In this episode, the featured not-expert is Farheen Hussain. Farheen is a construction management technology professional at Jacobs. Starting out as an architect, she successfully pivoted into a career in construction management, where she is now making a definitive impact while challenging existing norms in a male dominated industry.

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In this episode, featured not-expert is Devendra Chhajer. Devendra has been living and working in France for the past 5 years or so, having moved there to finish his Global Management Program from SP Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR).

We discuss:-

- Devendra's move to Paris and transition to life in the city

- Loves and challenges of living in Paris

- Overcoming language barriers and tips for learning French

- Reality of academics at IESEG, Paris and Devendra’s experiences

- Types of work visas and building a career in France

- Parallels between life in Europe and life in India

- Planning a career-oriented move to France and setting expectations

- Devendra's personal journey through college and beyond in France

This discussion is for anyone who is considering moving to France for a higher degree and building a career out there, or anyone who is interested to learn what it’s like to live in one of the most famous, beautiful, and metropolitan cities in the world.Like, comment and subscribe. There may not or may not be an Easter egg hidden in this episode. 

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Resources:

Devendra's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dkc1996/

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Intro + Background

(00:02:40) SPJIMR Global Mgmt - Moving to France

(00:07:57) Favorite aspects of living in France

(00:13:51) Challenges and struggles of living in France

(00:20:29) Facing language barriers (French) and how to overcome them

(00:24:25) What is it like on the ground-level in Paris city?

(00:26:30) Addressing the “Are French People Jerks?” stereotype

(00:31:58) Academic Experiences & Job Prospects in France

(00:34:56) Process of obtaining a work visa in France

(00:39:42) Types of work contracts and why they matter - CDD & CDI

(00:41:23) Work Visa deep-dive

(00:45:19) Unemployment benefits and how to avail (if necessary)

(00:49:05) Personal Growth and Perspectives from starting a new life

(00:53:22) Advice for students moving to France for higher studies

(00:56:15) Outro + Gratitude

In this episode, my guest is Kati Hutsell, who is a career advisor at Purdue University and a former recruiter for Google, Amazon, and Meta. We discuss:

This episode is a must-listen for anyone curious about the job search process and looking to gain valuable hiring insights from someone with extensive experience in Big Tech as well as higher education.

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Resources:

Kati Hutsell

Naman Pandey - Please find my resume on my profile

readysetdo.transistor.fm

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Intro & background

(00:03:18) Kati’s career overview

(00:08:40) Resume review experience at Google and ATS

(00:13:05) 3 criteria for success for Google positions and indicators of strong performance on resumes

(00:16:39) Importance (or lack thereof) of online course and certifications

(00:18:45) Busting myths around the job application process and ATS

(00:21:08) Importance of GPAs

(00:22:54) Writing bulletproof resume bullets

(00:25:54) ATS hacking - advisable or not really?

(00:28:38) Hiring for senior tech lead/individual contributor positions at Amazon & Meta

(00:31:02) Career pivot to higher education after time at Big Tech

(00:34:30) Common traits among students successful in the job market

(00:39:00) Pitfalls preventing students from getting interview call-backs

(00:42:25) Optimizing your job application style for max chance of success

(00:45:16) Pitfalls preventing students from converting interviews

(00:47:55) A blueprint for networking effectively on LinkedIn

(00:54:38) Advice for Indian international students in the US

(00:58:17) Outro & gratitude

In this episode, featured not-expert is Utpal Nadiger. Utpal is a co-founder at Digger, but perhaps more notably, a life-long cricket fanatic. He has played semi-professionally in India and continues to play club cricket in the UK as of May 2024, and has also co-founded The Cricket Revolution, which is a product for cricketers to leverage to get better at the sport. 

One striking theme underlines Utpal’s remarkable life-journey thus far - his belief that when faced with making an important life-decision, the outcome that guarantees the most fun is the best option to pick. We discuss:

In keeping with our theme of learning from someone just two steps ahead instead of an expert. I’d like to emphasize that it is not lost on me that I’m making most generalizations that are broad at their best and ill-advised at their worst. Having said that, my goal is merely to highlight that there is a possibility that answers to seemingly infinite philosophical questions such as “how to make life-changing decision accurately” can in fact be as simple as just doing the thing that’s most fun.

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Resources:

1. digger.dev

2. thecricketrevolution.com

3. Ready Set Do instagram

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Intro and background

(00:03:09) Exposure to cricket as a kid - the obsession begins

(00:06:14) What it takes to go pro at cricket (or any sport)

(00:10:01) Balancing an engineering degree with cricket

(00:12:19) Getting certified as a stand-in conditioning specialist + COVID

(00:16:01) Ideating and building The Cricket Revolution

(00:18:47) What problems did The Cricket Revolution solve?

(00:21:40) Masters in Sport Biomechanics at Loughborough

(00:27:26) How to get accepted for a Masters in Sport Biomechanics

(00:29:23) Experience of living, conducting research and playing club cricket in the UK

(00:35:52) Path after graduation - STOA MBA bootcamp

(00:41:12) Competing against elite UK grads for employment in the Startup space

(00:42:59) Getting hired as a Founders’ Associate

(00:47:48) Accepting position of co-founder at Digger

(00:50:04) Exposure to the Bay Area and the US

(00:52:02) Looking back and forward 

(00:55:52) Outro and gratitude

In this episode, my guest is Shivangi Sharma, who at the time of recording is an upcoming MBA graduate at UCLA. While each person’s experience of getting an MBA degree can be very distinct, Shivangi’s experience is best described with a term I contrived - the 360 MBA.

We discuss: 

This discussion is for anyone who is either contemplating getting their MBA in the US, is a current MBA student in the US OR just is an international student in the US as a lot of the 360 MBA topics are generalizable to most Master’s courses as well. In keeping with our theme of learning from someone that’s just two steps ahead instead of an expert, I’d like to emphasize that this discussion centers on Shivangi’s MBA experience that covers the entire breadth of everything one can do while they’re in a business school.

Resources & List of Conferences:

Grace Hopper Celebration - https://ghc.anitab.org/

Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Annual Conference - https://we24.swe.org/

SHPE National Convention - https://shpe.org/nc2024/

Collegiate Leadership Conference (CLC) - https://www.tridelta.org/events/clc/

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Overview and Background

(00:03:25) Why MBA (Product Management to MBA pipeline)

(00:05:36) Applying to the earliest deadline possible

(00:07:07) GRE vs GMAT for MBA applications in the US

(00:09:27) How to shortlist MBA programs - Rankings & Reports

(00:13:19) Reaching out to current students/alumni for reviews

(00:17:06) Tool: Finding resume twins for insight into suitable MBA programs

(00:20:14) Tool: How to find resume twins using LinkedIn

(00:21:34) Career pathways after an MBA and how to set long-term goals

(00:24:30) Location as a potential parameter + Resilience of Indian international students

(00:28:33) Academics - Case-Based Learning deep-dive

(00:32:11) Grade non-disclosure and picking courses that cause mind expansion

(00:35:43) Conferences - deep-dive (360 MBA pillar)

(00:38:45) Tool: Monthly/Quarterly goals prioritization technique 

(00:40:34) Insights on the annual Grace Hopper conference

(00:43:39) Leadership positions in college clubs and organizations (360 MBA pillar)

(00:49:05) Ability to build leadership and org skills using leadership roles

(00:51:50) Social life - Traveling + Party time (360 MBA pillar)

(00:55:27) A transformational experience - 10/10 would recommend

(00:57:56) Working at Gates ventures and the horizon beyond

(01:01:00) Outro and Gratitude

In this episode, my guests are Ritwik and Kartik Khator. The twin brothers Ritwik and Kartik are the founders of Startup Indian, which is a company that offers research, analysis, and financial expertise services to startups and founders.

We discuss:

Note: 63,000 crore INR = $7.5B USD

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Resources:

Work management tool - ⁠SuperWorks⁠

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Introduction and background

(00:04:26) What makes becoming a CA so formidable?

(00:07:59) Positive reinforcement (from a twin sibling)

(00:09:14) Path after graduation - How R&K chose the next step

(00:11:33) How to crush real-world problems as a Chartered Accountant

(00:13:39) Beginning of R&K’s entrepreneurial journey

(00:16:26) Setting up for long term success + WHY entrepreneurship?

(00:19:09) Traits of successful entrepreneurs (P.S It’s not for everyone)

(00:23:42) Writing newsletters to win clients (solicitation NOT allowed!)

(00:28:00) Reaching investors and founders

(00:30:05) How to write an effective newsletter

(00:32:32) Tool: Using your unique perspective to differentiate yourself

(00:34:56) Working with High Net-Worth Individuals and Investors

(00:38:01) On “challenging” HNIs and Investors

(00:41:49) How to scale your start-up/business

(00:44:48) On Hiring smart

(00:46:43) Goal setting for your start-up and driving the India Growth Story

(00:50:46) Work management tool recs

(00:53:05) Growing up with a twin sibling - secrets finally revealed

(00:55:39) Outro + Gratitude

In this episode, my guest in this episode is Raghav Taparia. Raghav is a financial investment aficionado who has successfully built out robust systems for making strides towards his financial goals.

During this episode, he shares a wealth of knowledge starting with a brief investment for dummies section, investing principles, paycheck allocation methods, and most importantly, how anyone can build their own investment plan to steadily progress towards their own financial goals. Raghav discloses the tools and strategies that enabled him to accumulate impressive dividends by investing in a little known stock using only his skills, research, and some resources that he shares with us.

This discussion is for anyone who would like to explore the captivating world of personal finance, and practical strategies to live the life they want without compromising their future goals and ensuring long-term success. As always, all sections are time-stamped on Youtube and Spotify (and wherever else you get your podcasts)

In keeping with the theme of learning from someone that’s just two steps ahead instead of an expert, even more so than other episodes, I’d like to emphasize that this discussion centers around Raghav’s journey through learning and implementing personal finance strategies and systems. I do not intend for this to be financial advice. Rather, my goal is to get you to a point where you can appreciate the landscape of investing and an accessible starting point to build towards your goals.

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1. One up on wall street

2. The Dhandho Investor

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Intro and background, passion for investing

(00:03:22) Investing 101- Jargon you should probably know

(00:06:38) Investing as a student vs a salaried professional

(00:10:08) Changing spending and investing habits

(00:11:58) Raghav’s paycheck allocation strategy

(00:16:31) Philosophy - Making the smartest people in the world generate money for you

(00:21:43) Resources/practices to get started with investing

(00:24:56) Raghav’s principles of investing + how to find your own principle

(00:26:15) Finding undervalued companies - how and why?

(00:29:57) Raghav’s win story with cashing in BIG after finding an undervalued stock using research and resources

(00:39:11) Tools for personal finance

(00:42:25) Getting scrappy - credit card gaming 101

(00:48:22) Proactive approach to personal finance 

(00:53:12) How to cut down on non-essential expenditure

(00:58:56) Question Request 1 - how to build credit score as an international student in the US?

(01:03:23) Question Request 2 - S&P 500, set and forget?

(01:05:16) Outro

My guest for this episode is Shikhaj Jakhete. Shikhaj is a Technical Account Manager at Adobe. More importantly, he is a trailblazer in the art and science of personal branding online as well as in real life.

Focusing keenly on authenticity and through insightful storytelling, Shikhaj has carved out for himself a compelling online presence, most notably on LinkedIn.

If you're looking to curate your personal brand online, whether starting fresh or making improvements, this discussion is for you. In keeping with the theme of learning from someone just two steps ahead of you instead of an expert, I’d like to emphasize that this discussion focuses on the tools and strategies that proved successful for Shikhaj. My goal is to merely highlight how one can start making progress today towards their own goals of building a personal brand, and some common pitfalls to avoid along the way.

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Intro and background

(00:03:56) Making the most of admission deferral because of Covid-19

(00:06:26) Launching a marketing agency during Covid-19

(00:08:16) Learning the skills to run his marketing agency

(00:10:10) First foray into writing on LinkedIn - Intro to personal branding

(00:12:59) Evolving content types and target audiences based on life updates

(00:15:34) Shikhaj’s process for generating content ideas

(00:18:30) Perspective of an international master’s student in the US 

(00:21:10) Dealing with self-doubt and putting oneself out there

(00:24:30) On choosing peers and building a personal website

(00:28:57) The right motivations for personal branding 

(00:30:58) Why should one care about their personal brand? + various avenues of branding

(00:36:14) Qualitative and qualitative benefits of personal branding

(00:39:52) Shifting landscapes due to proliferation of AI-generated content

(00:42:29) Shikhaj’s upcoming endeavors and outro

In this episode, my guest is Aditya Kothari. Aditya is a Senior Business Analyst at Capital One. He is a self-taught case interview aficionado who has helped dozens of students crack their case interviews.

Case interviews are a common method used by consulting firms, and increasingly, by tech companies to assess a candidate’s problem-solving abilities and analytical skills. During a case interview, candidates work with the interviewer to analyze, identify key issues, and propose solutions for a business problem or scenario. 

I’ve had the pleasure of being coached by Aditya for when I had a case interview call. I remember feeling just blown away by how adept he had gotten, not only with the ins and outs of a case interview but also his ability to conduct extremely effective mock interviews for… a rather lucky group of peers. 

Finally, in keeping with our theme of learning from someone that’s just two steps ahead instead of a full-blown expert, I want to emphasize that this discussion focuses on the anec-data that Aditya successfully worked with. My goal is to merely highlight what he did successfully to get where he wanted to get - and what you can do to learn from him. 

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Subscribe to Ready Set Do on YouTube !

Resources:

1. Victor Cheng : https://caseinterview.com/case_interview_frameworks.pdf

2. Victor Cheng YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrxwQJwyjBOlqwFVdxgXTKK-nphUX4u8P

3. Hacking the Case Interview YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@HackingtheCaseInterview

4. Wharton Consulting Club casebook : https://careerinconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/6.-Wharton-Casebook-2017.pdf

5. Case in Point book : https://www.amazon.com/Case-Point-Complete-Interview-Preparation/dp/0971015880

6. Aditya’s LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/adithyakothari/

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:02:41) Aditya’s background

(00:03:26) Why masters in Business Analytics?

(00:06:36) On the GRE

(00:09:36) Navigating job search process in the US

(00:11:24) Tool: The “So What?” Framework for all resume bullets

(00:14:44) Which job application style is right for me?

(00:19:00) How to write super effective resume experience bullets 

(00:21:52) Curating different versions of resumes for different roles

(00:24:44) Balancing applying early and seeking referrals

(00:28:43) First exposure to case interviews

(00:30:11) Understanding case interviews- problem solving

(00:32:30) Technical case interviews deep dive

(00:38:47) Sample case walk-thru

(00:41:57) How to manage time effectively and do math fast

(00:46:54) Tools and resources for prep

(00:49:21) Familiarizing oneself with business jargon (and why?)

(00:52:41) On corporate America

(00:54:18) Outro

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