Karishma Jayaprakash Narayanan

Want to secure a 6 figure new grad tech offer next year?  Don't make a New Year's resolution. Do this instead: Run 2-4 weeks experiments.  Hyper-focus on one goal at a time and execute with high conviction. This could mean:  - Solving 2 Leetcode questions every day for 4 weeks, - Doing 1 coffee chat a day for 2 weeks, or  - Spending 1 hour a day working on your project for 2 weeks. And after the experiment ends, ask yourself if you made a meaningful step towards your dream outcome - landing a 6 figure new grad tech offer. If not, pivot and run a new one. Maybe it's not Leetcode you're missing.  Maybe you just suck at passing behaviorals. Keep iterating.  Don't let the calendar fool you into thinking you can only start in 2026. Start now.

32

Breaking into tech as a student or new grad in 2025 isn’t easy with all the chaos in the job market. I’m sharing the exact tips and habits that actually move the needle — no fluff. Day 2️⃣ Job search feels overwhelming when you’re applying everywhere and getting nowhere. Here’s what helps: 🎯 Pick 10–15 target companies. 🔍 Study what they build, who they hire, and what skills they value. 📚 Read their engineering blogs or case studies. Don’t chase everything — focus creates clarity. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s tip 👀

47

4 Comments

Dreaming of a FAANG job right after graduation? Let's consider the reality. 👇 The question I get most often is: "What's the secret to getting into a top tech company as a new grad?" The secret is, in this economy, there isn't one. These companies have thousands of applications and are hiring for proven experience, not potential. A new grad is a long shot. So how do you become a "proven" candidate? Go work for a respected Fortune 100 company. Brand names have values. When you apply to Google or Apple 3 years from now, you’re not just another resume in the pile. You’re a professional whose skills have been validated by other top-tier companies. Don't be discouraged by a 'no' today. Be strategic for the 'yes' tomorrow. #Careers #BigTech #JobSeeker #FirstJob #PersonalBranding #Fortune100 #FAANG

34

2 Comments

New Grad Product Managers earn BANK. But the student recruiting game is broken. I've helped 100s of students ACTUALLY get PM jobs. This is what you need to know: (Repost ♻️ for your juniors) — PMs Earn A Lot Globally, PMs earn roughly: • US: $120K–$200K • India: ₹24L–₹60L • Europe: €65K–€90K • Brazil: R$180K+ And 26,000+ PM roles are open. The field is thriving; AI is not taking over it. — Your Uni's Advice is Wrong → Your career center: "Pursue your passion." Reality: Certain clubs + majors prepare you much better → Academic advisors: "Choose any major you like." Truth: There's a clear hierarchy, with CS at the top → The administration: "Participate in any clubs." Actually: PM Club + Tech/Speaking are most important Pursue these 7 steps instead: — 1. Choose the Right Major I hate to break it to you. Not all majors are equal: • Computer Science is the gold standard • Product Design is almost as good • Business or Econ are solid • Other Eng is respectable • Other hard majors too • But humanities... Well, it's possible. But you'll need strong other creds. If you're a freshman or sophomore, double major in 2 of the top majors. If you are later on, still try to minor. — 2. Join Clubs That Prove You Care Don't randomly join clubs. Spend your team strategically: • Product Management Clubs • Tech or Public Speaking Clubs • Consulting Clubs For any other clubs → become a leader. — 3. Get Relevant Experiences To make your resume stand out, make sure you have: a. Hackathons: show you can ship b. Side Projects: show you solve real problems c. Product/Design Classes: show you’re learning craft d. PM Internships (even unpaid): show you can do the job An ideal resume is: 2 good majors + ≥2 PM internships + hackathons + product classes + leadership. — 4. Don't Just Apply to PM PM is a small field. If you are not at a top school, or the job search is dragging on, consider joining an ancillary field ancillary and then moving into PM. Things like: • Product Analyst • Product Owner (Junior) • Product Fellow (e.g., Kleiner Perkins) — 5. Apply to Level Appropriate Jobs You're not looking for Senior PM and Lead PM jobs. Look for titles like: • APM (Associate Product Manager) • RPM (Rotational Product Manager) • PM Intern — 6. Build a portfolio Go beyond the resume. Document: • Key Internship Projects • Some of the Starter Ideas in the Graphic • Gaps in Your Resume to Flip them to Strengths — 7. Follow the Timelines a. Get summer PM internships b. Use Jan–May to apply to startup's c. Use Sep–Nov to apply to APM / RPM programs And start building your referral network at all your dream companies throughout the year, so you can get referrals in the right seasons. — Being a student and trying to target PM can feel like a lost cause. When you're playing the comparison game, all your friends seem to have made better decisions. My advice: ignore them. Do what you can now. You got this, Aakash ❤️

121

28 Comments

💼 Real Visa Data Engineering Interview (Reddit Breakdown) + Free DE Strategy Drop Hi LinkedIn 👋 I came across a detailed breakdown of a Visa Data Engineering interview on Reddit — and it’s packed with useful takeaways for anyone prepping for DE roles. Here’s a short, structured summary — plus a free DE roadmap if you’re preparing too. 👇 --- 🔍 Visa DE Interview – Real Reddit Insights 🧠 Round 1: SQL + PySpark Coding tasks like: "Find first letters of words + count them" Business scenario: "Fix downstream tables after source data is corrected" ⚙️ Round 2: Spark Internals + System Design Debug: "Why does writing a cached DataFrame re-trigger multiple jobs?" Logic design: "Run dependent tasks without Airflow/ADF" 🧩 Round 3: Managerial Scenario: “You’re overloaded. A new task drops. What do you do?” Focus: prioritization, ownership, communication --- 💡 What You Can Learn: ✅ Most DE interviews go beyond syntax — they test problem-solving with messy, real-world data ✅ System design > tools — you may be asked to think without orchestration platforms ✅ Your mindset & logic matter as much as your code --- 📩 Want my personal DE roadmap + weekly prep strategy? 👉 Comment “DE Strategy” and I’ll DM you a full free resource list: SQL, PySpark, ETL tools, projects, and interview prep — no fluff. --- 🔔 Follow me for real DE interview breakdowns, learning tips from my own backend → DE journey, and free resources every week. Let’s grow together. 🚀 #DataEngineering #VisaInterview #Spark #SQL #PySpark #LearnInPublic #BackendToData #DEstrategy #AnshLearnsData

7

Thrilled to share my experience at Dallas AI! This year’s #DallasAI event, I had the opportunity to work on something truly exciting — NextCareer AI. In today’s rapidly evolving AI world, it’s becoming harder to know which skills really matter and how to stay relevant. That’s exactly the challenge we wanted to solve. What NextCareer AI does: ·   Upload your resume → AI parses it and extracts your skills. ·   Enter your goals, interests, and learning preferences. ·   Get real-time job recommendations from the current market that match your skills. ·   Identify skill gaps for your dream role and receive a personalized learning path, courses, and resources to upskill. ·   Connect with mentors who can guide your journey. Who can benefit? ·   Students exploring career options. ·   Working professionals aiming to upskill or switch roles. ·   Technical professionals staying ahead in their domain. ·   Non-technical professionals looking to break into new industries. Our journey building it: From designing the AI-powered skill extraction system to integrating job market APIs, crafting recommendation logic, and fine-tuning the learning path generation, the project was a great blend of problem-solving, collaboration, and innovation. The experience also reinforced how powerful AI can be when applied to career development. #DallasAI Experience: Beyond building the project, Dallas AI was an incredible learning experience. I attended insightful sessions on the latest AI trends, took part in thought-provoking panel discussions, and connected with innovators, industry experts, and AI enthusiasts. These conversations sparked fresh ideas and inspired new directions for the future of NextCareer AI. A huge thanks to Dallas AI for providing such a collaborative environment, to my amazing teammates for making this vision a reality, and to my mentor Anil Pantangi for his invaluable guidance! Eyshika Agarwal | Eli Laird | Babar Bhatti | Aamer Charania Teammates: Shravani Kuragayala, Pavan Kalyan Natukula, Lola F. , Abhiram Rishi Prattipati #DallasAI #AI #CareerDevelopment #NextCareerAI #JobRecommendations #LearningPath #Mentorship #ArtificialIntelligence #CareerGrowth #Upskilling

50

4 Comments