DEV Community: Manvi Tyagi

How did I get multiple interview calls and referrals?

Manvi Tyagi — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 16:30:46 +0000

My previous post about my placements journey got ~17k views and the most asked follow-up question was - "How did I manage to get interview calls from these many companies off-campus?", so here I am writing this blog on the same.

The short answer - Referrals, An updated and active Linkedin Profile, A Green Github Profile, A decent Resume.

For the long answer, Continue Reading -

Disclaimer - All views are my own, my observations, and experiences, None of the organizations I have worked with have anything to do with it.

This is what I am gonna cover in this blog -

General Offcampus Application Process
Where to ask for Referrals?
How not to ask for Referrals?
How to ask for Referrals?
Tips for LinkedIn Profile
Tips for Resume
The Final Strategy and The List of 50 Companies

The last part of the article includes my strategy of approaching and applying to companies.

General Offcampus Application Process -

Almost every company has a careers page. You can find it by just googling CompanyName Careers. They usually post their openings here. And applicants apply for these openings through the respective careers site. The Recruiters see these applications and shortlist the resumes/profiles that they like and then those candidates are called for interviews.
But Wait, Do you think that the Recruiters would be going through thousands and thousands of resumes to shortlist submitted directly through the careers portal? Maybe Not!
Now there are 2 things added in the scenario -

ATS(Applicant Tracking Software) Filtering - This is used to automatically filter Resumes. Heard the term ATS-friendly Resumes?
Referrals - The people working at the company currently can refer their connections whom they believe would be a great fit for the role. The referred applications are treated as priority applications and those applications are most probably reviewed.

Both the above things increase your chances of getting shortlisted for the next rounds.

Tip - If you are looking for internships/jobs in startups, head on to angel.co. (Not sponsored :P)

Where to ask for Referrals?

Linkedin
Twitter
Your College Seniors

Search the people working in XYZ company and text them to ask for refer your profile in their company.
Most of my referrals have been through Linkedin and a couple through my College Seniors.

How not to ask for Referrals?

hlw, can you refer me
hi, can i ask a question
Hi Sir, I came to know that --- is hiring, can you refer me there?` 
Can u help me for search job?

How to ask for Referrals?

Few important things to know -

Don't use the WhatsApp ways 😬 - u, plz, hlp, ur, hlw
Send the Job Id/Job Link - It's not the responsibility of a Software Engineer to find the right job for you. Please don't expect them to search a relevant job for your profile.
Don't forget to attach your Resume
Don't text XYZ company employees for referral in ABC company 😬
Be respectful and polite. - Respect the time of the other person.

So, The deal is - Not all employees are active on Linkedin and those who are active again might be getting hundreds of messages from so many people. So, you gotta catch their attention with your message and skills :p

Tips to write just the right message -

Include your graduation year/YOE whichever is applicable.
A little about your skills/expertise area.
Mention your previous internships/experiences/projects.
And of course, the Job Id for which you want a referral.
Not too long to read, Not too short like the ones in the above section

I am attaching a couple of examples to give you a better idea -

Hi, I am Manvi Tyagi. I am looking for full-time job opportunities as an SDE-1 for the year 2021.
I am currently an SDE Intern at Paypal and have interned with 2 other companies in the Software industry. 
I have hands-on experience in development and implementation with solid programming expertise in C++, Python, Javascript.
My Top Projects are - Live Project Link (add this only if you have some interesting project and not RGB game)

I am very much interested in the position of SDE-1 at XYZ(Job Id and Job Link) and I believe that I would be a great fit for the role.   
Can you please refer me for the corresponding role? I am attaching my latest resume along with the text, please review it, sir.
[Name and Email-Id]
[Resume Attached]

Hello ---- Sir!
Thank You for taking the time to connect with me. 
I am a final year Computer Science student graduating in 2021.

My skills are a mixture of:
- Data Structures & Algorithms (xyz+ problems solved/Coding Profile Link/Rating of any coding platform)
- Web Application Development (With internship experience at Paypal, Innovaccer, PWS //you can also mention tech-stack here if no internships done)
- Teamwork/Leadership (Founder of the coding club [Girl Code It](https://www.linkedin.com/company/girl-code-it))

My Github Profile - Link here

I am very much interested in the position of Software Engineer at COMPANYNAME. 
Job Link: https://something/something
Job ID: 84xxx

Would you be willing to refer me for the corresponding role?
[Name and Email-Id]
[Resume Attached]

Pro-tip: Don't copy the above ones, Originality has it's own charm :p

ULTRA PRO TIP - Don't just send Hi, Hello, How are you on Linkedin and wait for the other person to reply. Write Why are you texting them to the point in one message.
If you just want to initiate a conversation- Introduce yourself and share about your interests and ongoing work/project/whatever.

How many people should you message?

As per my experience, 15-30 is a safe number. Fingers crossed then!
Once you get a reply/referral from 1 person, please kindly inform the other people you messaged that You don't need the referral anymore.

Tips for LinkedIn Profile

A headline describing your current role
A formal profile picture (No profile picture I think reduces credibility - Fake accounts exist right)
A Quick Summary of Who you are, What you are working on, What you like, What skills you have etc.
Use the Featured Option to have your updated Resume easily accessible on Linkedin
Explanatory Work Experience Section instead of just Titles
Add your projects and Accomplishments too - Add descriptions here too (Click on Add Section and you will find all these)
Good if you have Recommendations/Endorsements from people you have worked with. Having this part empty is better than having Fake Recommendations/Endorsements
Extra Important Tip - Keep sharing your projects, your achievements in hackathons or coding contests on your Linkedin/Twitter. This has more power than you know.
Attaching a more detailed blog with examples if the above didn't feel enough.

Tips for Resume

Well, I want to save myself some writing.
Here is an amazing video and a glance article which covers it all.
Some useful resources -

You can make decent resumes from these sites: Resumepuppy, overleaf
Check your Resume Score here - Resumeworded, ~80 is a good score.

The Final Strategy - What did I do?

The show is not over yet. There are so many answered questions and a few tricks to be revealed. Keep reading!

I kept my Linkedin Profile, Resume and Github Profile updated.
I prepared a list of ~50 companies where I wanted to apply (Find this list here.
- I visited their careers site and turned on the notifications for "Software Engineer Role". Whenever there would be an opening, I would get an email from them directly.
- I followed all these companies on Linkedin.
- Now this is what I different from the majority of the folks - Most people would send a connection request to employees of XYZ company when XYZ company has an opening and they need a referral for it. Now there are several possibilities of you not getting a referral easily by doing this:
  - A large number of folks send requests at this time. The "potential referrer" may just miss your request and even if she/he accepts, they may not get to read your message.
  - The company removes the job posting before you get a referral. This has happened to me a few times :)

A better approach would be to "Build Connections rather than just Finding referrals".
I made several connections at all these companies mentioned in my list. I made these connections, not on the day I wanted a referral for some role but a lot more in advance. For a few weeks, it became a part of my routine to open Linkedin along with my List of companies and send connection requests(with a short note) to ~30 people (a mix of Software Developers and Recruiters).

How did it help me?

I got to talk to some very kind and supportive people who reviewed my resume, projects and gave me some useful tips for my career.
Whenever an opening would come for XYZ company, I would most probably already have the connections to ask for a referral instead of sending them connection requests, waiting for it to be accepted, and then asking for a referral.
Many employees and Recruiters post on their LinkedIn profile about the openings in their company, and as I was already connected to so many people at all these companies, my Linkedin Feed would pop-up these for me.
And some of these connections had probably been seeing my posts on Linkedin, they already knew me. It helped them to quickly decide whether I am a good candidate for the role or not.

That's all fellas! There have been no rocket science behind how I managed to get referrals for most companies. That was it! I am the first Engineer in my extended family, I had no elder siblings/cousins/uncles/aunts who referred or guided me. It is my precious Linkedin Network and I am so grateful to all of them.

Conclusion

Did it feel like a lot of effort to keep your Linkedin/Github/Twitter Profile updated, sharing about your projects/achievements, preparing this big list of companies, making all these connections, asking for referrals from 20 people, and getting replies from 1 or 2 on the top of grinding leetcode, improving problem-solving skills, learning development and making projects?
Maybe it did, but when I look back, I can so gladly say that "It was all worth the effort"! I thank myself for putting in some extra effort and I am sure You will thank yourself too just after a few months :)

So, Keep the Josh high, Keep coding, and Keep applying to your dream companies!!

I hope this article adds some value to your knowledge and awareness. If there is something you find missing or have any more questions, please feel free to ask in the comments below. I will appreciate your feedback :)

My Placements Journey

Manvi Tyagi — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 14:09:48 +0000

This article is all about my placements journey. I have cleared interviews and got offers from Microsoft, Twitter, Amazon, PayPal, Cisco and a couple more. I am sharing my interview experiences not only for these companies but for all the companies where I was rejected too - Google, Sharechat, Atlan, Postman, Amazon. And the reason for that is - "You can't do all the mistakes by yourselves to learn from them, A wise person learns from the mistakes of others." I have shared my mistakes and learnings from different interviews, hopefully it will be helpful.

I am a final year student from a Tier-3 college (and it really doesn't matter), but I have to mention it because so many juniors are worried about this fact and I wanna make clear that - "Accept whatever you got and work towards your goal, Tier-3 College Tag won't block your ways if you upskill enough".

All the experiences would cover the following details:

Timeline
How did I apply
Interview Process
My Learning

Let's just start then -
Also, Don't get demotivated by my repeated rejections, We will move towards the good things gradually :p

ZS Associates - SELECTED

Role: Business Technology Analyst
How did I apply: ZS Campus Beats Challenge
Timeline: Applied in March, Process in April-May

First interview of 4th year. Though not the desired role or package, but my confidence was boosted after clearing all the rounds.
A lengthy process and not for SDE Role too so I am not penning it down here.

AMAZON - REJECTED

Role: SDE Intern
Timeline: Applied in May and Interviews in June
Applied through: Amaze Wow
Process
1. Online Coding Test
2. F2F Elimination Round 1:
  - 2 Questions - 1 each from Trees and DP
  - I solved the Trees one completely, struggled with the DP one
  - Rejected in this round itself
Learning:
- I didn't manage my time well, spent too much time on 1st question due to which couldn't code the 2nd within the given time.
- I was pretty bad at explaining, interviewing just doesn't mean solving a question on silent mode.

POSTMAN - REJECTED

Role: SDE Intern
Timeline: Applied and Interviewed in August
Applied through: Careers Site (With referral)
Process
1. Online Coding Test
2. 1st F2F Round: JavaScript, Computer Networks, Databases, Resume Projects. All these were asked in great detail, cross-question from each answer, deep dive into all questions. Some questions that I remember: SSL Verification Process, many confusing questions around this in JavaScript, How HTTP and HTTPs connections are established, questions around working of NodeJS etc. I was rejected after this round itself. No DSA asked.
3. FYI, 2 more F2F Rounds were expected if I had cleared the previous round.
Learning: Till now, I was majorly focusing on DSA, with this interview, I realized, I need to thoroughly study all CS Subject Fundamentals and just reading Top 50 interview Questions of OS before the interview isn't gonna work :p

GOOGLE - REJECTED

Role: Software Developer
Timeline: Applied in August, Interviewed in September
Applied through: Careers Site (With referral)
Process:
1. 5 On-site Rounds(4 tech + 1 Googlyness) were to be scheduled. First 3 on Day 1 and remaining 2 only if the feedback from previous 3 rounds was positive.
2. Interview Day: I was already quite nervous. In the first interview, 2 questions were asked, I solved both, one with expected time and space complexity but for the other question, the interviewer expected a more optimised solution. I sat for the 2nd interview with increased nervousness, only 1 question was asked, which I solved and coded but again the interviewer pushed for a more optimized approach. By this time, I knew that I have lost this chance and with no expectations, sat for the 3rd Round, this time I solved and coded the solution with best possible complexity, covered all edge cases etc. and the interviewer seemed happy with my performance. Topics of questions - DP, Binary Search, Graph, Hashmap
3. I got a feedback call within the same week from the recruiter and I was rejected once again.
Learning: After this interview, I could clearly see the areas I needed to work on. The rejection and feedback from Google instead of demotivating me, lifted my spirits. I got 1 YES and 2 NOs from the 3 rounds, but the good thing was that even the 2 interviewers sent this feedback "She was way too near the optimization needed, it was a matter of some more minutes, and She would have solved it." They also told me my strong points along with where I lacked. I clearly knew that I needed to work more on Speed and Problem Solving Skills and I definitely started on it soon after this interview by giving more and more live contests and upsolving them regularly on Codeforces, atcoder, Leetcode, Codechef(short-only), binarysearch.io.
Another big takeaway was giving interviews with a calm mind and confidence. My nervousness really slowed down my brain.

SHARECHAT - REJECTED

Role: Frontend Intern
Timeline: Applied and Interviewed in September
Applied through: A google form was all around. I just filled it and got the test link.
Process
1. Online Coding Test(3 questions)
2. DSA Round(elimination round): 2 questions(Topics - Graph and Hashmap) were asked, complete optimised, running, clean, bug-free code was expected for both. I performed quite good in this round. Interviewer seemed impressed. After a couple of hours, recruiter called and informed that I have my next round the next day.
3. Frontend Dev Round(elimination round): HTML, CSS, JavaScript, ReactJS - This round revolved around these things only.
4. Within the same week, I got the rejection mail.
Little more background: This was the 3rd time in the same year itself, that I received test link from Sharechat. First time, for Backend Intern Role(Out of 3, solved 2 questions completely and 1 partially, didn't get interview call), 2nd time for SDE Intern Role(solved all 3 questions completely, still didn't get interview call), 3rd time for Frontend Intern Role(solved all 3 questions completely, and got interview call this time). Now the sad thing at that time was that I had not been into frontend development at all, Backend Development was where both my skills and interest lied, but I thought that I will practice some frontend before the interviews. Now a more sad thing was that the interviews were scheduled just in a couple of days -- on the same day, my 3 google interviews were scheduled :P. As a result, I couldn't prepare anything for the frontend round.
Learning: Well, I was happy after performing good in DSA Round. Bad performance in frontend dev round didn't affect me because I hadn't prepared for it.

ATLAN - REJECTED

Role: Backend Intern
Timeline: Applied in July, Interviewed in September
Applied through: Careers Site(without referral), the application form was lengthy and asked about many things including - projects, open source contributions etc.
Process:
1. Project Submission: They gave a problem statement, I had to build a solution(Android App or Website). I enjoyed making this project.
2. 1st F2F Round: No DSA again, Many questions around the project I submitted in the previous round. Some questions revolved around scalability approaches, system design basics, reliability and failure in big projects. I answered most of the questions. And the interviewer seemed quite happy. There were some questions like - http multipart request, MySQL master slave replication that I couldn't answer.
3. Result: This time I wasn't expecting rejection, but who cares about expectations, I was again rejected with a message that my past-experiences, projects, stack doesn't suit the requirement.
Learning: Stop expecting, You can get rejected even after you feel you did good.

INNOVACCER - PPO

Little good news in September, I received Pre Placement Offer from Innovaccer, where I did my summer intern. For the interview experience and process refer my other article.

A Break that I took from Interviewing

I was tired by this point, for some or the other reason, I was getting rejected again and again. I was working on my weak areas, analysing for each interview, why I couldn't make it and improving on those things. But every interview gave me a new reason of rejection.
The companies that I have listed above are only the ones I got interview calls from, Leave alone the companies where I applied and didn't get a reply and the companies from where I received test link but didn't get interview calls(2 cases here - For some, I didn't perform well enough in the tests, for some I didn't get interview call even after solving the tests completely).
I stopped applying to any companies at this point and just practiced more for around 1.5 months silently. No LinkedIn, No interviews, only coding and brushing fundamentals again.

CISCO - SELECTED

Role: SDE Intern
Timeline: Applied in July, interviewed in November. I had totally forgotten that I even applied here.
Applied through: Careers Site(with Referral).
Process:
1. Online Test: 2 Coding Questions and MCQs. Only Java, Python and C were allowed.
2. 1st Technical Round(60 mins): 2 Coding Questions
  - 1st question's optimization was based on using a linear String Matching Algo in one part of the algorithm, I implemented KMP.
  - 2nd question was to check whether a graph is a tree.
  - Write pseudo code for Semaphore Working
  - Many questions from Operating Systems - Threads, Processes, Memory Management etc.
3. 2nd Technical Round(45 mins):
  - Based on CS Fundamentals and Resume
  - OS, DBMS, CN, REST API Design, Questions around my projects and skills that I mentioned in my resume
4. HR Round: This was more of a formality, They informed about the stipend, duration etc and asked some questions like Why Cisco etc.

In a couple of days, I received the selection mail 🎉
Note: All rounds were eliminatory rounds and were conducted on the same day with a gap of couple of hours.

Learning - This was kind of my first success at interviews and I realized that a calm mind without any expectations helped me during the interview. This was also the first time, I was not nervous before the interviews, Why? This time I had tailored my mind with - "कर्म किए जा फल की इच्छा मत कर", in English - "Do your duty without thinking about results". Before the interviews, I just told myself to talk to the guys, solve the questions they ask and chill. And that helped :)

PAYPAL - SELECTED

Role: SDE Intern
Timeline: I applied around August and got test link in November and had interviews in December.
Applied through: Careers Site(without Referral). University Recruitment was probably the name of this hiring event.
Process:
1. Online Test: 3 Coding Questions. The most interesting questions that I got in any test till now.
2. 1st Technical Round(45 mins):
  - Trapping Rain Water Problem, Its a Leetcode Hard Problem. Complete optimised code was expected.
  - Asked me to explain the approach of the 2 questions from the online round and asked if I had any other approaches to solve them.
  - 2 Puzzles. It was fun solving them.
3. 2nd Technical Round(30 mins):
  - Based on CS Fundamentals and Resume
  - The interviewer asked me to introduce myself along with the work that I have done in my previous internships or any projects that I wanted to discuss. She cross-questioned meanwhile.
  - The interviewer was clearly impressed with my answers and overall profile.
4. Managerial Round:
  - This Round taught me to never be overconfident. I always thought that HR Rounds are a piece of cake for me, so I never really prepared or even thought about them.
  - The interviewer asked me many questions about myself - my aspirations, my principles of life, some situation based questions, my weaknesses, and many more and To be honest, I didn’t really feel good after the interview, I thought he is not gonna select me because, during the interview, he focused on my weaknesses a lot, most of his questions revolved around my weaknesses, it’s like I couldn’t even tell one of my profile/work highlights.
In a couple of days, I received the selection mail 🎉. I joined PayPal and after the internship received a full-time offer from them.
Note: All rounds were eliminatory rounds and were conducted on different days.
Learning - Most interviewers are very supportive and encouraging. Speaking with confidence and putting up a happy face instead of a scared one transmits good vibes across.

AMAZON - SELECTED

Role: Software Development Engineer
Timeline: Applied in January, Interviewed in March
Applied through: Careers Site(with Referral).
Process:
1. Online Test: 2 Coding Questions and MCQs(Quant, Reasoning, English, Personality). I found it easy as compared to other tests I had given.
2. 1st Technical Round(60 mins): 2 Coding Questions
  - Rotten Oranges Variant(a Leetcode Medium Question)
  - A question based on Topological Sort
3. 2nd Technical Round(60 mins):
  - Graph Question - Used Djisktra Algo
  - DP Question (I don't remember the question)
4. Bar Raiser Round(this was probably the name):
  - A mix of everything that is asked in interviews, It took well above 90 mins
  - 1 DSA - Binary Search Problem with some tricks and needed optimizations - Good Question
  - In-depth discussion of work in my previous internships
  - In-depth discussion of one project - He asked to write the code of one of the APIs of my project and asked to do some tweaks in the database calls inside it.
  - Discussion about my volunteering and leadership experiences.
  - Why Amazon
  - 2 Behavioural questions checking Amazon Leadership Principles
In the same week, I received the selection call 🎉
Note: All rounds were eliminatory rounds and were conducted in 2 days.
Learning - The interviewer advised me to never stop working on "Girl Code It"(it's an organisation that I run). He said, everybody works for money, promotions, a better life etc. but only a few have selfless purposes, Don't let it go.

MICROSOFT - SELECTED

Role: Software Developer
Timeline: Applied in January, Interviewed in February
Applied through: Microsoft Engage Hackathon
Process:
1. Hackathon: 5 Problem Statements were given. My project was shortlisted and I was called for the further interview process.
2. Online Test: 3 Coding Questions and MCQs. 2 coding questions were easy but the 3rd was one was a damn tough problem on graphs.
3. 1st Technical Round(45 mins):
  - Resume and Projects Grilling
  - Hackathon Project Discussed
  - Questions around REST APIs, HTTP Verbs, request and response headers, SQL vs NOSQL - Usecases, ACID properties etc.
4. 2nd Technical Round(30 mins):
  - 3 Coding Questions
  - Topics: Linked List, Hashmaps, DP
  - Average difficulty
5. AA Round(As appropriate):
  - The recruiter told me that interviewer could ask anything in this round - coding question, fundamentals, projects, HR questions etc.
  - 1 Coding Question (From arrays, it was a new and tricky question and I don't remember it exactly) and asked Why I wanted to join Microsoft.
  - All of it went well overall. I couldn't tell the optimised approach at first but after some thinking I gave the expected solution soon. The interviewer even made a comment that he liked the way I approached the question from different directions and liked my confidence even after not hitting the right approach in the first go.
In a couple of days, I received the selection call 🎉
Note: All rounds were eliminatory rounds and were conducted on different days.
Learning - By this time, so much had changed about the way I interview, I once ruined my Amazon and Google Interviews because of being nervous after telling the brute approach, I have written it before, and will again repeat - Don't think too much, Nervousness can slow down your brain :p

PALANTIR - REJECTED

Role: Software Developer
Timeline: Applied in December, Interviewed in February
Location: London
Applied through: Careers Site(without referral)
Process:
1. Online Coding Test: 3 Coding Questions. The questions were different and difficult than the usual ones, I solved 2 completely and 1 partially. Also, this was the only company where I got an interview call without hitting a 100% score in coding questions.
2. 1st F2F Coding Round(60 mins):
  - 3 Coding Questions
  - Topics: Strings, Arrays, Trees, Hashmaps
  - The questions were easy but running code for all 3 was expected, and the implementation of each of them were lengthy. I coded as fast as I could and completed and explained my solutions to the interviewer.
3. Another Coding Round:
  - A tricky Binary Tree Problem, later the interviewer asked the same question for generic tree. It went good.
4. Learning Round:
  - Some rules of a new language were shared to me during the interview itself, and I was asked a few questions which I had to solve using that language syntax. It was very much like SQL. This round went good too.
5. Decomposition Round:
  - It was more like a system design round if I would label it. A scenario for an app was given and I had to discuss it's high-level design. I wasn't prepared for it, but still did my best and interviewer seemed neutral. I couldn't judge how he felt about my performance.
In a couple of days, I received the rejection and feedback call 🎉.
The recruiter told me that, the feedback from all rounds is positive except the Decomposition Round. They liked me but still wouldn't be able to proceed with my application.

Note: The interview process and support was one of the best I experienced.
Learning -
- Prepare System Design :P
- Though, I wasn't selected, but I gave my best and had a great experience.

TWITTER - SELECTED

Role - Software Engineer
Timeline - June, Last interview that I gave :p

Twitter asks the candidates to sign an NDA before the interview process, So I won't be able to share any specifics. My friend has penned down the general process, you can refer it here.

Some more Tips

Online Test: Try to solve all the questions. I have faced rejection even after solving all questions few times, leave alone the hopes of getting an interview without solving all questions completely.
Giving live or even virtual contests on codeforces.com, codechef.com(short only), atcoder.com, binarysearch.io, leetcode.com will equip you with problem solving skills, quick implementation ability, effective debugging, edge-cases recognition and resolution.

Within the actual Interview: I have a lot to share on this topic, so I will write a separate article altogether.

Getting calls from companies: A good resume, an impressive LinkedIn profile, applying to as many companies as possible and and an added referral(I took all the referrals through LinkedIn only) is the only answer.

If you are not getting replies from companies, not getting shortlisted, not getting selected after interviews, Just remember -
"जरूरी थोड़ी है, कि जो पत्थर तुम मारो, उससे आम टूटे ही टूटे, आखिर कुछ कोशिशें तैयारी के लिए भी होती हैं"
English Translation - "It isn't necessary that every stone you throw will hit the target, after all, some efforts are also made for preparation.""

Note:
There is a possibility that there might be some deviations in the timeline that I have mentioned and the order/number of interviews might also differ for someone else.

Good Luck for your interviews!
Also, Please share the article with those who can be helped with it and I hope it gave you a general idea of how the SDE Interviews at various companies look like.

If you want to know something else, Feel free to comment.

Linux Commands for beginners

Manvi Tyagi — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 10:08:37 +0000

Opening a terminal

Most Linux systems use the same default keyboard shortcut to start it: Ctrl-Alt-T

Moving Around

pwd: pwd is an abbreviation of ‘print working directory’. All it does is print out the shell’s current working directory.
cd: ‘change directory’
ls: lists directory contents of files and directories
Relative and absolute paths Relative Paths: The place you end up at depends on your current working directory. Absolute Paths: No matter what your current working directory is, they’ll have the same effect.
cd: when you run cd on its own to go straight to your home directory.
cd /: to switch to the root directory.
Any path that starts with a forward slash is an absolute path. You can think of it as saying "switch to the root directory, then follow the route from there."

cd /etc  //goes to root directory first and then to etc

There’s one other handy shortcut that works like an absolute path. As you’ve seen, using “/” at the start of your path means “starting from the root directory”. Using the tilde character (”~”) at the start of your path similarly means “starting from my home directory”.

cd ~
cd ~/Desktop

Creating folders and files

mkdir is short for ‘make directory’.

mkdir dir1 dir2 dir3 // create all the folders in one directory.
mkdir -p dir4/dir5/dir6 //create in nested structure

Creating new files (a) Create a File with Touch Command

touch test.txt

This creates a new empty file named test.txt

(b) Create a New File With the Redirect Operator
A redirection operator is a name for a character that changes the destination where the results are displayed.

Right angle bracket >

This symbol tells the system to output results into whatever you specify next. The target is usually a filename. You can use this symbol by itself to create a new file:

test2.txt

This creates a new empty file.

echo ‘Random sample text’ > test4.txt

Editing files

Linux file system allows us to operate various operations on files like create, edit, rename, remove. We can edit files by different Linux editors like vim, nano, Emacs, Gedit, Gvim, and more.
We will cover nano & vim for this article.
Difference between Nano and Vim
Nano is simple, vim is powerful.
If you only want to simply edit some textfiles, nano will be enough.

1. VIM

The Vi editor has various modes like normal mode, insert mode, command mode, line mode, and more.
How to switch a mode in Vi editor?

Press the ESC key for normal mode.
Press i Key for insert mode.
Press :q! keys to exit from the editor without saving a file.
Press :wq! Keys to save the updated file and exit from the editor.
Press :w test.txt to save the file as test.txt

Edit test.txt

vi test.txt

This command will open the file with the Vi editor in normal mode. To switch it to insert mode press ESC key followed by i key. Place the cursor on your desired position and enter some text. To save the file and exit from the editor, press the 'ESC' key, followed by :wq!.

2. NANO

It is a built-in editor for Linux distributions.
In nano, no primary command is used to operate on the file. All the basic operations are displayed at the bottom of the editor. We can trigger them with a CTRL key, for example, to save the file press CTRL+O keys, to exit from the editor press CTRL+X key.

To edit a file with the nano editor, open the file from the directory where it is stored with the following command:

nano test.txt

This will open the test.txt file with nano editor. To edit the file, move the cursor and enter some text and press the CTRL+O keys to save the file.
Press CTRL+X keys to exit from the editor.