even decided to offer me the maximum possible compensation
I guarantee that it'll significantly improve your chances
on moving to the next rounds
Many candidates make the mistake
so many skilled engineers having trouble preparing for this
every company wants a
(beep)
I know. It's sad
It's applicable to any interviews
This interview was the best interview
I've ever done in my life
Welcome to Pirate King. I'm Daniel, a Software Engineer at Microsoft
ex-Software Engineer at Amazon and ebay, and also a Software Engineering Mentor at two educational startups
Here, we talk about tips and tricks on how to land that successful career in tech
In this video, I'm going to share the four simple yet effective tips on how to ace an interview using Amazon Leadership Principle as an example
My goal is to walk you through my strategies so that you walk out with confidence and clear direction on how to ace them yourself
In fact, of all my interviews that included a behavioral portion
There has not been a single one
that I was not able to move forward using this strategy
So make sure to stay until the end and take away all I'm about to offer
After this video, I'm going to talk about how I literally just
aced my Microsoft interview
Why Microsoft interview in particular?
This interview was *the* best interview out of all the interviews I've ever done in my life
And my answer to a behavioral question
completely mesmerized the hiring manager
that he even decided to offer me
the maximum possible compensation just two days after the interview
So if you are interested in the entire story
and my golden answer that blew him away
make sure to subscribe and get notified.
I wanna make a few things clear before we move on
I'm not going to talk about those well known methods like STAR
because it's already flooded the internet
How is that going to make my tips unique?
Likewise, I'm not going to talk about coding interviews here
Why? Because you already know the answer
Just leetcode
Solve as many questions as you can. Know your algorithms. Data structures. There are tons of videos out there already. Just watch those
However, if you are interested in how to make an effective resume
that drastically increases your chances on getting those interviews
Click here
I'll walk you through my strategies using my personal
dark-themed resume as an illustration
Alright. How to ace an interview. As I mentioned earlier
I'm going to use Amazon Leadership Principle as an example to illustrate my strategies
Why? Because it itself is a good collection of behavioral questions that any companies can ask
Also, as a Software Engineering Mentor, I have discovered so many skilled engineers having trouble preparing for this
So I decided to dedicate a video to help them become the next Amazonian
That does not mean, however, that this strategy is just for Amazon's Leadership Principles
It's applicable to virtually any interviews
I've done it myself
And I guarantee that it'll significantly improve your chances
on moving to the next rounds
Just make sure to follow my steps
So, let's first briefly take a look at what this Amazon Leadership Principle is
Basically, it is the core philosophy behind how Amazon does its business
In their own words, it defines “how leaders lead and how they keep the customer at the center of their decisions
It helps them relentlessly pursue their mission of being Earth’s most customer-centric company, best employer, and safest place to work”
As an ex-Amazonian
I do actually agree that Amazon is the Earth's most customer-centric company...
But best employer...? 🤔
The most important keyword that you should take away from here is "Leader"
Not because this is Amazon. Not because you are a manager
But because every company wants a leader
So the very first and the most important step to ace an interview
How? By being proactive
Amazon calls this
Bias for Action
Do you see how you don't actually need to have managerial experience or be in a leadership position to be a leader?
Many candidates make the mistake of speaking a follower's voice
"There's this work that my boss asked me to work on"
"I had to work on a project out of growing needs"
"My manager assigned me this task that I'm really proud of"
Do you see how inevitable and unaggressive this sounds
when we're looking for inspiring, assertive leaders who say
"I took the initiative and kicked off a project?"
If you think about it, they're actually the same thing
The only difference is the nuance
the former is passive, the latter is proactive
Another reason why speaking like a leader is important is because it inherently shows
ownership
Being a leader means being an owner
The person responsible
And a responsible leader will never "sacrifice long-term value for short-term results."
Don't say anything that implies that you *had* to do it out of necessity
We already know that
I know. It's sad...
But present yourself as if you were in charge
Who did this? You did it
You did what? Worked on a project
Talk about the same thing. But present it in a more impactful way
Don't worry too much about the story's validity
a teaspoon of exaggeration isn't going to hurt
But reshaping your tone *will* change how they perceive you
Besides, how are they going to find out anyways? 🤷
The second important step to ace an interview is
Citing your own resume
Notice how I said 'citing', not 'knowing' your own resume
If you are able to cite your resume it means that you know your resume well enough already
And since you've spent those countless hours crafting that awesome resume anyways
why not spend some time talking about it?
In fact, if you walk out an interview without citing any of the experiences listed on your resume
the chances are there's a problem with either your experience or your resume
Or both 🙄
Think about it. If the experience itself is great, why is it not on your resume?
On the contrary, if your resume embodies all the great experiences already
why are you trying so hard to think outside them?
Another reason why citing an experience on your resume is such a good game plan
is because it adds credibility
Or what Amazon calls
✌️Earning Trust✌️
Why is an interview necessary after a resume screen in the first place?
It's because it's virtually impossible to verify everything stated on your resume
How can you persuade them that you are who you claim to be?
How can you convince them that your resume is indeed legit?
Just cite it
Now that you're given a chance to
After all, what does receiving an offer really mean?
It means you've earned their trust
Now that you are talking a like a leader *and* know your resume well enough to cite it
It's time to pick the right experience to do the storytelling
So the third important step to ace an interview is
choosing the right story to talk about
Throughout your life and experience, there should be at *least* one project or a thing that's important and impactful enough to put on your resume
Don't have such thing? If you are a student, go create one now
If you are a professional. Well, think harder
because there *is* at least one throughout your career
You just didn't think hard enough
Before I elaborate further on why choosing the right experience is important
Let's take another look at Amazon's sixteen Leadership Principles
It's obviously bloody difficult and time consuming to prepare two to three examples for each and every leadership principle like my Amazon recruiter said
I mean... that's 48!
But what if you have two to three experiences that can answer all sixteen of them!?
Do you see where I am getting at now?
If you have an experience - doesn't have to be multiple - *one* decent experience
you can virtually relate it anywhere - not just the Leadership Principles!
For example, your remarkable experience wouldn't have had such impact if you did not
"Obsess over your Customers"
Your project is acclaimed because you
"Insisted on the Highest Standards"
Can you "Dive Deeper" into the details on why it's such a stunning accomplishment?
Is this work a derivative of "Learning and Curiosity"?
Any challenges that you had to "Invent and Simplify"?
How did you "Deliver the Results" that impressed so many coworkers?
The list goes on and on
This strategy's effectiveness is amplified when there is a chain of interviews
For example, there are about five to six rounds in a typical Amazon onsite interview
In each round, the interviewer will ask one or two Leadership Principles
At the end of the interview, they'll have an interview debrief where they gather to talk about the result
Imagine how easy it will be for them to tie the candidate's examples together especially when they ultimately link to the one described on your resume
Isn't this an automatic credibility boost to your resume?
Wouldn't it help build a sense of coherence that will help you land the job?
My favorite pick is a system I developed that the Chief Product Officer of ebay praised herself when I was only two years into my career
If you are interested in hearing more about it
Click here :)
Like I said, try to find that one solid experience that can be used to relate to any behavioral questions
If you think yours isn't strong enough, then make it stronger
Don't lie about your experience
but think about the presentation that can make it shine brighter
Remember, not only is it easier to prepare
it's also much more powerful to talk about one or two experiences in depth than cover multiple on surface
My last and final tip to ace an interview is frankly
As cliché as it sounds, practice makes perfect
And you won't be able to execute everything that I've shared earlier without practicing it
First of all, don't just think about what you are going to say in an interview
Write them down. Even that won't be easy
Don't be verbose. Be concise
Don't be wordy. Jump straight to the point
Interviewers don't have time to listen all day
They are looking for strong communicators people who can communicate clearly and effectively
For each Leadership Principle, write an example or two down
Look at yourself in the mirror. Practice saying them out loud without looking at your notes
You don't have to memorize everything word to word
But practice until you feel comfortable and ready
I emphasize again. I know my strategy works because I have the empirical data
My very experience interviewing numerous companies
It's the exact game plan that I use to knock off a company
And it's exactly how I set my foot in ebay, Amazon, and Microsoft
Like I said, there has not been a single occasion where I could not clear a behavioral round
What does that mean? It means that virtually everyone, whom I at least had the privilege of talking to
pretty much liked me 😎
Are you interested, then, in how I aced my interview
and blasted the mind out of the hiring manager during my interview at Microsoft?
And how I not only successfully landed the job
but also walked away with the maximum compensation package possible?
Subscribe. Because it's coming up next.
We've finally covered all four of my important tips to ace an interview
How do you guys think about them? Do you think my strategies make sense?
Do you think they are effective? Are they good enough to give it a shot?
Let me know what you think in the comments below
Give it a thumbs up if you've found this video useful
And make sure to subscribe if you want more videos like this
Thanks for watching. I'll see you on the next one
bye
Why Microsofff
this video
After this video...
I'm goin'...
after this video
I'm going to talk about
After this video
...
After this video, I'm going to talk about how I literally
just ACED!!
...
After this video, I'm going to talk about how I literally just
✌️ACED✌️
that was too much...
But because every company
wants a 'manager' (supposed to be 'leader')