Interviewing

Q. “I have my interview in a week at X. Can you tell me how I should I prepare?” A. Every company has a process that guides how many rounds they have, what questions they ask and what they look for. However, many younger companies/start-ups don’t. For the sought-after Big Tech and other famous firms, there are reams of mocks interviews, question banks, and overall guidance on the internet. If you walk into an Amazon interview not knowing their 14 leadership principles, that’s on you. For a lot of other firms, you can find guidance on interview questions on Glassdoor or Blind. Just google “X glassdoor interview questions” and it should turn up something. In case that turns up nothing, you can always ask people in the company. Preferably, find mutual connections with people in the firm and get an introduction to someone in the team you’re interviewing for . If you don’t have any, you can send a cold LinkedIn message or email too, though the chances of a response are much lower. You have to avoid contacting people in your interview loop so that they don’t end up in a conflict of interest situation.

And there’s finally the easiest way. Ask the recruiter! Tech talent is short, companies want people to showcase their best selves during the interview and many recruiters tell the candidate what the next round will be about . So ask!

Referral

Q. Can you refer me to your company (Microsoft)? A. Yes. My referral will mostly not make a difference. Not because I am specially hated by the universe but because jobs at a big firm like Microsoft are highly sought after, hundreds of people apply for every role and the hiring manager looks at all of them . When an employee does a referral, they just fill the form on your behalf and it enters the applicant pool with a “Referral” tag; but it’s the same pool . The referrals might get noticed a bit more, but every resume does get a look nonetheless.

That said, if I know you, have worked with you, generally respect you or if you are a great fit for the job; I go way beyond doing a standard referral, I write the hiring manager an email telling them why you’re awesome and vouch for you hard so that you get noticed. I do not do this for strangers who added me on LinkedIn 2 days ago.

Suitable job Openings

Q. “I am actively looking for a Product Manager/Program Manager role in Microsoft. Can you please help in case there are any suitable job openings matching my profile.” A. Stop making me determine job fit for you. The company jobs/careers page is your best bet for finding open positions in most companies. There are times of arbitrage when roles haven’t been posted or widely disclosed, when asking someone if their team has a role helps . But that person will only help if they care about you or if you’re rare/worth the effort. Dead end in most cases.

More coming soon