Part 1: “Essential ‘Unhelpful’ Tips for Career Success based on real story

Because You Just Can’t Succeed Without Them!;)

In 2021, before the waves of layoffs, when we believed in the idea of family at work and dreamed of successful careers, I wrote a fun article on career tips that helped me immensely. Some of these tips sounded blunt and unusual, but today, many of them seem obvious and essential.

“Unhelpful Tips” are actually very helpful. The name is sarcastic, inspired by my favorite childhood book, Harmful Advice by Grigory Oster.

I also created an online exhibition of Executive Layoff Memes to remind us that the corporate world isn’t family and that you can be disposable in a single day.

I have 15 years of experience in the industry, with 10 of those years in North America . I am still working as a data engineer. I had some cool experience in Amazon and Microsoft in the past. I spent almost 5 years at Amazon, working in Vancouver, Boston, and Seattle. And several years with Microsoft working with Xbox and Azure teams.

In this article, I want to focus on the interview process, touch on issues of employer loyalty, financial rewards, career growth, and future prospects, and weigh the pros and cons of “working for someone else” versus “working for yourself.”

You might find some of typos. Unfortunately, grammar isn’t my strong suit, unlike navigating interviews, where I feel “right at home.”

It was 2013. I’d just bombed an online interview for a position in Berlin. Guess they didn’t like my socks.

Before moving on to companies like Amazon and Microsoft, I’d like to start with some simpler examples.

Getting Started

I originally trained as a design engineer, and I genuinely tried to work in my field (for a full 3 years) in Moscow, Russia.

My workspace at a classified facility.

Before I discovered that an assistant project manager earned $1,500 (back in 2009), while the head of a metalworking department at a space center made less than $700.

Tip 1: If you’re thinking that in the future you’ll land a great job with a good income, and all you need to do is put in X years, complete grad school, take Y courses, and get Z certifications—put those assumptions to the test. You might save time, resources, and money.

Now, I know this as “hypothesis testing.” While working at the factory, I decided to test my own hypothesis. I posted a resume on HeadHunter (HH), claiming several years of experience and a graduate degree, and started applying to positions.

I quickly realized that all the available jobs in the Moscow region offered laughable salaries. That’s when I began to question the future of the engineering industry in Russia. It turns out I wasn’t wrong.

When I was in university, I really wanted to intern in Europe. But at some point, those programs were simply canceled. The next image captures this perfectly.

Here I am in Copenhagen, where I met an elderly lady (I was there for a work training). She pretty much told me the same thing my dean did when I asked about an international internship.

I had to retrain. Still am, actually. In IT, as soon as you start learning one thing, something new pops up, and what you just learned is already outdated.

Tip 2: Fake it till you make it (FITYM).

Now I know this trendy phrase, but back then, I just thought I needed to embellish my experience a bit. I had to take my factory experience and turn it into a good story—an IT story. FITYM can apply to almost anything. It’s a catch-22: they demand experience, but you don’t have any, and you can’t get any because they won’t hire you without it. FITYM is the solution to that problem.

Even with my FITYM approach, I didn’t have much success—just 2-3 interviews. Then I got offered an internship at a bank in the IT department, specifically in the Business Intelligence role for report development. They asked me just one question: “Do you know what SQL is?” Although it was the first time I’d heard the word, I confidently replied, “Of course I do! I even used SQL in my thesis project.”

Tip 3: Take risks. You only live once, so it’s better to take a chance. As Yury Dud once said, “It’s not scary to make mistakes—it’s scary to be a dull nobody.”

And this brings up some questions—a sort of FAQ:

1. What if I lie about my experience, and it turns out I don’t have it, and I get fired in disgrace?

   
   Of course, you need to know your limits. Don’t claim you’re a Java architect if you’ve only just written your first “Hello, world” program. But if you understand how to solve problems in theory, where to find answers, and how to ask the right questions, you’ll manage. Besides, hiring someone is a time-consuming and costly process. Your skills are just part of the picture; it’s also about how well you fit in with the team. In the beginning, you can make up for a lack of experience by putting in extra hours. Work 16-hour days, no weekends—you’ll figure it out.

2. My resume has irrelevant experience.

   
   The first thing we do is rewrite the resume. Add the experience that’s relevant to the employer. I’ve never encountered a situation where recruiters compared your resume with your employment record. Be creative; put in the resume what you need. Only include “job location” and “employment dates.” You can tailor the “job title” and “responsibilities” as needed.

3. Fine, no problem with the resume. But what about the employment record?

   
   HR departments are run by people, too. They’re often swamped, not highly paid, and need time for coffee breaks, social media, and gossip. So they’re unlikely to have time to comb through your employment history with a fine-tooth comb.

4. What about the security department?

   
   Big companies have security departments. For them, you’re just a name, and they might do a background check. This is a bit of a roll of the dice. You could leave a friend’s number, or come to some arrangement. I’ve even had a case where I had to take a lie detector test. But I got through it. The main thing for them is that you don’t have a criminal record.

The first three months are the hardest. The people around you aren’t dumb; they’ll quickly catch on that you’re short on knowledge. But! You’re making an effort—arriving early, leaving late, asking the right questions, and being very proactive. Where are they going to find a better candidate?

Job Change – From Banking to an IT Vendor

After 1.5 years, I’d gained some solid experience, and it was time to hit the market.

Tip 4: The odds of working hard and getting a double salary increase are close to zero. The only real way to raise your salary or position is to find a new job.

Tip 5: Don’t quit until you have an offer in hand.

Tip 6: Don’t burn bridges. Always aim to leave on good terms with colleagues.

As usual in interviews, they asked about things I’d only vaguely heard of. You could say I knew 50% really well, and the other 50% at a passing level. Luckily, they valued that first 50%.

I worked at Teradata—an American company. But my projects were at the biggest Russian Bank, which meant spending a lot of time in former preschools and tax offices, battling with other consultants and integrators over a decent (non-broken) chair.

The chair left much to be desired…

Tip 7: Explore all opportunities within the company for personal development.

Even before I started working at Teradata, I knew about the possibility of attending training sessions in Europe. So, by any means necessary, I did my best to attend these trainings. To make it happen, I had to be proactive.

At a Teradata Sales training in Munich. Munich left a lifelong impression—can’t say the same for the training!

Tip 8: Be proactive. Network with people, seek out opportunities for collaboration, and always look for ways to learn new things.

To be proactive, I started running training sessions for other consultants. I led a few workshops for my colleagues. I also dug through the internal Wiki and found contacts for partner companies. I reached out to everyone, and it led to several meetings and workshops. We even had people fly in from Europe to train us on partner solutions. We didn’t actually use those solutions, and they probably wouldn’t be useful, but I knew they’d add value to my resume and experience.

Through this process, I also discovered that we had a budget for partner courses and exams, which I took full advantage of. Proactivity always pays off.

Job Change – From IT Vendor to a Footwear Startup

According to “Tip 4,” it was time to raise my salary and switch jobs. In this case, the job found me. This was one of those times when proactivity pays off. My former manager asked me to run a training session and later invited me to join their team.

New and old companies were in neighbouring buildings, so it was convenient to drop by. By the way, here’s a photo from the training.

Tip 9: Always have a backup plan. No matter where you’re working, always have a “Plan B.” I like to compare this to climbing a mountain. At any point, we can slip, so every time we make a move forward (upward), we plan several steps ahead. If we make a misstep, we won’t fall because we had a backup plan. Wherever I work, I always look to the future and consider possible scenarios for myself.

It was interesting to work in another international company, but it was the usual story—“no money, but hang in there.” After working there for 1.5 years, I hit the market again and raised my salary to 180,000 rubles. At the time, the exchange rate was 30 rubles to the dollar, which was great. But my excitement didn’t last long—six months later, the ruble crashed, and all my ruble savings for immigration turned from a “carriage” into a “pumpkin.”

Tip 10: Motivate yourself. Often, work can be uninteresting or dull. That’s why you need to create your own reasons for why it’s interesting and why it needs to be done. For example, you’re doing an audit or working in support—boring stuff. Turn this mundane work into a cool story. When interviewing, tell them how you took on tough tasks and what results you achieved.

Job Change – From Moscow to Montenegro

While my documents for Canada were being processed, I interviewed for a Web Analyst position in Montenegro. I had never worked as a web analyst before and had only a surface-level understanding of marketing. Nevertheless, I got the job, and once I arrived, I started learning the ins and outs of digital marketing.

Montenegro is amazing! Here’s a photo of Sveti Stefan. Canada is great, but Montenegro is even better!

Tip 11: To ace an interview and speak confidently about things you haven’t worked with before, use Steve Jobs’ method (which I learned about fairly recently, though I’ve always used it intuitively): the “reality distortion field.” I previously mentioned “fake it till you make it,” which can sound a bit harsh, like embellishing (at best). But now we have an almost scientific approach from Star Trek—the “reality distortion field.” This means we need to truly believe in what we’re saying.

Tip 12: To start believing in what we’re saying, we need to tell the story at least 15-20 times. So, before tackling serious interviews, practice on “easier targets” by finding simpler companies and roles and telling them your story. Honestly, I’ve long since convinced myself that at the factory, I worked with SQL, databases, and analytics. Wake me up in the middle of the night, and I’ll recount it without a second thought.

On my desk lies a book on Adobe Site Catalyst—getting my first insights into my new profession.

I didn’t stay long in Montenegro, as my documents for Canada came through. I had a few interesting interviews in Europe, including one with Accenture. It was a positive experience, but I already had my tickets to Canada.

Tip 13: Interviews with foreign companies are excellent practice for improving your English. So even if you’re not actively seeking a job abroad, why not use the opportunity to practice the language?

Riding the train from Montenegro to Belgrade, getting acquainted with Canadian history. In this Soviet-era book, the author frequently mentions Canada’s communist parties!

This is the end of Part 1!