Don't Get Down-Leveled or How to Tell a Good Story (From a Principal at Amazon)

[@trentconley4374]

dude this channel is so underrated; I'm so glad I found this. All of the advice feels so intuitive, genuine, and logical, something that's hard to find. Thanks for making these Meta.

[@labyrinth242]

the channel got down-leveled

[@jpppptrade]

no its not underrated, he ownly upload like 1 video every 5 months and getting more views than the amounth of subs he has

[@renderwood]

I think KZbin recommended this to me because I watched few Joma Techs - this isn't maybe equally funny but contains more useful information. I did notice some attempts of comedy here =) US tech life seems to differ quite a bit from Europe, but I still enjoy this content!

[@JK360noscope]

@@labyrinth242 This is the kind of quality jokes I would expect from the audience. *slow clap*

[@adamklein134]

I watched this three times before my Meta onsite. I did 4 hours of prep practicing my stories into this format, I told stories in this format in the interview, and I got the job. I send this to everyone going through a behavioral interview. Thank you for creating this.

[@duncan94065]

I just successfully passed my L6 loop and I used your videos, especially this one, to prepare. Thanks!!

[@botenjohn1752]

Wow, lower quality script / video than yours charge like $1000. You are a saint for doing this man. Thank you so much

[@travis1240]

When negotiating, don't ever listen if they say they'll consider a promotion after a few months or a year. When that timeframe rolls around they will say "but you've only been here .... "

[@pedromarques9267]

I asked them to write in the contract that they give me a better contract in a year. If it's not written, they won't do it

[@TatianaRacheva]

Unless I'm your manager :) I've done this (followed-through). But yes, generally don't

[@yoursandeep]

There is a rule if it doesn't happen in 2 years it never happens better move out or take internal promotion asap

[@muhamadmarifatalhanif8345]

Had my first entry-level job interview as a junior dev at a local company in my city, and you've been my guide in understanding what helped me secure the job. It led me to the point where my interviewer and I were negotiating my salary. Thanks a lot uncle Steve😆!

[@jackgiunta5715]

Ex-Amazon SDE2 here, really appreciate you making these videos. Love the stress on the importance of story telling. As an interviewer I can second how much it matters

[@danielliebster3532]

I wish I had seen these 20 years ago :) Thank you for crystallizing concepts that had been nebulous in my mind so succinctly and practically.

[@jsvrs]

he never said thank you. sad

[@davidde7620]

I have often thought that the popular STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method of narrating a story didn't have the same impact I was going for when I would talk about something I have done or accomplished. Thanks, A Life Engineered for this great advice. Building a story with the U-Story method and then framing it in the STAR method makes much more sense.

[@kjkang11]

I have only briefly met you once after a meeting some time ago when I was at Amazon. Wish I actually had someone like you around to learn from. It is really hard to come by a genuinely good advice in a sea of really bad voices out there. I am so surprised KZbin actually recommended me to a right person. I respect that you prioritize your family and your own life, and when you do get a chance I look forward to your next video.

[@BbB-vr9uh]

Definitely speaking to your audience with “use star as a linter” at 6:05

[@lurnt5763]

This should be retitled "how to master the behavioral interview." What incredible advice

[@utprem]

I accepted the Down-Leveled position for my family and location reasons. Believe me it sucks and is frustrating. Thanks for sharing such details useful for others

[@yoloswaggins2161]

I like the way this guy thinks and presents.

[@ehdyn]

To anyone that comes across this.. it's actually worth your time and attention. Saving this one..

[@pkr619]

Probably the most underrated dev focused channel on youtube, each video is a gold mine.

[@assadullahshaikh2625]

You're the G.O.A.T. I feel so unlucky to have found your channel so late. But equally lucky that I found your channel at the time I needed it the most.

[@bklynkid8890]

Meta, this is seriously one of the best pieces of advice I have ever heard. I often struggled with answering “Tell me a time where X”. I recently used this video’s lessons with amazing success in my last interview loop which landed me a new job. Thanks and well done on the amazing advice and video!

[@salmancloud]

OMG... this is your third video that I just watched. I have done a lot of prep for my AWS interview already, but, I feel like you are going to help me put an amazing polish on my answers. I have prepped over 30 stories from my experiences already, but, now after watching your videos, I realize that I seriously need to up-level many of them. Also the U method is brilliant. More examples of the U method would be really awesome. THANK YOU! - AMAZING CONTENT!

[@Sefran12]

Probably the best channel for those of us who are trying to go from middle to senior and then some more. Thanks!

[@danjuarez79]

Your "stories" have taught me a bit about how I should tell mine and I thank you for that.

[@iulo]

man, this is pure gold.

[@MickenCZProfi]

This video is absolutely incredible, seriously, thank you.

[@thegt]

Finally, after so many months

[@bronsonschnitzel7493]

Ran into this scenario at Amazon. I got hired in a level lower than I should have because of the behavioral portion. My experience well exceeded the level they gave me. I ended up leaving because the promotional path was more political than I cared to deal with and the work I was given was insanely menial with little to no growth. Left to go to a company with the level I should have been.

[@laughingvampire7555]

yes, these interviewers make too much excuses about why the interview process sucks so bad.

[@taylorjohnsonct]

This video literally explains how you may not get the level you want because of either a lack of functional or behavioral performance, and you're stating you didn't get the "correct" level because of the behavioral portion... Did you miss the point of the video?

[@aravindsarma]

Each word in this video is an actual gem and I've to watch again and again to internalize all of it. Thanks for taking time to come up with the script.

[@NicolaAmadio]

Best content on software engineering on KZbin.

[@dmitry1589]

Great video with awesome examples! Packed with golden nuggets. I am interviewing and figuring out how to present my experience in a way that it represents my skills properly. This video is better than whole course on leadership I took on one of the learning platforms.

[@LongForgottenOne]

Next week I have an Amazon interview, your videos have been so insightful, thank you very much.

[@nigamshahmusic]

Thanks for this video (and the others). I am back to interview prep after getting laid off recently from Meta (aka FB). After 4 years as a senior eng at a big tech company, everything you are saying makes sense... But it is still hard to look at one's own experience with an objective POV, and tell the story in a concise way. My last time around, I prepared all my stories using the STAR method, and I find that I spend too much time telling the facts, and not enough telling the substance -- which is why I am telling this story in the first place. I will try thinking about it with the "U" shape. Thanks!

[@El3ctr0Lun4]

Very useful, thanks! I have been downleveled and downright rejected after a few interviews, but there the problem wasn't that I didn't have the skills or the experience, it was that I hadn't really prepared for the interviews (with practised answers etc.).

[@offBeatRock777]

This channel is a treasure trove

[@bfayer]

Great point about focusing on villains, similarly- when people decide to spend time describing things they hate it's pretty easy to read into that as a toxic personality trait.

[@m00semanus]

Genuinely impressed with this video. No bullshit content. Straight to the point and a thoughtful response. And the answers are better than the $700 interview prep course I took. Thank you thank you thank you.

[@poison99x]

I've waited 9 months to see your next video... and it did not disappoint!

[@bharathguitarsounds7995]

This channel is what the world of software engineering needs. Especially in these turbulent times.

[@KoberTheObserver]

Amazing video! I had some experiences where I can tell a story similar to the example in the video. It is kinda hard to tell a story like that when you are in a interview, specially if you are nervous. However with this video I find it easy to tell a good story with my experience.

[@AM-zc9mq]

I had to down level(Sr to Sde III ) just because the company had different positions for the amount of experience and a was a Bigger name and was paying better , hated it,8 months later on the current offer negotiated 50% higher with another company and regained the Sr title. Most of the time its not about experience but how much you are willing to walk away from / negotiate over. If you work in something specialized / high technical depth , you will find little competition , work that to your advantage.

[@videosforketan]

For searching over months I reached to the content that helps find the missing pieces of next level. It tells not only what I have to prepare but how also. Thank you so much for posting the insightful content.

[@yumingzai3441]

Junior engineers: 90% coding CP prep, 10% behavioural/leadership prep 1. CP is proxy for coding ability (best way to get job is internship as it is long enough to have a better proof for competence) 2. Situational questions are actually behavioural ones: talk about past experience and refining the story-telling is a lot more convincing

[@davidgao4333]

This video is super valuable and inspirational, thank you for sharing your thoughts!

[@vvolfbelorven7084]

I was told at the firm to develop “story telling skills” so I watched this video with purpose Thanks for the tips!

[@rafaelmarques1773]

3:15 some wild tensor algebra just appeared to boost credibility, love it

[@MingzhiLi-x8f]

I'm preparing for an Amazon interview and found this video is very useful to me. Thank you!

[@tianwenchu1663]

This storytelling is so good...

[@BrettOssman]

Thanks for these videos. I've been approaching my job search from the wrong angles. I need to pay more attention to behavioral skills than solely on technical. The first thing that really caught my attention was "senior" is relative to each company. Sure, I've had "senior" in my previous titles, but in MUCH smaller groups, less than a dozen. Amazon would obviously be a completely different ball game. Appears I need to focus more on the job description responsibilities than solely the skill set. I definitely have some stories for "senior" level type responsibilities, but probably not enough for much larger teams.

[@sagarjoglekar]

I think this was the best video I have ever seen dissecting behavioural questions for tech roles. I learn't a lot! I am super grateful you made this video!!

[@kevinzhang6119]

Hey Meta, nice channel. I have experience at 3 big tech companies including Amazon. L7 Principal at Amazon is very difficult to get that's impressive. Expecting you to come up with more topic!

[@youtubereview8176]

Hey Kevin, that’s awesome. Would you like someone to share your experience with I’d be more than happy to indulge your experience. I like Steve’s video about mentorship: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWnKdWt8obdkZ6M

[@mbczxaydbzrkmszj]

Great, advise! I would like to reiterate that we should still keep the STAR format in mind. Old dogs out there will call you out if your answer does not follow STAR.

[@KeenFob]

Meta, I was a senior last month. I've been applying for a while and been rejected from a lot of lead positions because I didn't know how to answer the so called culture/values questions. This video was instrumental in turning things around. Prior to my interview, I assembled a list of stories to address various experience expectations. I've just accepted a lead role thanks in no small part to the mindset you've described here. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[@El3ctr0Lun4]

I'm currently in the same position as you were. I've been a Senior then Software Architect, and I am currently going for Lead roles, but I'm struggling to answer behavioural and management questions, and on occasion I even struggle on coding and system design tests, due to not enough interview prep.

[@eyalyurman2623]

After watching tons of STAR videos, this is by far the best example. No surprise, as most others are done either by recruiters or entry level eng. I wish I saw that before I had my AWS interview.

[@silverqumera]

Now I understand so many things about the outcome of my interview lol Thanks!

[@stevefaulkner183]

Thank you. Even after years as a Staff engineer, this was very helpful to me

[@telebiopic]

Good content. I’ve always wondered who do some people at amazon opt to become a bar raiser and invest so much time unrelated to their core job instead of OKR & family life balance! Being a mentor helps in life long friendships but bar raising is literally useless extra work.

[@aminesouley8252]

This guys 😂 really smart first time i see a principal Engineer who is really really good

[@Neonb88]

So so so valuable and practical, all coming from real life experience. Even when we compare you to some of the other best Tech KZbinrs like TechLead, Tina Huang, etc. your advice is so practical, goal-oriented. If you started a Patreon or something like that, I'm sure some folks would pay you just from the benefit they got from these videos I also liked the cute bit at the end about narratives and struggling with the complexities of life, being trapped in your own perspective, etc. It was nice to know someone else also thinks about these things, but still has optimism and enjoys a great story.

[@thepcmlgs]

Have an Amazon final stage SDE interview in three days. I have been prepping for three months, but I wish I found this video earlier!

[@AmanJakkani]

my friend showed me this channel, severely underrated advice! thanks so much, i really learned a lot

[@indrajeetnikam5301]

This content is a gold mine ❤

[@bombaybhai]

This is smart , relevant and without any fluff advice. Kudos for the great video!!

[@cwagnello]

The real TechLead!

[@andriidanylov9453]

U-Story is impressive way of answer

[@xingyanglan6836]

This is phenomenal content. I might not be the intended target audience but your presentation of advice teaches me things that I feel like I can start applying.

[@Samarpanrai94]

This could be a book and j would buy it. Feel like Gergely Orosz kinda content. Thanks for this. I would love to dive deeper into practice this way of story telling

[@FaustoGBG]

I really appreciate your videos, please keep them coming! There's not enough out there for us more senior engineers.

[@Buchan178]

Thanks a lot Meta … this was so true and I try to give a solution while story telling. But as you said “life is too messy” now I am not trying to provide a perfect solution and my Staff level interviews are going great.

[@kwamedeswan9021]

Boos level information in a simple to understand format without sounding like a salesman

[@billourou4443]

Excellent. Thank you for you made this video. It’s really help me to a job interview.

[@snehabandekar9934]

Thanks for creating this video. This video offered genuine advice that I knew but I guess did not stitch it together. Listening from your experiences helped

[@patrickdee7365]

Extremely valuable channel, very glad I got here

[@lokesh00xx]

You really have a unique way of narrating stories! It was really helpful. Thank you!

[@mullergyula4174]

This just came at the right time. Thanks. I am willing to take a grade down when applying to a hopefully much better company. There is no open position at my level where I live, and my current company is falling apart.

[@prernakaul1423]

This follows the same arc as the McKinsey - Situation Challenge Result. I like this framework for writing Amazon style docs. :)

[@djetton1]

Such a golden channel!

[@BrianMendoza93]

Thank you for your advices! The video catches you in an instant!

[@theophanerupin228]

This is by far the most helpful tips about how to nail a behavioral interview I’ve gotten so far. Very well done!

[@karthikreddy4083]

This is one of the most helpful videos I’ve seen on this subject, thanks for uploading!

[@BobCat-n7p]

it reminded me of the Denouement of a cinematic story, except the peak is reversed and the focus is on being "in the challenge" then resolution vs traditional script storytelling where there's this big epic battle and resolution. The script is flipped, so to speak, very fascinating.

[@EDEdDNEdDYFaN]

The star example vs u story that you narrated was great. I felt like there was a bit of the u story version that seemed self-indulgent but maybe some braggadocio is expected. The important thing I took from it was making it clear what YOUR specific responsibilities and impact was, and not what the teams did

[@jubalint]

Studies show that narcissists do the best at job interviews, even if they don't do the best at the actual job. A small amount of braggadocio is generally a good thing. Especially for people who are usually very modest when describing themselves. At the end of the day you are selling yourself as the answer to their problems and confidence sells.

[@skyisblue3847]

Thank you for taking your time to create this valuable video

[@cocoarecords]

You are a really great speaker tbh. Enjoyed the no bs video

[@RaoVenu]

Wow, mind blown. That U-story example was gold. In my interviewing experience, I know that I had great response / feedback with certain stories and mixed response with most of the others and I couldn't tell why as I thought I was using STAR for all of them. You just put a name to it. Thank you very much. Will model my stories with the U-story template. Is that a term you came up with? How do I find more information about this. Thanks

[@GustavoHJ6]

Search for story arc shapes by Kurt Vonnegut.

[@6957-c5k]

My from this story is simple. Your story is your story. You can’t fake it.

[@rddavies]

Another food for thought. Sometimes on loops the same story gets recycled across multiple interviews. While it's not inherently a deal breaker (as it may be in response to different tell me about a time questions) it can make the candidate seem like a bit of a one hit wonder. Best to keep answers fresh if possible.

[@ItsOkToDaance]

Such an amazing video, as someone currently going through interview processes it's very useful ! I've never heard of the U-shape storytelling framework before, and I love the authenticity of your explanations - Thank you

[@thorsanvil]

Thanks for the vids! Helped cool my nerves down for the interview. Your realistic approach and sensible arguments really helps keep me/the viewer level headed in our approaches. Got the amazon job, if I ever see you, I owe you a beer!

[@pablomotta___]

Thank you for your time and generosity in sharing such valuable information!

[@tr9429]

Thank you so much for doing these! I'd love to hear more advice on staff and principal engineering. I find this level to be especially challenging as there is a huge shift towards "leadership without authority", operating without a team, and having much harder time defining your own success.

[@ivanleon6164]

i really like the topic of your videos, greetings from Mexico...

[@martinmassera]

Thank you, I felt your sincere desire to help

[@mario164]

I love your content, it's just what I was after. May I ask you if you could do a video on the best next step after being hired below your current level?

[@pedronascimento3491]

Dude Really Thanks!!! Each video blows up my mind

[@sti302man]

Boy oooh boy!! This was great .

[@mazenkenjrawi158]

Amazing! especially the last point!

[@williambradshaw9661]

I loved the point about telling stories. When I am interviewing candidates (for technical writer jobs because I write words that nobody reads except in desperation) I just want them to tell me their stories. I should also say that anybody that bluffs (bullshines) their way into a job is going to suffer. So I would encourage anyone applying for a job to tell their stories. If the employer doesn't like the candidate's stories, the candidate has dodged a bullet.

[@qwoijzacxoi]

looks friendly and approachable with glasses!! without glasses i am intimidated :(

[@beepbong]

Great channel, love the humor

[@piggybox]

What a gem

[@frankhu5418]

Awesome. Love the concept of the u story and the lint with star.

[@davidsun9026]

Your video showed up in my KZbin recommendations. I'm not even a developer, but this is great advice/insight. Thank you for sharing