Amazon Behavioral Interview [Part 7] - Overcoming An Unanticipated Obstacle (Answer)

This video segment focuses on an interviewee's experience overcoming a significant obstacle in achieving a key goal.

- **The Obstacle:** The interviewee encountered an issue with their company's customer satisfaction (CSAT) measurement system. They discovered that the current process, where Escalation Account Managers (EAMs) were responsible for sending out CSAT surveys, introduced significant bias. Some EAMs were selectively sending out surveys only to customers they expected to give high scores, artificially inflating the overall CSAT score.
- **Overcoming Challenges:**
  - **Resistance to Change:** The interviewee faced resistance from some EAMs who were hesitant to relinquish control of the survey process.
  - **Technical Limitations:** Implementing an automated survey system presented significant technical challenges, requiring collaboration with the tooling and automation team.
- **Impact and Mitigation:** The initial implementation of a more accurate CSAT measurement system resulted in a temporary dip in the overall score. However, the interviewee proactively communicated this potential drop to leadership and addressed concerns.
- **Long-Term Results:** Over time, as the team addressed underlying issues and improved customer service, the CSAT score gradually increased, eventually exceeding the previous level.

This example demonstrates the interviewee's ability to identify and address a critical issue, overcome resistance to change, and ultimately achieve a positive outcome despite encountering significant obstacles.

Learn more about Alan's job search program, Kadima Careers, using this [discount link](https://signup.kadimacareers.com/mQBsDvu).

Asking Great Questions [Part 24] - Give More Than You Take

The counterpart to asking a question is answering a question, but it's not exactly right to call them opposites as they actually go hand-in-hand! This lesson teaches you:

- How engineers fail to attract and even repel the best engineers to help them
- What you should do to make altruistic, high-performing engineers (i.e. the people you really want answering your questions) want to help you
- Why answering others' questions is one of the best ways to get great people to answer your own questions
- A very tactical self-serving benefit to answering questions and teaching others

Become An Engineer Influencer [Part 2] - Michael's Backstory

Michael saw the transformative power of influence after he left his job at Netflix. This video reveals the new opportunities enabled by cultivating an audience. Michael talks about which platforms he grew on, among Medium, LinkedIn, Twitter, a newsletter, and more.

Connect with Michael:

- LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-lin-tech/>
- Twitter: [https://x.com/\_michaellin](https://x.com/%5C_michaellin)
- Newsletter: <https://www.michaellinwrites.com/>

How Managers Hire Great Engineers [Part 2] - John's Success With Recruiting

If you want to hire great engineers, you're in great hands by taking this course. From this lesson, you will:

- Learn about [John's](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwegan/) journey from an engineer to managing an organization of around 100 engineers
- Understand the challenges and strategies involved in doubling an engineering team year after year
- Discover how [John](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwegan/) personally contributed to hiring dozens of engineers and conducted over 300 interviews
- Gain insights into shaping engineering processes and promoting the company’s brand through recruiting events and meetups

Connect with John Egan on LinkedIn: [**https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwegan/**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwegan/)

Come Up With 500k+ User Project Ideas [Part 17] - Just Keep Building

Failure is a part of life and software side projects are no exception. This lesson teaches you:

- The builder mindset you absolutely must have to succeed with side projects
- Why a failed side project really isn't that bad, especially if you're following the advice from this course
- How Alex made several stupid side projects destined for failure so you don't make the same mistakes he did

Become An Open Source Master [Part 20] - Share What You Learn

Share what you learn as you go on your open-source journey. We can add comments to the code, write wiki pages or articles, or even file issues in the codebase to better understand. When we're ready to start contributing, we should pick a task, dive into the code, and start experimenting with it by adding print statements or breakpoints. This will help us get familiar with the code and the build process so that we can be more effective when making meaningful contributions.

Video reference: [10 Things I Learned from the jQuery Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_qE1iAmjFg)

[How to learn a new codebase fast](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/DX27hiXPJ4G7Czk2mwLL/how-to-learn-a-new-codebase-fast/).

Connect with James:

- GitHub: <https://github.com/jamesgpearce>
- Twitter (X): <https://twitter.com/jamespearce>

SWE Internship Survival Guide [Part 16] - Diversify Your Mentors

As you approach the end of your internship, one of the most important factors in getting a return offer is how you’re evaluated during your performance review. This lesson focuses on how to set yourself up for success by building strong relationships across your team. Here are the core points from the lesson:

- Don’t rely solely on your assigned intern mentor—build relationships with multiple teammates to avoid single points of failure
- You’ll receive 360 feedback at the end of your internship, so proactively engage with others who can speak positively about your work
- Identify 2–3 potential advocates by week two and keep them updated through code reviews, one-on-ones, or casual check-ins

Learn how to build relationships here: [\[Masterclass\] How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/tyaPFMXPoz2pmzB7OVzt/masterclass-how-to-build-deep-relationships-quickly-in-tech/)

15 SWE Years In 1.5 Hours [Part 20] - Conclusion

Congratulations on making it to the end of the course! The goal of this course was to capture Rahul's biggest, broadest, higher-level learnings across a multitude of core software engineering subjects. While this is indeed valuable, it's impossible to master a massive topic like all of data structures and algorithms in just 5 minutes

To go deeper into these subjects, we recommend following our learning path here: [Become A Better Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/learning-paths/become-a-better-engineer/)

Break Into Tech And Become A Software Engineer [Part 19] - Selling Yourself As A Developer

In this lesson, Brian explains how to effectively market yourself as a software developer by positioning your skills and experience clearly to potential employers.

This lesson covers:

- Presenting yourself as a software developer, ensuring your resume and LinkedIn profile immediately reflect your skills and experiences in the field
- Avoiding terms like "junior" or "aspiring" developer and instead using strong language that showcases confidence, such as "architected," "led," and "deployed"
- Framing your achievements with a formula that highlights the technology used, the features created, and the outcomes achieved, demonstrating the value you bring to a team

If you need extra help breaking into tech, join Brian's exclusive, cohort-based bootcamp (just 10 students per batch). Use this special link for $800 off: <https://www.parsity.io/taro>

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjenney/>

[Become A Go-To Person 13/18] Answer Questions To Become An Expert

A course by [Jordan Cutler](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordancutler1/), Senior Software Engineer at Pinterest and Author of the [High Growth Engineer Newsletter](https://read.highgrowthengineer.com/)

Tech Lead Blueprint 10/17 - Commit To Project Success

Connect with Lalit on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalitkundu/>

Motivated IC Auto-Didact

In this segment of the course, we begin translating theory into practice by applying the essence of management—creating positive and sustainable change—to real-life situations. We're guided through four exercises that challenge us to think creatively and proactively like effective managers.

- We approach each scenario by recalling that our role as managers is to **generate positive, lasting improvement** in our organization’s performance.
- We recognize that the scenarios are vague on purpose, so we must **draw from our own experiences** to interpret and respond thoughtfully.
- In the first exercise, we examine how to support a **highly motivated, self-learning individual contributor**, and consider what impact we can create to further enable their growth and contribution.
- We are encouraged to identify the **Delta**—the change we can influence or initiate—and write down our strategy for each case, reinforcing our understanding through reflection and application.

If you want to learn more from Gilad, he shares free leadership advice daily on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/giladnaor/?utm_source=taro&utm_medium=course&utm_campaign=cta) and weekly on the[ δeltas newsletter](https://posts.managementdeltas.com/?utm_source=taro&utm_medium=course&utm_campaign=cta)

Break Into Tech And Become A Software Engineer [Part 13] - Establishing Your Brand Online

In this lesson, Brian discusses the importance of focusing on valuable content when writing online, rather than chasing likes or negative engagement.

This lesson covers:

- Avoiding negative or clickbait content that might gain attention but harms your professional reputation, such as romanticizing rejection or posting rage bait
- The value of sharing interesting challenges, technical problems, and personal experiences with solutions, which fosters meaningful conversations and builds credibility
- Posting about specific technologies, problems you’ve solved, and snippets of code to engage with professionals and attract potential career opportunities

If you need extra help breaking into tech, join Brian's exclusive, cohort-based bootcamp (just 10 students per batch). Use this special link for $800 off: <https://www.parsity.io/taro>

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjenney/>

Break Into Tech And Become A Software Engineer [Part 17] - The Chicken vs. The Egg

In this lesson, Brian addresses the challenge of gaining experience as a software developer when transitioning careers, offering practical solutions beyond traditional routes.

This lesson covers:

- The limitations of open source projects, highlighting their high barriers to entry and explaining why they may not be the best route for everyone
- Freelancing as a more straightforward option for gaining experience, which can lead to valuable work and opportunities
- Turning a side project into a legitimate business, providing either career validation or even a pathway to financial independence without needing a traditional job

If you need extra help breaking into tech, join Brian's exclusive, cohort-based bootcamp (just 10 students per batch). Use this special link for $800 off: <https://www.parsity.io/taro>

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjenney/>

Asking Great Questions [Part 17] - Target Domain Experts

A big part of getting great answers quickly is to ask the right people, especially with technical questions as different engineers specialize in different things. This lesson teaches you:

- Why targeting makes it more likely for your question to be answered
- What it looks like when you target domain experts in your question, explained with an in-depth example
- How to find domain experts to tag in your questions

Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech [Part 13] - Lead With Kindness

Many engineers get impatient when it comes to networking, frustrated that it takes so long to get someone to provide meaningful value to them. It doesn't need to be this way. This lesson teaches you:

- A very simple way to understand networking and how to convert it into something that provides concrete benefits
- Why leading with kindness is the most powerful mindset you can have to build trust *fast*
- How leading with kindness really isn't that difficult, especially if you're smart and on the lookout for disproportionate activities
- What it means to lead with kindness, explained with an in-depth example that is very relevant to Taro

Ship & Grow 500k+ User Side Projects [Part 19] - Managing Your Project

If you're just starting off with side projects, especially if you're a junior engineer, it can easily get overwhelming. This lesson teaches you:

- The important thing to never forget about side projects
- The 1 project management tool you absolutely should *not* use to manage a side project
- The 1 simple, organic tool that is probably best to manage your side project and keep track of open tasks
- How to organize your side project with decomposition, shown with an example

Get The Rating You Deserve [Part 10] - Clarity On Deliverables

**In this video, we discussed the importance of clarity in defining and achieving our work goals.**

To ensure we're consistently making progress and maximizing our impact, we should:

- **Continuously seek clarity:** Regularly revisit and refine our goals and deliverables, especially in dynamic work environments.
- **Balance long-term and short-term priorities:** Prioritize tasks that align with long-term objectives while also addressing urgent issues.
- **Take ownership of our work:** Proactively seek clarity from our managers and take initiative in defining our own expectations and deliverables.
- **Utilize effective time management techniques:** Allocate specific time for focused work and unexpected tasks to maintain productivity and avoid feeling overwhelmed.

By following these guidelines, we can increase our effectiveness, reduce stress, and achieve greater success in our professional endeavors.

If you want to get personalized support from Yogi, you can reach out to him at [coaching@yogisharma.com](mailto:coaching@yogisharma.com) or schedule an introductory call to dive into your situation at <https://tinyurl.com/meetyogi>.

Asking Great Questions [Part 20] - Make Fulfillment Easy

In order to get what you want, you need to know *exactly* what you want. This can be harder than many engineers realize. This lesson teaches you:

- The importance of reducing fulfillment friction, presented through the perspective of the person fulfilling the favor
- What it means to make fulfillment of your favor easy, shown with an in-depth example covering a common engineering ask
- How the spectrum behind fulfillment friction reduction is actually incredibly deep, especially if you're creative
- Ideas to make fulfillment easier with examples covering 3 more very commonly asked for favors

Tech Career Growth Videos

Our instructional videos provide software engineers with insights needed for career growth. Masterclasses go incredibly in-depth on a specific tech topic while case studies are real examples from established engineering leaders.