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

Why does down-leveling happen? How can you avoid it and get the salary you deserve instead of battling for a promotion and raise later? Learn how to tell the right story and you just may re-engineer your career.

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BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
This book transformed m y life when I read it for the first time nearly 10 years ago. It's still guides the way I think about self-development today.

The most important currency you have is your undivided attention. This book shows you exactly how to spend this currency in a manner that will lead to head-turning accomplishment.

SYSTEM DESIGN
Currently the best reference contemporary for system design.

For interviews, the best references are System Design Interview and System Design Interview Volume 2 by Alex Xu.

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[trentconley]

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.

[travis]

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 .... "

[jackgiunta]

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

[duncan]

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

[bronsonschnitzel]

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.

[BbB-vruh]

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

[botenjohn]

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

[danielliebster]

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.

[kjkang]

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 Youtube 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.

[davidde]

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.

[muhamadmarifatalhanif]

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😆!

[MickenCZProfi]

This video is absolutely incredible, seriously, thank you.

[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.

[lurnt]

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

[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!

[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

[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!

[bklynkid]

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!

[ehdyn]

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

[mr.mystiks]

“Downstream” “operational load” “flagship feature” “ownership of software taken from another team” “added tests” “paging oncall late at night” “immovable deadline” “sus4j (log4j)” yup a lot of words that give Amazon SDEs nightmares to leave. he’s def a legit Amazon engineer.