I am a Software Engineer - 2 at Microsoft, a global technology leader that I have always dreamed of working for. I joined the company in April 2021, after two years of gaining valuable experience and skills at Paytm, one of India's leading fintech platforms.

I have a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from YMCA University of Science & Technology, where I developed my passion for technology and innovation. I am proficient in databases, SQL, and iOS development, and I enjoy creating and delivering solutions that enhance user experience and satisfaction. I have also participated in and won multiple hackathons, including the Microsoft Global Hackathon 2022, which demonstrate my creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving abilities.

My professional journey has been driven by my curiosity, persistence, and ambition. I have faced many challenges and setbacks, but I have always learned from them and improved myself. I am always open to new opportunities and feedback, and I strive to excel in my role and contribute to the success of my team and organization. My goal is to continue growing as a software engineer and a leader, and to make a positive impact on the world through technology.

If you’re still preparing after 500 DSA problems… preparation isn’t your real problem anymore.

I once spoke to an engineer who had solved 700+ problems.

Strong fundamentals.
Clean code.
Could explain DP better than most candidates.

Yet… he hadn’t applied for a single interview.

His reason?

“Just one more month. I don’t feel fully ready.”

That’s when I realized something most preparation advice misses:

After a point, DSA stops being learning.
It becomes comfort.

Every new problem gives you a small dopamine hit - progress without risk.
Interviews, on the other hand, feel uncertain, messy, and scary.

So we keep preparing… because it feels safer than being judged.

Here’s what product companies actually test:

✅ How you think under ambiguity
✅ How clearly you communicate
✅ How calmly you recover when stuck

Not how many problems you’ve solved.

At some point, the next level doesn’t come from solving more questions.

It comes from showing up before you feel ready.

Type “START” if you’re done hiding behind preparation 👇

#SoftwareEngineering #DSA #CodingInterview #CareerGrowth

Gunjan Madaan

SDE@Microsoft | AI & Tech Talks | 283K+ on Linkedln

Being the best engineer on the team can actually delay your promotion.


Sounds wrong, right?

I used to believe promotions were simple:
work hard, deliver consistently, and be the person everyone depends on.

So I became that person.

I fixed urgent bugs.
I stayed late when deadlines slipped.
I was the safe pair of hands for every difficult task.

People trusted me and that felt like success.

But something unexpected happened.

While I was busy executing, others were growing faster.
They were not always the strongest coders… but they were visible.

They drove discussions.
They owned ambiguous problems.
They talked about impact, not just execution.

That’s when I learned:

Reliability makes you valuable.
Visibility makes you promotable.

If you only become the “go-to fixer,” the team may struggle to imagine you anywhere else.

Have you ever felt this in your career?

Type REAL if this feels uncomfortably real 👇

#SoftwareEngineering #CareerGrowth

You’re not stuck.
You’re addicted to tutorials.

If your YouTube history is longer than your GitHub commits,

that’s the bottleneck.
❌ Saving playlists
❌ Watching “one more explanation”
❌ Switching teachers when confused
❌ Feeling productive without writing code

This isn’t preparation.

It’s procrastination disguised as learning.
And it’s why you feel busy but stay average.

Here’s the real cost:
• Months of fake progress
• Repeating the same DSA sheets
• “Almost cleared” interviews
• 2–3 years in the same salary band

Most engineers don’t lack resources.
They lack execution reps.

Serious engineers follow this rule:
The 1:3 Rule.
1 hour learning.
3 hours building alone.

No tab switching.
No copying.
No early peeking.

If you can’t rebuild it from memory,
you don’t own it.

Interviews don’t test recognition.
They test reconstruction under pressure.

Consumers feel smart.
Executors get shortlisted.
Save this before your next “one more video.”

Then comment: “I execute.”
Or keep scrolling.

If you only use AI for code, you’re missing the biggest career advantage.


I see this every day.

Engineers use AI to write functions, fix bugs, or explain syntax.

Helpful but that’s not the real shift happening.

While mentoring engineers, I noticed something interesting.

The ones growing fastest weren’t just coding faster.

They were using AI to think more clearly.

They used it to prepare interview stories, break down messy problems before meetings, and turn vague feedback into clear action.

Others treated AI like autocomplete and stayed at the same level.

➡️Your career doesn’t grow because your code is cleaner.
➡️It grows when your thinking, communication, and decisions improve.

AI can accelerate that if you use it intentionally.

Try this:
✔️Use AI before you get stuck.
✔️Ask it to challenge your thinking.
✔️Use it to sharpen ideas, not just code.

Clarity is what separates busy engineers from fast-growing engineers.

#SoftwareEngineering #CareerGrowth #AIForDevelopers #EngineeringLife #TechCareers

Lately, there’s been a lot of excitement around AI models and new software ideas. But the more you look closely, the more you realise that real AI at scale depends less on flashy demos and more on something far more basic: compute and silicon.

That’s why the developments happening in Uttar Pradesh are interesting. With semiconductor assembly and testing units coming up and a serious focus on data and AI infrastructure, this feels less like a one-off project and more like the start of a long-term ecosystem.

We rarely think of public administration as a hardware catalyst. But when a government commits to integrating AI into everyday governance at a state-wide scale, it creates an unprecedented compute challenge. Suddenly, building an AI City in Lucknow isn't just a real estate play for IT parks; it’s about establishing the physical data engine required to process that vision.

Where hardware, compute, and complex datasets go, talent, systems thinking, and deeper tech work usually follow.

For developers, this shift matters. Software is no longer isolated from hardware. Understanding performance limits, efficiency, and how systems behave closer to the chip is slowly becoming just as important as writing clean code.

Tech innovation is also spreading out. It’s no longer restricted to a handful of familiar cities. As compute infrastructure grows, new regions start shaping the future too. You see the validation of this when a giant like IBM decides to set up an AI lab right in Lucknow. Enterprise tech naturally gravitates toward places where massive, complex data ecosystems are being built from the silicon up.

Feels like the next phase of India’s tech story will be built as much on chips and data centres as on apps and platforms.

#SiliconSwaraj #AI_Pradesh #TechUPgrade

Most engineers won’t admit this.

500+ DSA solved.
No shortlist.

Months of grinding ended by one question:
“Why did you choose this approach?”

Silence.

Effort wasn’t the problem.
Depth was.

Most engineers train for completion:
• Finish the problem
 • Protect the streak
 • Recognize the pattern
 • Code fast

That builds momentum.
Interviews test reasoning.

Strong engineers train for pressure:
• Solve fewer problems twice as deep.
 • Clarify constraints before touching code.
 • State assumptions without being asked.
 • Compare trade-offs clearly.
 • Break their own solution first.

Here’s the truth:
Patterns help you begin.
Judgment helps you win.

Typing shows activity.
Thinking gets offers.

Stop asking:
 “How many problems are enough?”
Start asking:
 “When the pattern disappears… can I still think?”

Be honest.

Are you building streaks…
 or building shortlists?

Comment Streaks or Shortlists.

The real interview happens before the interviewer joins.


Most engineers think the interview starts when the call begins.

❌ It doesn’t.

It starts:

✅ When you choose preparation over scrolling
✅ When you solve one more problem after a long 9–5
✅ When you review your mistakes instead of blaming luck
✅ When you improve your resume instead of forwarding it everywhere
✅ When you practice explaining solutions out loud

By the time the interviewer joins…

Your confidence is already decided.
Your clarity is already built.
Your communication is already shaped.

The actual interview is just a reflection.

I’ve seen this so many times.

Two candidates.
Same question.
Same difficulty.

❌ One panics.
✅ One explains calmly.

The difference?

Not intelligence.
Not luck.
Not college.

✅ Preparation.

And preparation is not just solving 500 problems.

❌ Solving blindly
❌ Memorizing patterns
❌ Avoiding mock interviews

Instead:

✅ Practicing under pressure
✅ Learning from failed interviews
✅ Strengthening fundamentals
✅ Improving communication

The interviewer only sees 45 minutes.

But your result is built in the 45 days before that.

If your interviews aren’t going well…

❌ Don’t blame the interviewer.
✅ Fix the phase before the interview.

That’s where the real selection happens.

Comment one word:
READY or PREPARING?

#InterviewPreparation #SoftwareEngineering #CareerGrowth

The fastest-promoted engineers are often NOT the best coders.

I didn’t want to believe this at first.

I thought promotions were simple:
More code → More impact → Faster growth.

But after working closely with senior leaders, I noticed something uncomfortable.

The engineers who grow fastest are the ones who:

✔️ Take ownership before being asked
✔️ Make decisions when things are unclear
✔️ Communicate their impact clearly
✔️ Solve team problems not just ticket problems

Coding matters. But visibility, decision-making, and ownership scale faster than lines of code.

Many talented engineers stay stuck because their work stays invisible.

Your manager cannot promote what the organization cannot feel.

The real shift happens when you move from
“I completed my task” → “I moved the team forward.”

Type YES if you’ve seen this happen at work. 👇

#SoftwareEngineering #CareerGrowth

Most engineers think interview prep is simple:
Solve more DSA problems.

200 problems.
300 problems.
Months of practice.

But the loop never changes:

Solve a question.
Check the solution.
Say “ohh got it.”
Move on.

Repeat.

It feels like progress.

But it’s mostly repetition without diagnosis.

Strong candidates do one thing differently:

They track why they fail.

I call it a Failure Taxonomy.

After every problem, tag the mistake:

• Pattern recognition
• Edge cases
• Wrong data structure
• Implementation errors
• Time-pressure decisions

After ~30 problems, patterns appear.

You stop saying:

“I’m bad at DSA.”

And start seeing the real bottleneck.

Interviewers rarely reject effort.

They reject the same mistake showing up in new problems.

So be honest:

Are you solving more problems…

or debugging how you think?

Real FAANG DSA rounds don’t test solutions.
They test stability under changing constraints.

Most people practice in comfort.

Unlimited time.
AI feeding perfect hints.
Zero consequences.

Then the interviewer says:
“What if memory is capped at 256MB?”

Your O(n log n) doesn’t fit.
You start rewriting.
You lose your structure.

That’s the breaking point.

Run this instead -  the Constraint Escalation Protocol:

1) 25-minute hard cap.
No extensions.

2) Constraint shock at minute 10.
Remove a data structure.
Cut memory.
Double input size.

3) Defense at minute 20.
Explain time complexity.
Space trade-offs.
Why your approach survives change.

Because interviews reward control under pressure.
Not LeetCode recall.

Hard truth:

If one constraint makes you restart,
you never understood the solution.
You memorized the path.

Prepared engineers adjust.
Unprepared ones restart.

In your last real round -
what exact constraint broke your solution,
and how did you respond?

For professionals who demand the absolute best, the AMD Ryzen™ AI PRO 300 Series is the answer.

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#AMD #RyzenAI #AMDPRO #Copilot #MobileWorkstation #Zen5 #AIProductivity

Performance for the Professional Workstation

For a long time, I thought I was underperforming at work.”

I wasn’t writing code all day.
I wasn’t jumping into every bug.
I wasn’t always the fastest person in the room.

And honestly… it made me feel guilty.

Then I started observing senior engineers around me.

They weren’t constantly busy either.

They spent more time thinking than typing.
They asked questions that prevented weeks of rework.
They said “no” to things that didn’t move the product forward.

That’s when I realized a hidden truth about engineering:

Impact doesn’t always look like activity.

Sometimes the most valuable work is invisible 
✔️clearer decisions, 
✔️simpler designs, 
✔️fewer future problems.

If you always feel busy but not impactful, maybe the problem isn’t effort - it’s direction.

Type one word: “REAL.”

#SoftwareEngineering #CareerGrowth

Mock interviews are why you’ve been stuck in the rejection cycle for months.


Especially if you’re a 0–3 YOE engineer.
Not because practice is bad.

Because you’re rehearsing performance.
Not building thinking.

Interviewers don’t reject syntax.
They reject unclear structure.

Most candidates:
❌ Rush to finish
❌ Simulate pressure
❌ Ask for feedback
❌ Repeat the same clarity gaps

So every rejection feels random.
It’s not.

You’re reinforcing the same confusion.

Here’s the system that actually gets offers:
✅ Record every mock
✅ Generate transcript
✅ Highlight vague sentences
✅ Mark logic jumps
✅ Rewrite your explanation clearly
✅ Re-solve the same problem 24 hrs later - verbally

Most people stop here.

You’ll hear:
Filler words.
Messy transitions.
Confidence without clarity.

That’s what’s blocking offers.
Top candidates don’t increase volume.
They refine signal.

One builds real interview skill.
The other builds interview illusions.

Comment “SYSTEM” if you’re rebuilding how you think.
Are you practicing to impress…
or training to finally convert?

Most engineers don’t actually want growth.


They want validation.

Every week I get messages:

“Didi, how do I crack product companies?”
“How many DSA problems are enough?”
“How do I get promoted faster?”
“How do I build visibility?”

But here’s what I’ve noticed after years in Big Tech:

A lot of people don’t want to grow.

They want:
• A tag
• A title
• A company name

Growth is uncomfortable.

Validation is addictive.

Growth means:
– Taking ownership when you might fail
– Speaking in rooms where you feel small
– Shipping imperfect things
– Being misunderstood sometimes

Validation means:
– Solving 500 problems quietly
– Collecting certificates
– Waiting to feel “ready”
– Posting achievements after they’re safe

One builds identity.
One builds ego.

And they don’t feel the same.

The harsh truth?

If you’re still preparing after years…
If you’re still waiting to apply…
If you’re still saying “one more course”…

Maybe you’re not scared of failure.

Maybe you’re scared of being average after trying.

#SoftwareEngineering #CareerGrowth #InterviewPrep #DeveloperMindset

Be honest.

You’re not preparing.

You’re avoiding judgment.

8 months of DSA.
Zero real interviews.

Watching mocks.
Dodging real panels.

Blaming the market.
But not pressing apply.

That’s not strategy.

That’s ego protection.

Engineers (0–6 YOE), understand this:
Skill grows in private.
Selection happens in public.

The difference isn’t talent.

It’s exposure.

Winners don’t wait to feel ready.

They make themselves visible.

2 real applications every week.
1 live mock with ruthless feedback.

Because pressure doesn’t reduce you.

It ranks you.

No exposure = no signal.
No signal = no interviews.
No interviews = no leverage.

Stay invisible long enough…

And someone less skilled but more courageous replaces you.

Companies don’t reject weak candidates.

They reject invisible ones.

Zero interview risk = zero career growth.

Comment RANKING UP if you’re applying.
Comment STILL SAFE if you’re not.

Most engineers don’t need more skills.


I review a lot of profiles.
And I’ve noticed something

✅Brilliant engineers.
✅Strong DSA.
✅Solid projects.
✅Good companies.

But hiding.

Hiding behind:
• “I’m not ready.”

The engineers who grow fastest aren’t always the smartest.

They are the ones who:
• Share before they feel perfect
• Speak before they feel confident
• Take ownership before they feel ready

I’ve worked for years.

The biggest jump in my growth didn’t come from solving harder problems.

It came from:
✔️Asking better questions
✔️Making my thinking visible
✔️Taking space in rooms I once felt small in

Skill builds your value.

Visibility builds your trajectory.

If you’re still waiting to feel “ready”…

You’re not behind.

You’re just hiding.

Comment the one word that’s stopping you.

#SoftwareEngineering #CareerGrowth #TechCareers #DeveloperLife

You’re not getting rejected because of DSA.


You’re getting rejected because you’re invisible in the room.

After dozens of interviews, one pattern is obvious:
Most candidates solve.
Very few signal seniority.

You solved it.

Then you went silent.

Interviewer:
“Walk me through your approach.”
You: starts typing faster.

That silence?

It costs offers.

Sometimes ₹10–15 LPA over 3–4 years.

❌ Code before clarity
❌ Private thinking
❌ Waiting to be prompted
❌ Confusing correctness with competence

That’s junior signal.

Hiring doesn’t reward answers.
It rewards judgment.

LOUD judgment.

Use the 3-Layer Answer Framework:

1️⃣ Approach
Before code:
“What pattern fits?”
“Why this over alternatives?”

2️⃣ Tradeoff
“What did I reject?”
“What breaks if I choose differently?”

3️⃣ Complexity
Time. Space.
What happens at 10M users?

Now they see decision-making.
Not LeetCode speed.

Hard truth:
Articulation compounds.

Year 1: better feedback.
Year 2: better projects.
Year 3: faster promotion.

The silent engineer keeps “preparing.”

Two candidates.
Same solution.

One makes thinking visible.
One hides behind syntax.

One grows into ₹25 LPA+.
One blames luck.

You can be technically correct.

Or professionally visible.

You can’t be invisible and senior at the same time.

Who are you becoming?

The biggest interview mistake engineers make with AI isn’t what you think.

It’s not using AI too much.


It’s using AI to avoid thinking.

I recently spoke with an engineer who solved dozens of problems with AI help.
Solutions looked perfect.
Speed looked impressive.

But during a real mock interview… they got stuck in the first 10 minutes.

Why?

Because interviews don’t test whether you can arrive at the answer.
They test how you think when you don’t know the answer yet.

AI gives confidence fast.
Interviews expose depth slowly.
If AI always rescues you, your brain never builds recovery skills.

A better way to use AI for mock interviews:

✅Ask AI to behave like a strict interviewer, not a teacher.
✅Explain your approach first no hints allowed.
✅Ask for feedback on communication, structure, and decision-making.
✅Practice handling silence and uncertainty.

AI should simulate pressure not remove it.

That shift turns practice into real preparation.


#SoftwareEngineering #InterviewPreparation #AIForDevelopers #TechCareers

More DSA won’t fix your interview problem.

600 questions solved.
Still no offer.

That’s not a skill issue.
It’s a thinking issue.

Most engineers practice like this:
• Random problems
 • Daily streak obsession
 • Pattern memorization
 • Code first, think later

That builds speed.
Not judgment.

Strong engineers practice differently:
• Fewer problems. Deeper analysis.
 • Clarify constraints before touching code.
 • Ask, “What breaks?”
 • Compare trade-offs out loud.
 • Design edge cases intentionally.

In interviews, depth > volume.

Quantity makes you busy.
Depth makes you dangerous.

Stop asking:
 “How many questions should I solve?”
Start asking:
 “If I remove LeetCode, can I still think clearly?”

Be honest.

Are you training memory…
 or training judgment?

#DSA #InterviewPrep #SoftwareEngineering

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