is Tech Interview Pro. This course tick all boxes as an interview prep tool. It’s a solid program that has helped 2000+ software engineers nail their technical interviews and land their dream tech jobs.c
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