NeetCode just invested in the company trying to kill LeetCode.
Aman sits down with Rounds founder Fardeen Khimani to break down why tech hiring is broken, which companies are ditching LeetCode, what's replacing it, and what every engineer needs to do to get hired in 2026.
Computer science students, new grads, and software engineers…want to land your dream software engineering job or internship? Click here 👉https://www.amanmanazir.com/coaching/?utm_source=transistor&utm_medium=podcasts_description&utm_campaign=RoundsLeetcode&video=Ld3vyudRY68
Stop sending hundreds of applications into the void. Take one free technical assessment and have companies reach out to YOU: startups to Fortune 500s, $100K-$300K+ roles 👉 https://www.rounds.so/partnerships/aman-manazir
🚀 Get my free Software Engineering Crash Course – https://www.amanmanazir.com/7dayengineer
🎧 Listen to all episodes of the Software Engineering Accelerator Podcast on YouTube: youtube.com/AmanManazir
Listen to our new podcast, @TheEntropyShow: https://youtu.be/MDJQXbXPngg?si=vQqITmNzy3fhfcV1
I’m Aman Manazir, a career coach and software engineer. I interned at companies like Amazon, Shopify, and HP in college, and the day I graduated I landed a $168,000/year* full-time software engineering job. I help you make it as a computer science student & software engineer and get your dream job offer.
📄 Get my free resume template – https://www.amanmanazir.com/resume
🧠 Get my free LeetCode Roadmap – https://www.amanmanazir.com/leetcode
💌 Free weekly productivity insights/advice – https://amanmanazir.com/newsletter
📕 All my free Notion templates – https://www.amanmanazir.com/notion
📝 Sign up for Notion – https://affiliate.notion.so/2nh3pjr6l5l6
📷 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/amanmanazir/
🐦 Twitter – https://twitter.com/amanmanazir
👉 Round's Website: https://www.rounds.so
👉 Round's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fardeenkhimani/
—
⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
02:30 NeetCode Invested In His Competition
04:30 How Rounds Landed Fortune 500 Clients
07:41 Why Engineering Managers Hate LeetCode
08:55 The Cheating Epidemic Breaking Tech Hiring
09:21 What C-Suite vs Engineers Actually Want
10:30 Steel Manning LeetCode's Case
13:31 Why LeetCode Favors The Wealthy
17:30 Which Companies Are Killing LeetCode First
19:55 Meta, Google & Amazon Ranked
20:33 What's Actually Replacing LeetCode
21:53 The New Technical Interview Breakdown
22:48 Is LeetCode Completely Dead?
23:30 System Design, Behavioral & AI Rounds Explained
27:07 How To Prepare For The New Interview
27:55 Are Entry Level Roles Actually Cooked?
31:44 Why The Market Isn't As Bad As You Think
35:37 What A Successful Engineer Looks Like Now
37:30 Why CS Is Still Worth Studying
39:33 How To Actually Network (Do This Instead)
41:00 Startups vs Big Tech Hiring Differences
42:30 Big Tech Golden Handcuffs Warning
43:30 Where The Next Big Opportunities Are
45:28 The Story That Proves LeetCode Is Dead