Career Advice from a Program Manager @Airbnb - Sergio Patterson (ex-Google, Linkedin, Meta, Amazon)

In this insightful interview, I chat with Sergio, a Senior Program Manager at Airbnb, as he shares his wealth of knowledge and experience on what it takes to excel as a program manager in the tech industry. We delve into a wide range of topics including the core responsibilities of a program manager, the difference between a program manager and a product manager, and what a typical day looks like for a Senior program manager at Airbnb. Sergio also provides valuable tips on working effectively with many stakeholders, creating an operating system for your team, running meetings effectively, navigating team dependencies, building relationships and networking, note-taking and documentation, and much more. Check out Sergio's podcast here: https://thefreeretiree.com/ We hope you enjoy it and learn something new! Table of Contents 0:00 Intro 0:47 Sergio’s Background 1:51 What are the core responsibilities of a program manager at a tech company? 3:13 What is the difference between a program manager and a product manager? 5:07 What does a typical day look like for a Senior program manager at Airbnb? 9:23 Tips around working well with many stakeholders 11:07 Creating an Operating System (OS) for your team 11:30 The importance of “why” 13:30 Quality program management & running meetings effectively 14:25 Why agendas are important for effective meetings 15:09 Why preparing for meetings matters 17:09 Navigating team dependencies 17:47 Building relationships & networking 19:10 Note-taking, following-up, and documentation 19:57 Pro Tip: Creating a running doc of meetings and action items for your team 21:06 Resource: “The Free Retiree Show” podcast 21:21 Checklist and advice navigating layoffs & finding job opportunities during an economic slowdown 27:08 Using LinkedIn to find your next job after a layoff 29:30 Job interviewing tips - Practice makes perfect! 30:30 Sergio’s Secret Sauce: Walkthrough of how to prepare for interviews and successfully negotiate an offer at Airbnb 31:37 Step 1: Conduct deep research on the company and job role 32:17 Step 2: Research the person that is interviewing you, and tips on breaking the ice within 30 seconds to build a relationship with the recruiter 35:53 Step 3: The most important interview - tips on meeting with a Hiring Manager 38:02 Great examples of questions to ask a Hiring Manager during an interview 40:27 Step 4: Advice on Virtual Onsite Interviews: Highlight your relationship-building skills & tailor your responses for each team member/function you meet with 43:40 BONUS: Airbnb’s culture and values interview 45:43 Step 5: Navigating Salary Negotiations - levels.fyi, understanding your baseline 47:55 4 Components/Levers of a Compensation Package 48:56 Get clarity early on in the interview process on salary expectations 49:32 Pro Tip: Always opportunity to negotiate - don’t take the first offer 50:24 Getting a sign-on bonus by communicating why you are asking for more 51:16 What is managing up and why it is important for advancing in your career and getting promoted? 55:39 What has been critical to Sergio’s career success in the tech industry? 57:26 Closing remarks: All of our careers are an adventure - embrace the adventure and say YES to opportunity! Support our channel ► Buy us a coffee ☕️- https://ko-fi.com/danteanditzel 💬👇🏽 Leave us a comment! Let us know what your favorite part of the video was and if you learned something new. If you have any questions or ideas for future videos, let us know below! 🖥 Check out our other videos: Tips for Product Managers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUQq-... 🙏🏽 Help us help others by spreading the word. Please share this video with friends or family whom you think could benefit from it 👩🏽‍💻👨🏻‍💻 Connect with us! Follow us on Instagram @danteanditzel: https://www.instagram.com/danteanditzel Linkedin: * Dante: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantealva... * Itzel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itzel-mar... 💡Disclaimer: Advice and opinions in our videos are our own. ♥️ A Note from Us: Our hope is that you don't compare yourself to anyone else's journey, we all come from different backgrounds, have different experiences, resources, and opportunities in our lives. Everyone's life path is different and you are right where you are supposed to be. We each reach our dreams at different times, and that is okay. By no means do we have it all figured out, but we are trying to help in any way we can to uplift others and share the knowledge that we've gained in our lives and careers. We are rooting for you every step of the way and we are here to help in any way we can. With Gratitude, Dante and Itzel #productmanagement #programmanager #programmanagement #faang #airbnb #interviewtips #googleinterview #pmskills #productmanager #career #advice #interviewpreparation