"No Hacks, No Shortcuts": The 12-Week System An Indian Techie Used to Score A Rs 1.8 Crore International Offer

An Indian Software Development Engineer (SDE) at Amazon shared his strategy for securing an international job offer worth Rs 1.8 crore while based in India. In his Instagram post, Kartik Modi  noted that his success came from a structured system, disciplined effort, and a clear plan rather than luck or "hacks." The techie followed a strict 10–12 week execution plan focused on high-impact areas. He then shortlisted 25 - 30 international companies that offered visa sponsorship, using LinkedIn Jobs, Indeed, and Levels.fyi to narrow his list.

Next, he carefully reviewed around 35 to 40 job descriptions to understand what employers were looking for. He identified recurring skills and included anything that appeared in more than 60% of listings in his preparation plan.

Instead of studying randomly, Modi followed a structured 10 to 12 week schedule. He spent the first five weeks strengthening his data structures and algorithms (DSA) skills. After that, he shifted focus to system design, domain knowledge, and behavioural interview preparation. For DSA, he prioritised understanding patterns and clarity over volume, solving about 100 problems and practising how to explain his approach clearly.

He described system design as a crucial turning point. He worked on key systems such as authentication, payments, search, and notifications, while also covering technical aspects like APIs, databases, caching, and handling failures. Alongside this, he documented a few real-world projects, highlighting scale, performance, and decision-making.

To match global standards, he created a concise one-page resume focused on measurable results. He also completed several mock interviews to improve his performance.

"No network abroad. Just execution from my room. Here's exactly what I did," he captioned the video. "No hacks.No shortcuts. Just a system followed consistently. If you're in India aiming for global roles, you don't need to move first. You need to prepare right," he added. 

Watch the video here:

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A post shared by Kartik Modi (@karrrtiiikkk)

Modi noted that while the role was initially remote, the opportunity eventually included relocation to the UK. He encourages other Indian engineers to prioritise consistent preparation over just seeking relocation. 

Other techies thanked him for the helpful advice. One user commented, "Loved how you didn't gatekeep the details for engagement but posted a detailed description right away. Thank you!"

Another user also shared a similar strategy. He "Great tip. This is what I followed - I started applying to startups and small consulting firms in Europe, US and Canada. After 1-2 interviews , I got few offers - I joined a canada based startup with no mindset to come out of India , but to make canada salary in India which was going great, near 1 cr/ year and because you get the whole money without deducting Tax, you end up getting more money, and pay Tax in India and you get lot of rebates.

Eventually the company also agreed to Sponsoring me and I came to Canada , after 3 years of closed work permit work - got my PR, switched to a bigger company with larger portfolio and still a remote role- which now lets me work from Canada but also allows me to go to India and work from there as well, though I like Canada more now because of exposure but does not stops me to make a choice anytime. Well the whole thing also tested my capacity to handle timezone ."