Sefunmi Osinaike is currently a product manager at EcoBee. He was previously a product manager intern at Microsoft and Apple, both within the same year and graduated from the prestigious Waterloo Electrical and Computer Engineering program. He also has a podcast called Doing a Thing to help other people get product manager roles.
In this episode we talk about how he got a product manager job at Apple and other companies, what it’s like working in the silicon valley in California. How he prepared for tough interviews, and his big plans to improve conditions in Nigeria. We also touch on his thoughts on social media and why he left Instagram (and came back!), his doing a thing podcast, and more.
Full interview and video: https://atila.ca/blog/tomiwa/product-manager-at-apple-microsoft-and-ecobee-waterloo-engineering-sefunmi-osinaike-atila-tv-7
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/sefunmiosinaike
Personal website: http://sefunmi.com/
“Doing A Thing” Blog: https://medium.com/doing-a-thing
“Doing A Thing” Podcast links:
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doing-a-thing-with-sefunmi-and-helen/id1458999804
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Cuu24p95WT24HYj8bL3FY
How he landed his internships: https://hackernoon.com/how-i-managed-to-intern-at-microsoft-and-apple-in-the-same-year-a13ebb58d1ea
How he prepped for the PM interviews: http://www.crackingthepminterview.com/
Article on KoHo: https://medium.com/@sefunmioshy/youve-got-a-great-idea-now-what-6568be6ecef6
Music by @delgotgame: https://delmusic.net/
1:29: What were you like at 16?
6:27: Why didn’t your dad want you to go to MIT?
12:05: How did you get the job at Apple?
17:21: How did you prepare for the interview and perform well?
20:32: What’s it actually like inside apple? What’s the culture like, the work ethic, the people?
22:51: If Apple was so great, why didn’t you go back?
27:05: When you were at Waterloo did you feel external pressure to go to California and get a job?
29:14: What kind of things were you doing for interview prep?
29:51: How do you network?
30:53: Wasn’t it risky neglecting school to focus on a job?
34:11: Why were you set on Ecobee and how did you get that job?
39:03: Why did you decide to take a break from social media and wy did you come back?
44:44: Where do you see yourself a year from now, 5 years from now, and 25 years from now?
49:28: What are some of the big problems you want to solve?
55:00: What are you currently obsessed with?
57:05: What’s some general advice you would give?