Nikhil Achwal

Career Coaching

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What credentials or testimonials does Nikhil have?
A: Nikhil has a Stanford undergrad degree, a Berkeley-Haas MBA degree and 20+ years at Google (including conducting hundreds of interviews)Q: What else should I know about Nikhil?
A: Nikhil attended middle school & high school in the US (Michigan) so he can empathize with the perspective of US-raised graduating high school seniorsQ: Who is eligible for this?
A: I work mostly with high school and college students. However I can also work with early- or mid-career employees if I can add valueQ: Who is the 'ideal' candidate for this?
A: A motivated student or early career employee who could benefit from direction & perspective from someone with experience in the Ivy League & Big TechQ: What are some of the topics we can cover in the "Any topic live" option?
A: Here are some ideas:
-- Shift your mindset: from reactive to proactive professional mode
-- Choose the right major: Win in your career while enjoying your work
-- Get insight into FAANG hiring: Demystify what happens in FAANG interviews & hiring
-- Communicate as a professional: Learn how to DM and speak with alumni & professionals in a way that gets responses and builds relationships
-- Open Q&A: address any other college, MBA, career, or life questionsQ: Is there a money-back guarantee
A: Yes, if you have engaged sincerely and are unsatisfied with my services, I will refund feesQ: What is expected of the student?
A: I only ask that you engage sincerely and leave me a quick testimonial afterwardsQ: Why focus on career coaching before college freshman year even starts? Isn't it too early?
A: In competitive fields - especially tech, engineering, and finance - the timeline has shifted earlier. Recruiting cycles for elite sophomore internships often kick off just weeks or months into a student's freshman year. If a student waits until their sophomore year to learn how to write a data-driven resume and build a professional LinkedIn profile, they are likely already behind peers who prepared earlyQ: What if the student already has a high school resume that got them into a great university. Why do they need a "professional upgrade"?
A: University admissions boards and corporate recruiters look for entirely different things. Admissions boards care about holistic traits, clubs, and volunteer hours. Corporate recruiters spend an average of 6 seconds looking at a resume, searching purely for analytical metrics and professional execution. We strip away high school formatting and reframe the student's existing projects, AP/IB coursework, and summer jobs into results-oriented, professional-grade bullet points using modern corporate standardsQ: What makes this different from standard university career center counseling?
A: Most university career centers are staffed by generalists or academic advisors who have never operated inside the modern corporate ecosystem. With Nikhil, you get real-life 1:1 strategy with an industry veteran. The student isn't getting textbook theories; they are getting real life wisdomQ: What is the actual ROI of my investment?
A: The cost of lacking focus during freshman year is high: choosing a path of least resistance or a less competitive major track can lead to a loss of tens of thousands of dollars or more down the line. Conversely, landing a single competitive tech internship can yield thousands in summer earnings alone, while altering a graduate's carer trajectory upward. This is an investment to de-risk the student's college transition and give them a headstart over their peers