▲Takeaway13:30
Interviewing Is the Skill Nobody Talks About
Jules argues that being good at getting interviewed is an underrated skill that gates access to great companies, which is where you actually build all your other skills. His single biggest tactic is doing dozens of real mock interviews rather than just reading questions or rehearsing in your head. Deliberate practice with someone skilled accelerates it, but even peer mocks beat mental prep.
- Getting into a great company is what lets you build every other skill
- First question he asks candidates: how many mock interviews have you done? Usually zero
- Do dozens of real mock interviews, not just reading or rehearsing in your head
- Deliberate practice with a skilled interviewer compounds faster
- Practicing at bigger, more rigorous companies makes smaller-company interviews easier
“The other skill that I'll I'll also call out, which nobody talks about for some reason, is interview skills.”
“And I would recommend people to do dozens of of those mock interviews.”
#interviewing#career#skills
▲Takeaway30:30
Create a Forcing Function: Learn by Working Backwards From an Outcome
Jules's core learning method is to pick a concrete outcome that would prove he got better at a skill, then work backwards. When he joined Slack knowing nothing about growth, he set a target of shipping enough successful experiments to move activation by X% within six months. From that outcome he generated the questions he'd need to answer, read a little, found the best people in the field, and iterated with mentors, which he says makes him learn far faster.
- Define an outcome that would be proof you improved at the skill
- Example: move Slack activation by X% via successful experiments in 6 months
- The outcome puts your ass on the line and forces you to figure it out
- Work backwards into the questions you'd need to answer
- Read a little, then find the best people and iterate with them
“So, what I do specifically is when I'm trying to learn something new, I try to think about what is an outcome that I could…”
#learning#growth#career#mentorship
▲Takeaway37:00
Reverse-Engineer the Great Work Around You
Jules learns skills like strategy and execution by collecting great artifacts (strategy memos, exec updates, emails) and reverse-engineering them: what questions do they answer, how are they structured, quantitative vs qualitative. He saves templates in a special folder and even sits in on other PMs' meetings and exec presentations. He stresses that a lot of learning comes from watching the iterations and backstage feedback, not just the polished final product.
- Collect great artifacts and reverse-engineer what makes them work
- Ask what top questions they answer and how they're structured, not the format
- Save great emails and updates as templates in a dedicated folder
- Sit in on other PMs' meetings and exec presentations to watch them handle questions
- Learn from the iterations and backstage feedback, not just the final product
- Reflect weekly on the good docs and presentations you saw
“So, I actually do spend a lot of time every week reflecting like, "Oh, I saw these docs that were great or I saw this…”
“a lot of learning happens through the iterations and not by seeing the final product.”
#learning#strategy#career#product-management
▲Takeaway42:00
Learn One Skill at a Time, Like Building a Muscle
Jules recommends going all in on a single skill for a fixed window of three to six months rather than dabbling. For strategy, he'd read one other team's strategy each week and spend a few hours a week practicing his own, doing it enough to get over the hump. He frames EQ especially as muscle-building: it never fully completes, and if you stop practicing it atrophies, unlike the quick wins of IQ skills.
- Go all in on one skill for a fixed 3-6 month window
- Divide the learning: e.g. read one team's strategy per week for 20 weeks
- Also practice toward your own outcome a few hours each week
- Do it enough to get over the hump and actually develop the skill
- EQ is like lifting weights: stop and it atrophies; the muscle never fully builds
“and a lot of it is like it's you know, lifting weights or building muscles.”
“So you do it enough that you get over the hump and then actually develop the skill.”
#learning#eq#discipline#career
▲Takeaway58:00
How to Land a Mentor: Make the Smallest Ask Possible
Jules says the hard part of mentorship isn't finding people (he met his via events, dinners, fundraisers and email intros) but getting a foot in the door with the right one. Instead of asking a stranger for a call, which 95% of people do, make the smallest ask possible, like a two-minute email question about a specific point from their talk. Then circle back later to show you actually used their advice, which almost nobody does, and only then ask for more time.
- Finding mentors is easy via events, intros and cold email; getting a foot in is the hard part
- 95% of people make a big ask (a call) with a stranger
- Instead make the smallest ask possible, e.g. a 2-minute email question
- Circle back later to show you used the advice, which nobody does
- Only then escalate to a 15-minute chat; start small, not big
“And what I found is you should make the smallest ask possible. Which is the opposite of what 95% of people do.”
“the key is to circle back with them at a later point and show that you've actually made good use of the advice.”
#mentorship#networking#career
▲Takeaway1:02:30
How to Keep a Mentor Relationship Alive
Once a mentor relationship is going, Jules brings a very specific problem he's actually dealing with rather than vague questions like 'how did you become a PM.' He always takes notes and references older conversations and personal details so it feels like a continuing relationship, not a transaction. He also looks for ways to be genuinely helpful back, because even senior, wealthy people usually have something they need, and most people miss that.
- Bring a specific live problem, not a generic 'tell me about your path' question
- Always take notes during mentor conversations
- Reference past conversations and personal details so it feels continuous, not transactional
- Proactively ask how you can help; even senior people have needs
- Most people are too focused on themselves to offer help back
“I make sure to bring something very specific that I'm dealing with where they can provide input.”
“when I talk to mentors, I always take notes.”
#mentorship#relationships#networking#career