23-year-old Indian-American tech whiz lands Rs 3.36 crore Meta job after leaving Amazon - No word of mouth, just his secret recipe

Only 23 and already Manoj Tumu has solved the puzzle that many engineers spend years pursuing – a $400,000 (Rs 3.36 crore) salary and a job at Mark Zuckerberg's Meta.

The Indian-American tech professional traded Amazon for the social media powerhouse earlier this year, becoming a member of its advertising research team, and now he's revealing the playbook of his meteoric ascent.

Why he left Amazon for Meta

Tumu owns up that Amazon provided him with a good foundation, but Meta's projects proved too enticing. "Although I had gained so much at Amazon, I simply believed there was more exciting work being done at Meta," he said to Business Insider. When the offer arrived in June, he did not delay.

The AI pivot that opened doors

Tumu describes the timing as immaculate. Machine learning has evolved in recent times from human-centric "classical" approaches to deep learning, where raw information is automatically processed by neural networks. "That shift has opened up great possibilities," he stated.

His secret to acing big tech interviews

If you believed references or shiny projects were the key in, Tumu is a dissent. He shared he broke into both Amazon and Meta without a referral - only a "good resume" and considerable persistence. His tip? Get rid of the college project experience section after you've accumulated two or three years of work and speak to professional influence instead.

And during interviews, he says the behavioral round is where most fall short. "At Amazon, I had six rounds of interviews. I learned about the company's values, prepared a giant document of stories and follow-ups, and adapted my responses for each principle," he explained. His lesson: being familiar with the company's culture is just as essential as being familiar with your code.

Advice for future AI engineers

For students, his golden rule is simple - grab an internship, no matter the pay. “Even low-paying internships can be beneficial. Experience matters more than money early on,” he said.

Tumu, who started his master’s program in 2022, also swears by cold emails. Sending them helped him get his foot in the door — something he says aspiring AI professionals shouldn’t shy away from.