Ex-AI hiring lead maps the 7 steps from wanting an applied AI job to getting picked

brandon_galang · x · 2026-11-04

Brandon Galang, a former applied AI interview lead, breaks the path from "wanting to work in AI" into seven concrete steps:

Pick the work: building agents, driving customer adoption, and deciding what to automate are different jobs — stop staying generic.
Find the real bar: talk to people doing or hiring for that role to learn what the interviews actually test.
Close relevant gaps: build something that practices the work, break it, and keep gaps tied to the role — or every new framework becomes an excuse to delay applying.
Make ability visible: share builds, failures, and lessons so people meet your work before the interview.
Show where you fit: don't assume people can map your project to a team need — make the connection yourself.
Rehearse: use an AI agent in voice mode to interview you and give your story back to you until examples feel natural.
Give them a reason to choose you: your combination of experience (e.g. years in operations plus agent building) must matter to that specific team.

He also reflects on opening interviews with "I'm not an engineer, but…" — handing interviewers a reason to doubt him before explaining the problems he could solve.

Original post →

Ex-AI hiring lead maps the 7 steps from wanting an applied AI job to getting picked

More from AGI Musings