Ready Set Do

In this episode, my guest is Pragya Sinha. Pragya is a Technical Program Manager at Amazon. 

The reason I requested Pragya to be a guest for this episode is that she’s proven that despite the extremely challenging times (pertaining to tech job-hunting in 2024), it is indeed possible to get hired for your dream role - if you pick the right approach. 

We begin our discussion with why Pragya moved to the US for her Master’s and how she decided which course she wanted to undertake. We go over some common pitfalls that most students face pertaining to internships. We then discuss Pragya’s remarkable journey through 3 different positions since graduating, culminating with her ending up as a Program Manager at Amazon. 

We deep-dive into how to make the jump from Analyst and Associate positions to that of a Manager. We discuss strategies, tools and best practices around applying for jobs, networking, interviewing and everything in between. Finally, Pragya walks us through the grueling loop interview process for certain Amazon tech manager positions - which is a 5 hour marathon of back-to-back interviews.

Whether you are currently looking for a job as a fresh graduate in the US, or looking to move into Technical Management roles, this conversation will be extremely helpful for you.

Finally, in keeping with the theme of learning from someone two steps ahead of you instead of a full-blown expert, I want to reiterate that this discussion is centered around the "anec-data" that demonstrably worked for Pragya. That is not to say that a different approach is wrong, my goal is to merely highlight what she did successfully to get where she wanted to get - and what you can do to learn from her.

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LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pragya-sinha/

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:02:57) Why Masters in the US?

(00:04:47) Choosing between Pure Tech and Techno-Management Courses

(00:09:20) Academic, Extra-curricular and Social Life as a Grad Student in the US

(00:11:41) Navigating Scholarships

(00:13:16) Summer Internship Experience and Common Pitfalls

(00:20:04) Pragya's Journey since Graduation (3 jobs!!!)

(00:26:46) Research Assistant (RA) to Stop Unemployment Days Clock

(00:29:53) Jump from Analyst to Program/Product Manager roles

(00:35:36) Strategies for Job Applications and Referrals

(00:40:07) Networking on LinkedIn - Authenticity matters

(00:43:12) AMZ PM Loop Interview - STARL method

(00:47:07) Resources for PM Interview Prep

(00:49:17) LinkedIn Altruism - Mock Interviews

(00:49:50) Resume Tailoring for Niche + ATS Optimization

(00:52:09) ATS Compliant Resumes

(00:56:50) Congrats on H1B!!! + Future Plans

(00:59:27) Outro

In this episode, my guest is ⁠Ananta Chhajer⁠. Ananta currently ranks among India's fastest-growing educational content creators. Millions of students turn to Ananta's content for guidance on cracking the CAT, one of the trickiest entrance exams for admission to India's top B-schools.

We discuss Ananta's journey to the best B-school in India and how he got there. We find out about his choice to risk it all and redo the exam, which is only given once a year, to gain admission to his dream school, despite having offers from other prestigious institutions.  

Ananta lays out for us his experience at a top management consulting firm after MBA, and the work-life balance that comes with the territory. We then get to his initial foray into trying to help other students crack the CAT using online content.

We discuss what Ananta did to get started, and how he has achieved such incredible growth in such a short time. Ananta explains how one can find their niche for content creation, and some strategies for content ideas as well as tools for content generation. Finally, we discuss monetization and aspects of ethics and credibility that naturally surface once you get to that level. 

Whether or not you’re someone that’s on the fence about starting your own content creation journey in this creator-economy we live in, this conversation with Ananta will give you an incredible window on how it is never too late to act towards achieving your dreams. The only thing that it boils down to, is whether you’re willing to Ready, Set, Do.

Ananta's YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv2Su_fViMcxMp0g1axbFtA

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:02:08) Ananta's journey from school to MBA

(00:05:41) Taking a gap year to get a better score despite having admits

(00:10:01) Life at the best B-school in India

(00:13:37) Engineer vs non-engineer perspectives at a B-school

(00:17:06) Work-life balance in management consulting

(00:21:11) Starting content creation for the first time

(00:29:00) Optimizing content for numbers

(00:31:43) Instagram vs YouTube

(00:33:25) Monetization on Instagram

(00:35:01) Ethics and Credibility in brand sponsorships

(00:38:21) Tools for content creation

(00:44:40) Setting goals and continuous improvement as a creator