Why generic prep quietly fails
Most candidates prepare for interviews as if there is one universal format — solve some coding problems, memorise a few strengths and weaknesses, done. Then they walk into wildly different bars. A product company like Google or Amazon runs a multi-round loop that probes depth, trade-offs, and culture fit. An Indian IT services drive at TCS or Accenture runs a funnel of aptitude, technical basics, and a fast HR round. Practising the wrong shape wastes your reps.
Company-specific practice matters because interviewers are not just checking whether you can code. They are checking whether you match a written bar that is unique to that firm — and they are trained to look for evidence of it.
Product companies: depth, trade-offs and a culture bar
FAANG-style loops assume you can code and then push on how you think. Prep for each firm around its distinct signal:
- Google — clean, structured coding with correct complexity analysis, plus "Googleyness": collaboration, humility, comfort with ambiguity. Expect follow-ups that keep raising the difficulty until you stall, on purpose.
- Amazon — the 16 Leadership Principles are the interview. Every behavioural answer is scored against principles like Customer Obsession, Ownership, and Dive Deep, and a Bar Raiser sits in to protect the hiring bar. Vague stories lose here.
- Microsoft — a growth-mindset lens: how you learn from failure, take feedback, and collaborate across teams matters as much as the whiteboard. Expect calmer, more conversational rounds that still expect real depth.
For all three, your behavioural answers should be tight, evidence-backed stories — which is exactly what the STAR method is built for. Pair that with deliberate coding and technical round practice so the problem-solving half never lets you down.
Indian IT services: the aptitude, technical and HR funnel
TCS, Infosys, and Accenture hire at scale, so their drives are a filtering funnel rather than a deep loop:
- Aptitude and reasoning first — quantitative, logical, and verbal sections gate everything else. Speed and accuracy under a timer matter more than cleverness.
- Technical round — fundamentals over exotica: core programming, DBMS, OS, networking, and one language you can defend. Projects on your résumé are fair game.
- HR round — fit, communication, relocation and shift willingness, and why this company. Short, but people are rejected here for weak communication alone.
Services companies reward consistency and clear communication over heroics. A candidate who is calm, structured, and coherent across all three stages beats a brilliant but scattered one.
How Wrexa Edge company boards mirror each style
Wrexa Edge AI mock interviews run 70+ company-specific boards, and each board is tuned to that firm's real style rather than a generic template. The AI interviewer asks role-aware questions, follows up when your answer is thin, and scores you against a rubric with evidence-backed feedback. Practise in Text, Voice, or Video, use the executable coding round for technical firms, and optionally upload your CV so questions are grounded in your own experience.
Start with the guide and board that match your target: the Google SDE interview guide, the Amazon SDE guide for Leadership Principles and the Bar Raiser, or the Microsoft SDE guide. For services drives, work through the TCS SDE guide and the Accenture SDE guide.
A per-company checklist
- Google — two structured coding reps with spoken complexity analysis, plus one Googleyness behavioural story.
- Amazon — map three real stories to specific Leadership Principles; rehearse for Dive Deep follow-ups.
- Microsoft — one "what I learned from failure" story and one cross-team collaboration story, plus a medium coding problem.
- TCS / Infosys — timed aptitude set, then fundamentals drill (DBMS, OS, one language), then a two-minute "about yourself".
- Accenture — communication-focused HR rehearsal plus a technical basics pass; practise speaking clearly, not just correctly.
Not sure which role variant to target? The SDE role guide breaks down what each stage expects, and every board is free to start with no signup. Wrexa Edge is practice only — it builds reps and confidence, it does not predict hiring outcomes.
Frequently asked questions
Is company-specific prep really different, or is that marketing?
It is genuinely different. Amazon scores behavioural answers against written Leadership Principles, Google weights structured coding plus culture signals, and TCS or Accenture front-load aptitude and communication. The formats, the follow-up styles, and the thing being scored all change, so matched practice is more efficient than generic practice.
How many company boards can I practise with?
Wrexa Edge covers 70+ company-specific boards including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, TCS, Accenture, and Infosys, each mirroring that firm's interview style. You can switch boards freely and compare how the same story lands against different bars.
Can I prep for both a product company and a services company at once?
Yes, and many freshers do. Run a services board for aptitude-plus-fundamentals reps and a product board for depth and behavioural rigour. Track both on the practice dashboard so you can see which style still needs work before your real drive.