How workers can pivot to a career in tech

Yahoo Finance’s Sibile Marcellus breaks down how to handle tricky interview questions when pivoting into a career in tech.

Video transcript

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SIBILE MARCELLUS: So this series is all about helping you, our viewers, get some career control. And I've been talking to the insiders, hiring experts at LinkedIn and Glassdoor, and this is what they're telling me. Workers who want to pivot to a career in tech should prepare themselves for the types of interview questions that are probably going to throw you off, but are actually pretty commonplace in tech job interviews.

Now, the good news is I have those questions for you here right now. Now, Glassdoor and LinkedIn told me that these sample questions were actually asked of job candidates during big tech interviews. So let's go through them right now.

So Facebook asked this-- why Facebook? And what are you looking for that you are not getting at your current company? Google asked this-- tell me about a time when you influenced upper management. And Amazon asked, give me an example of when you submitted a great idea to your manager and they did not support it?

Now, when you look at those questions, yeah, they're not easy. But that's the point. Now, these questions are meant to throw you off. Hiring managers tell me that's because, when it comes to big tech, they want you to be able to think on your feet and problem solve and deal with that kind of a situation. So that's the point there.

And when you think about successful companies, like Google, Amazon, and Facebook, these companies are dealing with some of the biggest, most difficult challenges and problems in the world. So you can expect that when it comes to the job interview, those questions are going to meet those kinds of expectations, as they try to gauge whether or not you're a right fit for a job for them.

And one last thing. Of course they will-- they will test your tech expertise. So for example, during the job interview, they might ask you how you handle coding a website. So if you don't know how to do that, you might want to take a couple courses ahead of time.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: So tell us just how lucrative a career in tech can be. Because maybe people get carried away and they think, you know, the salaries are one thing, when in reality-- when reality, they're really not.

SIBILE MARCELLUS: Short answer, a tech career can be very lucrative. I mean, when you look at Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, they're often making headlines. And it's almost like they're rivaling Hollywood stars for attention.

Now, of course, not everybody who gets a job in tech is going to become a billionaire. But data shows that jobs in tech do sometimes offer bigger paychecks than other industries. So let's take a look at this.

Now, Glassdoor tells me that, in their list of 50 best jobs in America in 2021, 22 jobs are in tech, more than any other industry. And when you look at this list, the top five jobs listed, four out of five have six-figure salaries. So for those seeking to pivot to a career in tech, that could be a very attractive proposition.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Attractive indeed. Sibile Marcellus, thanks so much for all those tips in this latest installment of "Career Control." Appreciate it.