The Peterman Pod Meta Senior Manager (M2) on Manager Career Growth, PIPs, Amazon vs Meta | Stefan Mai
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Aug 15, 2025 Stefan Mai, a Senior Manager with a wealth of experience from Meta and Amazon, now runs his own interview preparation company, Hello Interview. He shares his fascinating journey of climbing the corporate ladder, contrasting the cultures of Amazon and Meta. Dive into the challenges of performance improvement plans and the unique dynamics of tech management. Stefan discusses the rise of AI in interview prep and offers insights on landing roles at top firms like OpenAI and Anthropic, all while providing valuable advice for aspiring leaders.
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Early Death March Sparked Growth
- Stefan described joining Amazon's early advertising team and being committed to a months-long "death march" to ship a product.
- He leaned into the grind and credits that period for early development as an engineer and leader.
Use Active Listening In One-On-Ones
- Practice active listening to get engineers to open up about career goals and frustrations.
- Reflect back what you hear and ask curious follow-ups to build trust and useful context.
Narrative Creates Team Momentum
- Storytelling defines how a team perceives progress and winning under a manager.
- Framing where you started, where you are, and the path forward creates momentum and pride.