Retire In Progress - Mock Software Interview Package

UPDATE: the services are suspended since October 2022

(Disclosure: links marked with an asterisk * are affiliate links)

Do you want to improve your odds of getting a job as a Software Engineer at a tech giant like Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, or at a cool startup?

Do you want to check your interviewing skills and get honest feedback on your performance and some guidance?

Mr. RIP is here for you 🙂

What is the Mock Software Interview Package?

The package consists of a 90 minutes video call with me, Mr. RIP, organized as follows:

45 minutes Tech Interview. We will pretend to be having a real tech interview where I am your interviewer. This usually means solving one or two software engineering problems with follow-up questions. You will have to write code in your most familiar coding language, and think out loud while solving the coding problems.
15-30 minutes Interview Feedback. I will disclose my interview feedback with you at the end of the interview: what you did well, what you did wrong, what will be my hiring recommendation.
15-30 minutes Application Strategy. When we’re done with the feedback, I’ll tell you what I think you should improve in both the technical and the behavioral field. I’ll ask you other questions and probe your knowledge in technical aspects we didn’t cover with the Tech Interview. I’ll point you toward useful online resources to better improve your chances of passing a real interview.
5-10 minutes CV Clinic: I will take a look at your CV and offer my feedback.
Resources: after we’ve done, I’ll send you a email with a list of 5-10 extra coding interview questions to practice with.
Connections: if we think you’re ready to send your application to your favorite company, there is some chance I can introduce you to someone working there.

How much does it cost?

The price of this Service is 300 CHF (+VAT where applicable).

Please, send me an email if you’re interested.

Please take a look at the FAQ section for cancelations, reschedule, and moneyback policies.

Mr. RIP’s credentials for this Offering

“Yeah, cool… but who the heck are you, Mr. RIP? Why should I pay you for such a service?”

Good point 🙂

Few facts about me:

I started coding in 1984, at the age of 9, on a Commodore64 computer.
I obtained a Master Degree in Software Engineering in 2003.
I accumulated 18 years of professional experience as a Software Engineer in various fields: Videogame Development, R&D Freelance Consulting, Teaching, Tech Giant, and cutting edge Machine Learning Research.
I’ve built my wealth mostly thanks to my Software Engineering skills (plus investing & frugality).
During my 7.5 years at Google I’ve interviewed almost 100 candidates. The correlation between my interviews feedback and final hiring decisions was very high (can’t back this claim with data though). It’s probably been the aspect of the job that I liked the most in my last 3 years there!

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Check the About Me page or My Story post series (Hooli = Google) for more info about me, Mr. RIP.

F.A.Q.

Who am I paying my money to?

The services are offered by:

Retire In Progress GmbH
Freilagerstrasse 73, 8047 Zurich
VAT Number: CHE-474.826.710

I have a company and I heard you’re interviewing people… can we partner up?

Sure, contact me 😉

I love win-win-win scenarios!

Let’s talk about money… why are you so expensive?

Am I, really?

I earned the same gross hourly rate while working at Google. And I will have to pay more taxes on it.

In the long term I don’t plan to focus too much on 1:1 services that don’t scale, that’s why I’m putting a kind of “high” price tag on them. Blame Naval for that!

Please, take a look at my Transparency page where you can find more info about my monetization ethic.

What are the alternatives available online for a similar service?

I’ve found few platforms that offer a similar service:

Tech Mock Interview: ~$100 for a 60 min interview with professionals working in tech companies (they do verify that). I’ve not seen many interviewers though.
interviewing.io: young service that lets you watch mock interviews (free), try mock interviews with other users (free), practice with real anonymous interviews ($100-200) that could eventually land you an onsite interview skipping the first stages of the application phase. Very interesting!
Pramp: a free peer to peer interviewing practice platform (not with professionals).
Interview Buddy: Very cheap interview practice with industry experts from India. It costs below $20 for a single interview, and below $14 (!!) for a package of 3 interviews (25-30 min) with feedback.
AlgoExpert: a SaaS platform for interview practice and possible 1:1 mocks. Very Good!
PracticeInterviews: an ex Googler who gives away a lot of interviewing tips and who offers expensive but with guaranteed (by him) results Salary Negotiation coaching sessions.
Coding Interview University: to-do list of study topics for becoming a software engineer. Amazing! Strongly recommended!

You’re welcome!

What if I want to cancel/reschedule my interview?

I hate to be formal, but when money is involved it’s better to be as formal as possible, and anticipate all the corner cases (like a good Software Engineer would do):

If you cancel your appointment at most the day before the scheduled date, I’ll refund you 100%.
If you cancel your appointment at most 4 hours before the starting time, I’ll refund you 50%.
You can reschedule your appointment free of charge (max two times) at most the day before.
If you reschedule your appointment at most 4 hours before, it is still free but if you then cancel it I will refund you at most 50%.

The above conditions are guaranteed. However, if you have last minute documented problems or special needs please write me an email. I might allow exceptions to the rules.

For 100% refunds (cancelation at most the day before) I will refund you whatever the Payment Platform (~~PayPal~~ ~~Stripe~~ Wire Transfer at the moment) allows me to. I won’t keep a dime, but I won’t take care of their fees, which according to their current fee structure and package price could be between 0 and 12 CHF.

Note that this is a hot, rapidly changing topic (yes fees, no fees) and the above “worst case scenario” fee might end up not being charged.

Some accountability rules apply to me as well: if I need to reschedule an appointment in the last 4 hours before the starting time, you get 50% back.

I’m unhappy with the service, can I have my money back?

I’m sorry to hear that the experience didn’t meet your expectations.

In general, I will refund you in case of impeding technical issues on my side, but I won’t refund you for low perceived service quality.

I’m a professional and I’m committing my own time on our meetings. I guess you wouldn’t ask for a refund if your tax advisor told you that you have to pay more taxes than expected.

But I do care about constructive feedback a lot. Please tell me what disappointed you, what didn’t meet your expectations, what your issues were. I might offer you an extra session for free, or a partial/total refund. I’m not a robot.

I would like to pay in EUR or USD or whatnot. May I?

I’d rather not do that, it needlessly makes bookkeeping way more complicated.

Should anyone book a meeting with you?

Absolutely NOT!

This isn’t an interview training, or a coding class. This is a deep personal evaluation of your chances to pass a tech interview. Book a meeting only if you’ve already done at least 90% of the homework required to get the job.

For example, the package is good for you if:

You’re approaching graduation and want to get a prestigious internship at a large tech company.
You want to apply for full time positions in prestigious tech companies or startups, you’ve already prepared for technical interviews, and you want to test your skill level before applying.
You applied for a full time position in your favorite company, and they scheduled your interviews in two weeks and you’re freaking out! You want to maximize the chances of passing the interview.
You’ve tried one or more times to pass a tech interview but failed, and you want to know why.

I think you got the idea.

What should I expect from the mock interview?

A as-close-as-possible real tech interview (coding, problem solving, system design), with a full disclosure of the interviewer feedback, and a strategic plan to maximize the odds of passing the real interview.

I’m not promising you’ll get a job.

I’m not promising you’ll become a better Software Engineer.

I would like to have a mock Machine Learning Interview, should I book?

Think twice.

I don’t have the skills to interview you for a Machine Learning Engineer role, so I will conduct a Software Engineer interview anyway.

As far as I know, unless you’re a senior ML expert applying for a senior position, your interviewing process will be centered around problem solving, coding, system design anyway.

Apply only if you want to have your Software Engineering skills tested.

What did you learn from almost 100 Tech Interviews at Google?

I wrote a post about it, check it out 🙂

Any general recommendation for someone who’s not ready yet?