I Kept Coming Back to Striver’s Playlists, and They Took Me to Google

Hi, I’m Vanshika Agarwal, currently working as a Software Engineer at Google. My software engineering journey started at Juspay, which was my first full time role after college.

The Resource I Kept Coming Back To

Throughout my interview preparation, takeUforward became my go to platform for solving problems, tracking progress, and staying consistent.

But what truly stood out for me were Striver’s playlists. They helped me learn topics from scratch, revise quickly, and still understand the important concepts in depth.

Preparing With Graphs & Trees

For my Juspay interviews, most of the coding rounds focused heavily on Graphs and Trees. I prepared these topics primarily through Striver’s playlists and the curated questions on TUF.

Later, while preparing for Google, I went back to the same resources. Understanding the intuition behind problems instead of memorizing solutions gave me the confidence to tackle coding rounds.

Keeping My Preparation Simple

My strategy was straightforward:

• Learn concepts through Striver’s playlists

• Solve the corresponding TUF questions

• Regularly revise previously solved problems

• Focus on patterns and intuition, not memorization

I didn't keep jumping between resources. I focused on one structured roadmap and stayed consistent with it.

From Juspay to Google

That consistency played an important role in helping me crack Juspay and eventually Google.

Looking back, my biggest takeaway is that cracking top companies isn't about knowing everything. It's about mastering the fundamentals and practising them consistently.

One Piece of Advice

Consistency + takeUforward is the key.

Don't chase too many resources. Pick a structured roadmap, trust the process, and keep showing up every day. Small efforts, when done consistently, really do compound into big results.

And One Unfinished Wish...

I had actually hoped to meet Striver as soon as I joined Google, but he had already left by then. Hopefully, this story reaches him someday!

A Thank You

“A huge thank you to Striver and the entire takeUforward team. TUF and Striver’s guidance gave me the foundation and confidence that helped me through both my Juspay and Google journeys. I’m truly grateful for the role they played in getting me here.”