Manoj Tumu reveals his no-referral, persistence-driven formula to crack big tech interviews
At just 23, Indian-American software engineer Manoj Tumu has achieved what many young engineers dream of — a $400,000 (₹3.36 crore) paycheck and a coveted role at Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta. Tumu, who earlier worked at Amazon, joined Meta’s advertising research team this year and is now sharing the strategies behind his rapid career leap, reported timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
The young engineer cracked both Amazon and Meta without referrals, relying solely on persistence, preparation, and a sharp interview strategy.
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Explaining his career move, Tumu said Amazon gave him a strong foundation, but Meta’s cutting-edge projects were too compelling to resist
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“Though I had learned a lot at Amazon, I just thought there was more interesting work going on at Meta,” he said
He credits the shift in artificial intelligence — from traditional machine learning to advanced deep learning models — as a key factor that opened new opportunities for him.
Tumu emphasizes that the behavioral interview round is where most candidates falter. During his six-round Amazon interview, he created detailed stories tailored to the company’s leadership principles, proving that cultural alignment matters as much as technical knowledge.
For aspiring engineers, his advice is straightforward: take internships early, even if they are low-paying, as experience outweighs compensation in the long run. He also champions the power of cold emails to open doors in the competitive AI industry.
