Motivational Prep questions Flashcards
Walk me through your resume: pt 1 introduction
I am studying Computer Science with Innovation at the University of Bristol, which I see as a major in academic computer science and a minor in entrepreneurial design. Alongside my degree I am working as a part-time paid software engineer for a local EdTech startup.
Walk me through your resume: pt 2 resume history
- To back up…
- Game dev -> software engineering (common)
- Immersion into practice (different) -> South Africa, age 12, raise awareness for poaching
- Next 2-3 years: every free moment: learning, ideating and working
- Self taught: OOP, Blender, Photogrammetry, Unity
- Raised 500 quid, interviewed real world anti-poachers
- Taking photos of grass and rocks on family vacation
- Since then, exp in start-ups / established companies (Deloitte)
- Consultant -> technical roles SWE.
- Winning HL Math and CS awards and developing app for AMCHAM + web-scraper for classmates.
Walk me through your resume: pt 3 doing now
- Chose Bristol because of unique innov programme
- Blends academic CS with soft-skills as a design consultant
- Roadchef project -> exploring futures in post-petrol self driving world.
- Along side degree -> working as SWE for EdTech start-up applying generative AI and spaced repition to create bespoke learning experience.
- ## Perhaps mention 30% reduction in calls, pivot etc.
Walk me through your resume: pt4 extracurriculars
- Outside of work and degree
- Co-founded GDSC -> to build network of passionate devs
- Pushing body at gym
- Martial arts: Muay Thai BJJ
Why should we hire you?
- Main reasons: desire to learn / improve, blend of SWE / soft skills exp -> FDSE, finally the FDSE is the exact role I am looking for
- Desire to learn / improve
- Main driver, evident in self-taught journey from age 12
- Important for Delta role, quickly learn about client systems and improve upon them to deliver results.
- Blend of SWE exp / soft skills (consulting, innovation etc.)
- Essential for solving abstract problems and presenting complex topics simply to the clients and maintaining long-terms relationships with them.
- This position is exactly what I am looking for.
- Working on projects like Gotham to save lives or AIP to keep the west ahead in AI tech. Nothing compared to social media app or website.
- Blend of the soft / technical skills and ability to immerse self in different companies (that’s what enticed me about consulting - everything else.) and why innov programme.
Why shouldn’t we hire you
You shouldn’t hire me if you want someone who is able to consistently work on low-level details without understanding the big picture. Part of being impact driven is that I love to understand how what I am doing fits into the overarching project and objectives. I would not for example excel at working in a highly siloed environment with no way to see how all the components are fitting together.
Why do you want to work here
I know this sounds generic, but I love everything about this company. It’s secretive and selective nature, being able to make a real life or death impact with cutting edge technology, and the ability to work closely with clients working on both the technical and human front. I mean even the co-founder’s book, Zero To One has to be in my top 3 favourites of all time.
To be more specific it can be narrowed down to 3 major reasons:
The first as I mentioned is the ability to make a real quantifiable impact, I don’t think at any of the other tech companies you could say I literally saved lives working on Gotham and helped maintain Western AI leadership with AIP (podcasts).
The 2nd technical + human blend. The human element of working with a diverse range of real clients is extremely enticing to me as I was considering consulting for this exact reason but didn’t want to miss out on my passion for engineering.
The 3rd and equally important to me is being surrounded by brilliant people and learning from them. I have done a tonne of research into linkedin profiles… diverse but all equally brilliant, not drones like some other companies. I get an enormous amount of satisfaction from learning and developing with other people and having the opportunity to work with some of the best engineers in the industry solving these high-stakes problems sounds amazing to me.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years
To be completely honest I don’t see myself working here in 10 years time, I want to be doing my own thing. But for the next 5 years I’m going to give it everything I’ve got here so if I don’t get in this year, expect to see me again next year and the year after that.
Once I land the job, I look forward to spending some time working as a Delta with a variety of different clients on high-stakes projects. And then hopefully moving to be a product manager role to own a new exciting project.
However, if I don’t land a graduate job here, I plan on pursuing a masters at Imperial in artificial intelligence. I feel that after having space to explore many different aspects of tech and entrepreneurship during my undergrad, it would be great to specialise in AI in an even more rigorous environment and joining another high-impact company in the space. Most likely you will see me back here trying again.
What are your strengths
I would say my 3 main strengths are persistence, curiosity and problem solving.
Firstly, I would say persistence is my greatest strength and is evident in all aspects of my life, from sticking to a bio-hacked time-blocked routine, going to the gym and excelling academically. I am a huge believer in the power of being disciplined in the face of adversity, and sticking to it. So expect to see me here again if I don’t land it this time.
Secondly, I am hyper-curious by nature, in fact, my family still makes fun of me for constantly drilling them about every minor detail in the world and why it is that way. This is further evident in my self-taught software engineer journey, however it also encompasses much more including economics, neuroscience, bio-hacking etc. And being exposed to and getting immersed in different environments is why I find the FDSE role so attractive.
Finally, my problem solving skills are evident both through my academic record as well as through the different internships and projects. My innovation programme at University can be summed up to solving a wide-variety of problems through different lenses. Perhaps similar to others in this archetype, I get an immense amount of pleasure from that ‘ahah’ moment, while still respecting that there are many other ways of solving the same problem.
What are your weaknesses
My main weakness is that I occasionally make various ‘silly mistakes’ while coding. Often I find I am too focused on solving the problem at a higher-level that I make some small mistakes in the minor technical elements. Usually this is caught by the syntax highlighter or the compiler, but I have learned to double and triple check my code before committing it. I am currently developing the habit of planning out my code (through pseudo-code) before writing it so while typing it out I can focus on getting the implementation correct first-time.
