One bit of dirty laundry to keep in mind with FAANG and friends is that the interview process is somewhat self-selecting. Often times, the very people that crammed leetcode in the hopes of landing FAANG roles are the ones interviewing candidates three months later. So there this sort of twisted feedback cycle where the interviewers think that leetcode solving ability is a sort of badge of honor or whatever.
Obviously not all interviewers are like that, and at more senior levels, interviewers do place more emphasis on other criteria, but for entry/L4/L5-ish roles, it's a pretty rampant thing.
Obviously not all interviewers are like that, and at more senior levels, interviewers do place more emphasis on other criteria, but for entry/L4/L5-ish roles, it's a pretty rampant thing.