Question 1st Point 2nd Point 3rd Point

What's been a driving theme throughout your

Key Point career? What's an example of that? How does that connect back to the company?
For instance, in the Air Force, I was responsible for
managing the international transfer of $50 million of
Which is why I'm so excited about the opportunity to
equipment. And while everything had traditionally
All my life, I've been passionate about pushing to work at Uber. Because when I think about who's
been run based on paperwork with shipments falling
make things the best they can be. Call me stubborn, pushing the envelope of what's possible more than
Tell me about yourself. weeks behind schedule, that old-school approach
but I hate to see things done the same old way, just anyone else, I always come back to you guys. And
really frustrated me. So I persuaded my Chain of
because of tradition. that's why I'd be thrilled to bring my passion to
Command to let me digitize the process and in doing
improve things to your Project Management role.
so, we cut down the average shipment length by 3
Example days so that 99% of transfers happened on-time.
Your
Answer

Key Point What's this company all about? How does that tie into your experience? How does that connect back to the company?
And that's a value that's driven my own career. For
example, serving in the Army, there was a natural
division between officers and enlisted colleagues.
Which means that, as I launch my civilian career, I
And while it would have been tempting to just stay on
One thing that I admire about Affirm is how committed only want to serve an organization that shares that
my side of that division, I saw first-hand that great
Why do you want to work at our company? to collaboration it is, even as it grows with each value. And based on everything I've learned about
ideas came from across the service. So I consistently
passing year. [1] Affirm in my research, it's not just a value for you - it's
led brainstorming sessions with all of my colleagues,
part of your DNA.
no matter their rank or status, and the result was that
our team consistently had higher morale and
Example performance vs. those that were totally siloed.
Your
Answer

Key Point What's this role all about? What experience do you have with those things? How does that connect back to the role?
And that's exactly what I've done in my career. For
instance, in the Navy, I was routinely in charge of $20
Having done project management in the service for
million projects that represented literally tens of
nearly half a decade now, I know that it really comes
thousands of components spread out across the
down to two things:
world. So I absolutely needed to get organized with So I feel confident that I can not only come in and
Why do you think you'd be good at this full Gantt charts or our team would have drowned in learn a ton - but also start adding value immediately,
1) Can you get a million details organized into a
role? the details. But all that planning would have meant having already gotten project management results for
cohesive plan?
nothing, had the team not been inspired to execute several years now!
the plan. Which is why I started every check-in with a
2) Can you motivate your team to turn that plan into
reminder of the sailors around the world who
real world action?
depended on our work - and made sure each person
Example felt accountable for driving success.
Your
Answer

Key Point What's the most important strength for this role? What's an example of that strength in action? How does that connect back to the role?

What are your strengths?

 For instance, while serving in the Marines, I was
tasked with leading a new recruit who was incredibly
unmotivated. While others just yelled at him, I tried to
get to know him. So one weekend, I invited him out
for a cup of coffee and just asked him about his life -
One of the reasons I'm particularly excited about
where he grew up, why he enlisted, stuff like that. And And the key there is that the transformation didn't
Customer Success is that my greatest strength is
it turned out that he had joined the Marines to escape come through yelling or screaming - but for the cost of
empathy. Just like a Customer Success Manager
What are your strengths? a really tough home life but didn't really know why he a coffee and an hour of listening. Which is why I really
needs to understand their customers, I've always
was here. Based on that, I started showing him what feel like empathy is my superpower - and why I can
been able to put myself into the shoes of my
a big impact he could make here, even as a young make a big impact for your clients.
colleagues.
guy. And I could just see in his eyes that, for the first
time, he really got a sense of his potential - what he
could do if he applied himself. Within a few months,
he was one of the most driven new team members
Example we had.
Your
Answer

What's something that won't have an impact on Why is that genuinely a weakness (even if not for
Key Point this role? this role)? What are you doing to work on it?
But I know that staying on top of the latest trends is
(For a Data Analytics role - not a Marketing one!) essential to pushing the envelope in terms of what's
So as I launch a career in Silicon Valley, I'm a little possible. As such, I've been subscribing to MIT Tech
What are your weaknesses? I think my colleagues and friends would agree that I embarassed to say that I don't use Snapchat or have Review for the last few months and reaching out to
haven't done a great job of keeping up with the latest an Instagram profile. veterans in the Valley to learn about the most
social media trends. important developments in big data + machine
Example learning.
Your
Answer

What's a career goal that corresponds with the But also don't box yourself into a certain role that
Key Point company's own goal for you? What does that specifically look like? seems unrealistic.
Specifically, I'd be thrilled by the opportunity to help
All throughout my service, I've been motivated by So while I don't know whether that entails taking on a
Uber roll JUMP bikes out to millions of people around
making an impact in the lives of others. So as I launch leadership role here in headquarters or moving to
the world. That way, whether you're a busy commuter
Where do you see yourself in five years? my post-service career, I've got the exact same goal: new markets to helping with the rollout, I do know that
in San Francisco or a poor kid in Sao Paolo, you've
To work on something that radically improves the if given a chance to continue to serve, I'll leap at that
got an easy, affordable way to get where you need to
experiences of people around me. opportunity today and five years down the road.
Example go and to get access to opportunity in the process.
Your
Answer

What did you specifically do to overcome that

Key Point What were you up against? challenge? What was the result?

Tell me about your proudest

accomplishment.
 Knowing that I needed to do something drastic to
make changes and make them fast, I rolled out a
three-step campaign:

1) First, I created a simulation of what a modern

cyberattack would look like. That way, the leadership
couldn't just knock the potential threat down
In the Air Force, by far my toughest challenge was
intellectually - they'd have to experience what they The result is that, within a few weeks, we not only had
updating our cybersecurity protocols. That's because
actually felt like it. a clear new plan of action, we actually had approval
all our existing policies were still written for the Cold
Tell me about your proudest from all the relevant parties. Which meant that we
War era - they didn't recognize the modern threats
accomplishment. 2) Then, I asked the leadership how they wanted to were able to roll out the new policies in record time -
and techniques staring us down. Plus, all my higher-
respond to attacks like these. This way, the ideas that and they're still in place, protecting the service to this
ups were from that Cold War era too - so they didn't
came out of the brainstorm came from them - not day!
see any need to change things drastically.
from me.

3) And finally, with their buy-in, I was able to go

straight down their chain of commands and get
approval at every rung of the organization. After all, if
the top dog was already bought it, it would be harder
Example for their teams to push back.
Your
Answer

What's a real mistake you made - but one that you

Key Point also learned from? What did you learn from that experience? What was the result?
Knowing that I needed to do something drastic to
make changes and make them fast, I rolled out a
three-step campaign:

1) First, I created a simulation of what a modern

cyberattack would look like. That way, the leadership
couldn't just knock the potential threat down
When I was a brand-new sailor, I was a little bit intellectually - they'd have to experience what they The result is that, within a few weeks, we not only had
cocky. And so I made the mistake of not looping my actually felt like it. a clear new plan of action, we actually had approval
chain of command into one of the first tactics I from all the relevant parties. Which meant that we
Tell me about your biggest mistake.
implemented. The result was that the plan totally 2) Then, I asked the leadership how they wanted to were able to roll out the new policies in record time -
backfired because there were all these organizational respond to attacks like these. This way, the ideas that and they're still in place, protecting the service to this
details that I didn't fully appreciate yet. came out of the brainstorm came from them - not day!
from me.

3) And finally, with their buy-in, I was able to go

straight down their chain of commands and get
approval at every rung of the organization. After all, if
the top dog was already bought it, it would be harder
Example for their teams to push back.
Your
Answer

DON'T ask about compensation - save these for

Make sure to focus on things about the company Also, be sure to engage your interviewer about when you have an offer (and, hence, more power
Key Point you can't just find online their own experience? in the conversation!)
Good: What would you say is the biggest challenge
Uber faces as it heads into its second decade?
What do you love about working here - and what Not yet: How much can I expect to make full-time?
Example Bad: When was Uber founded? drives you crazy? What kind of benefits do you offer?
Your
What questions do you have for us? Answer
[1] You can find insights like this on the company's About or Careers page (look for information about its values), as well as its Glassdoor reviews.
-Jeremy Schifeling