How my Client Got a $70,000 Raise and Job at Microsoft in <3 Months

Read time: 4 minutes

Hey there 👋 - it's Abbhi

Welcome to Career Confidence 🤝 

👋 to everyone reading this newsletter and gaining confidence in your career.

Today I'll be discussing how my client got a $70,000 raise and a job at Microsoft in <3 months 🤯 (and how you can do it too).

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My Weekly Spotlight: 

I've been in India all week and coming back tomorrow. The wedding was lots of fun and I'll be sure to share some pics. Let's dive in. 

Wanna know how? 

She created a strategy... 

Worked her ass off... 

And created some luck. 

Let's dive into the details of her story👇

👊 Actionable Steps 

1/ She Had No Experience in Product Management

She was a data analyst for 8 months...

And wanted to switch into product.

Her job had low growth potential, low salary, and a rigid schedule.

Here's how she broke into Product (& got a $70,000 raise):

2/ She Researched Product Management 

She wanted to learn the day to day of Product Management.

She had coding experience (but didn't wanna only code).

So PM was a good middle ground.

3/ She Spoke with PMs in Big-Tech 

She was interested in big-tech...

She wanted to speak with PMs to learn the day-to day (and see if she'd like it).

So she used LinkedIn to find and reach out to them.

She used this message:

Hey [name], I’m interested in learning more about Product Management at Microsoft and would love advice from a fellow Lehigh Alumni. 

Would love to grab 15 min to learn about your experience at [company] and see how I can support your career journey.

4/ She Had 5-10 Conversations with Different PMs

She decided she wanted the job.

She felt the day to day role aligned with her interests & experiences.

She also reviewed PM job descriptions.

She didn't have all the skills needed.

But had about 70%...

5/ She Didn't Need 100% of the Skills Required

She looked at entry level positions.

Most asked for product related experiences...

She realized she had some but it wasn't even on her resume.

So what'd she do?

6/ She Added the Experience to the Top of Her Resume

She worked in a Product Manager role on a consulting project in college.

So I urged her to put it on her resume and move it the top.

It was by far the most relevant experience she had.

7/ We Added Keywords & Quantified Impact

We then updated her resume...

We used resymatch.io to get the top keywords for big-tech PM jobs.

Then added them to her resume and highlighted her relevant experiences.

And added quantified impact...

8/ We Highlighted Her Most Relevant Experiences

For example...

In her current job she helped the engineering team understand customer challenges.

This directly relates to Product.

So we added it as the first bullet.

9/ She Continued to Network with Her Target Companies

She identified 10-12 target companies.

Most were big-tech companies with products she liked.

Then she spoke with product managers at each of them.

She used LinkedIn to find them.

10/ She Structured Her Chats and Asked Good Questions

She setup 10-20 calls.

She didn't ask for a job. She prepared 10+ questions to learn about the job.

Here's an example question...

What are the biggest challenges of the job? How have you approached them?

11/ She Asked Her Connections for Referrals

She found active job descriptions...

And asked for referrals.

And 90% said yes.

Steal this message... 

Hi [name], it was great speaking with you about Product Management at Microsoft. Product Management seems to be great fit based on my skills.

Would you be willing to write me a referral? No problem if you don't feel comfortable doing so.

Here are 2-3 points on why I'm a great fit for the role...

12/ She Got Her DREAM Interview at Microsoft 

The resume & referral paid off.

She got the interview...

Now what?

She prepared like CRAZY

Here's what she did...

13/ She did Mock Interviews with Current PMs

Best way to prepare for interviews?

Mock interviews.

She reached out to her new connections and setup mock interviews.

She learned what to expect & practiced product specific questions.

14/ She Researched the Company & Interviewer

(1) What product managers did

(2) Microsofts values and goals

(3) Interviewer backgrounds

She created 10-12 specific questions for her interviews.

And now she was ready.

15/ She had 6 Behavioral & Product Interviews

The interview prep paid off...

She got the job and a $70,000 raise.

But we still negotiated...

(and made the offer even better)

16/ We Created a Negotiation Strategy 

We used data from levels.fyi.

She had nearly a year of experience

(& the job was entry level)

So she highlighted the extra value she could provide...

And her minimum needs.

She Negotiated for Salary, Bonus, and Stock

The result?

(1) No change in base salary

(2) No change in annual stock

(3) $25,000 increase in annual bonus

(4) A higher position / title (puts her closer to promotion)

How She Became a PM and Got a $70,000 Raise

• Negotiated Salary

• Received Referrals

• Revamped Resume

• Networked with PMs

• Setup Mock Interviews

🙌 Abbhi's Aces: 

Content to consume, Tools to use. Best finds of the week.

📚 This post shares 7 ways to research company culture

🔗 This post shows how to deal with getting rejected 

And if you missed it, check out how to use ChatGPT to build your network: 

👉 Looking Ahead to Next Thursday 

I'll be going over how I landed a 6 figure job out of college and the exact networking tactics I used to get 5+ interviews at global consulting companies (and how you can too). 

Keep an eye out. See you next Thursday ✌️ 

Abbhi 🤝

P.S.

If you’d like more help, I’ve got your back:

1. Start getting interviews with my new exclusive networking strategy sessions: I've used these exact tactics to get multiple referrals, interviews, and job offers (at places like Deloitte, Google, and Adobe).

2. Optimize your LinkedIn with my 20 page guide: It's gotten jobseekers 10-15 DMs per week from recruiters & hiring managers.