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In today's conversation with former Amazon engineer Roman Yusufov, we discuss his perspective on Amazon's work culture, how the hiring panel works, the job leveling system, what to expect from a bar raiser interview, and much more. He shares tons of valuable advice on Roman is a nine-year Amazon veteran and a Senior Software Engineer. Throughout his tenure he's worked in various areas including Amazon Marketplace, Amazon Alexa and Amazon Logistics. He has extensive mentorship experience from giving guidance to orgs of 60-100 people to one on one mentorship of engineers of all levels.
Book a call with Roman here —> https://app.carrus.io/s/roman-yusufov
Show notes and highlights
[4:30] Why the interview is like a mini version of the job
[8:15] How Amazon teams are structured
[11:40] The importance of Amazon Leadership Principles
[12:42] Roman's interview process at Amazon
[14:00] What to expect from an Amazon Bar Raiser interview
[19:30] What FAANG companies are really looking for
[21:20] How "Job Leveling" works at Amazon, from L4 to L8 and above
[30:00] Bar raisers at Amazon, their role and what to expect
[37:00] How the decision making process looks like in the Hiring Panel
[42:00] Getting rejected for one role and re-interviewing for a new one. Position fit vs. company fit.
[45:40] Amazon's work culture, the NYT article about Amazon, and Roman's experience with work-life balance
[52:50] Roman's approach to Interview Prep and 2 things you need to remember
Questions, comments or feedback? Email me at misha@carrus.io!
In today's conversation engineer Harsh Mittal shares what its like to work at Microsoft, the differences between interviewing at Microsoft and Amazon, and a 9-step plan to approach the software engineer interview. Talk with Harsh here —> https://app.carrus.io/s/harsh-mittalYou can also hear a more detailed breakdown of his 9-step approach here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTVAfjFWvOo&t=10s
At Microsoft, he worked on projects responsible for the overall quality of hardware that goes into production. He's also the go-to person for the quick "one week crash course on becoming an expert at the subject" since his school days. He "teaches the way I feel I should've been taught." and believes that everyone deserves to fall in love with the subject they are inquisitive about.
Show notes and highlights:
[4:40] Harsh's transition from Microsoft to Amazon
[6:48] The recruitment process out of college for Microsoft roles
[8:27] Differences between Microsoft and Amazon interviews
[10:43] The Microsoft culture
[20:10] The talent movement between Microsoft and other FAANG companies
[26:50] Harsh's 9-Step Plan for nailing engineering interviews
[46:00] The trend of companies outsourcing their technical interview screening
Questions, comments or feedback? I'd love to hear from you. Email me at misha@carrus.io!
In today's episode I interview Teresa Fung, a former Alexa engineer and Bar Raiser who spent 7 years at Amazon. Teresa shares her story as an engineer that left the workforce for 8 years, and then was able to land a job at Amazon afterward! Her story is inspiring and full of practical advice for people going through a career break that want to reenter the workforce. We also dive deep into Amazon's unique hiring process, her role as a Bar Raiser and how to approach this particular interview, and much more.
Get 1-1 coaching with Teresa here: https://app.carrus.io/s/teresa-fung-2
Connect on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresakfung/
Show notes and Highlights:
[5:00] Teresa's story about moving to Silicon Valley and taking a career break to raise her kids
[9:30] How do you explain an 8-year career gap? What do you put on your CV?
[12:30] Why you can still get a job after a gap + strategies/techniques you can use to land a job
[17:00] Mental barriers to overcome when you are applying for new roles after a career gap
[20:00] What is an Amazon "Bar Raiser"
[22:20] What Bar Raisers are responsible for, misconceptions, their role, and how they assess candidates (company vs. team)
[26:00] How to answer interview questions in a clever way that allows you to keep your options open for OTHER roles in the company
[29:29] Why do Bar Raisers make me nervous?
[32:00] Why interviewers ask you follow-up questions, and why it's a good sign
[35:20] How many Bar Raisers are at Amazon?
[40:00] The hidden side door to get into Amazon / what Teresa would have done differently
[42:50] Teresa's top Tips for anyone interviewing at Amazon
[49:54] Breakdown of role-related questions and culture (Leadership Principle) related questions
[52:00] Common patterns Teresa sees during job interview prep
[58:40] What interview prep approach is the "best"?
Questions, comments or feedback?Send me an email at misha@carrus.io!
What does Google mean by leadership? It has little to do with people management and 'herding the cats'. And surprisingly, it's often those on the lower rungs of the ladder that have the opportunity to exhibit leadership. In today's conversation, I talk with Geoff Mendal, former engineer at Google about their expectations around leadership, the interview process and much more. Geoff has interviewed hundreds of SWE/SRE/SA/RE/QA/PM candidates during his nearly 11-year tenure at Google, 5 years at Microsoft, and senior leadership role at Pandora.
Get coaching with Geoff here —> https://app.carrus.io/s/geoff-mendal-1
Show notes and Highlights:
[6:00] Why Leadership is conflated, leadership as a verb, and what Google actually means by "leadership"
[8:30] The reason Google needs people to speak up and the role of risk
[10:00] How interviewers will change a candidate on leadership ability, even in a coding or system design screening
[12:38] The importance of building a coalition around ideas (selling and influencing ideas that are risky, piloting it) and other examples of leadership
[14:10] How leadership was different in a smaller startup like Pandora vs. how Google runs it
[20:20] Red flags in candidates who are interviewing at Google and what to watch out for
[23:00] Examples of tough interview questions asked in the Leadership interview
[27:50] Geoff's story when he interviewed at Google
[31:00] Leadership interview questions for product managers interviewing a Google
[32:30] Geoff's #1 question about leadership that you should be able to answer
[38:20] How to answer tough questions even when you DON'T have the honest experience using EQ and self-awareness
[41:00] Showing vulnerability in the interview
[42:50] Questions around competing priorities / Geoff's approach to interview prep
[43:20] Preparing great questions, a definition of a great question (something specific and valuable) vs. a lame question (what keeps you up at night?) --> leadership
[47:00] The # of questions you need to prepare for each question since you are scored on the quality and number of your questions
[49:47] The misconception around leadership, the surprising relationship between leadership and seniority, and why being lower on the rung gives you more opportunity to exhibit leadership
[51:30] Every interviewer has their own style and what kind of discussion you can expect to have
[56:00] The signs of someone being defensive vs. standing their ground and being assertive
[57:30] Geoff's approach to coaching and mentoring people for job interviews and their careers
Questions, comments and feedback? Drop me an email at misha@carrus.io!
A brief but impactful conversation with Google project manager, Pavel, on how to make a great CV that lands you the interview at Google (and other tips!). Chat with Pavel here —> https://app.carrus.io/s/pavel-latifPavel started his career as an embedded software developer where he grew into the role of a software architect. Later he transitioned to product owner role which led to engineering program management. He's worked with both software and hardware products and interviewed 100s of candidates for roles in software development and project management and mentored professionals in their early career development.
Currently he works as a Technical program manager at Google.
Shownotes:
[2:30] The job interview at Ericsson and Google and how project management differs
[6:30] Big, top down company interview process vs. bottom-up culture like Google
[9:30] How Google rates culture fit during technical interviews and the "How" you're responding
[11:00] The difference between the interview vs. the actual job role
[12:00] What Google is looking for in a TPM Role / the importance of problem-solving skills vs. actual solutions
[15:00] How the Google has changed since the pandemic
[18:20] The #1 tip Pavel has to make your CV for Google
[20:15] What Pavel wrote on his CV for the Google application and an example of what to do vs. what not to do
[23:15] Why focusing on keywords and crawling on your resume/CV is the wrong approach
[23:40] How Pavel got the job at Google with a cold-email that led to a referral and job
[26:30] Tips on how to get referrals on LinkedIn
[28:10] The number 1 interview tip - why your answers need to relate to the level's expectations (up-leveling and down-leveling)
Questions, comments, feedback? Drop me an email at misha@carrus.io!