Management interview tomorrow, could use tips :)

[draxdomax]

I am a software developer but, on two occasions in my career, I found myself in line management.

First time, was in a company that was missing a whole department. I pitched the idea to the CEO and he liked my energy and plan and let me open the department, where I was in charge of:

• Conceptualising
• Budgeting and Hiring
• Seeding the initial code base
• Mentoring
• Splitting work up
• Setting the team's schedule, regular and ad hoc meetings, etc
• Performance Review

Second time, it was a startup and they were looking for someone who is hands-on BUT will stay on top of his area, when the team grows.
I just did a good job and it was natural, due to my tenure and proven reliability, to be given more and more responsibility

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I've told you all the above to contrast with the fact that I've never been trained in management!

Also, I don't really see myself as a manager. I like to lead the team and be the First Point Of Contact.

• "If you have a problem, let me know as soon as possible, your problem is MY problem and I'll make sure the company understands it's the COMPANY problem because you are just trying to progress us all and you are blocked!"

I am not authoritative at all. I am actually not very assertive (grew up in a violent family, still working on it).

The way I get people motivated is to appeal to their own career goals and work out with them a solution that they believe in and is in line with what the company needs - OR - explain why the solution is the best for the company and get them on board, using logic

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So, like a junior developer, I am hoping tomorrow they ask only questions that are to my strengths :D

Any tips on how to pitch myself as a Software Development Manager to a company that is already established?

Any cool questions that managers are being asked?

From reading the information I provided about myself, do you see any area I am missing in management (maybe it's something I've actually done but didn't think it's a part of management and didn't list)?

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Thanks :)

I am not an IT software manager but am a reluctant line manager, the least favourite part of my role.

Apart from how do you bring out the best in people (which you have a good answer for), you should be able to talk through examples of how do you manage a problematic subordinate (e.g. poor productivity, unexplained absences). How do you improve the performance of an underperforming team member. Have you done any performance management, sackings, redundancies? Even if not, have a spiel on what you would do if you had to.

The usual question of how do you deliver tough messsages to a report. How would you motivate a team which works remotely.

Bear in mind you might be inheriting an existing team who you did not hire and so there is no natural loyalty to you. How would you motivate them to deliver the team's goals.

I am not sure I have the answers to the above but worth a think.

very interesting. Yes, I have a bag of cases like you mentioned and I will write down different situations in a compelling way that lets them know what was my contribution to solve these problems :)

Forgot this one. What do you like best about management. What do you like least about management.

I’d describe the two scenarios above - both impressive

Boil it down to 3 things you want them to remember about you

Adding from an IT angle, how do you keep your team on track to meet deadlines? Agile / scrum / waterfall which have you used and when. As a developer in management roles have you managed technologies or experts in areas you are not expert in? How? What is the most difficult problem you & team have had to solve? As above, food for thought.

OK first hurdle cleared.

Turns out they are in a problem that I've seen before (certain process hasn't been taken care of, now huge backlog and it's slowing down work)

Also, turns out they use a rather uncommon technology I worked with - SIP devices.

The interview finished with the person explaining the next stage and he sent me off with a "see you later".

I can't wait to start a new job. Struggling with politics in current work plus job hunting is killing all my free time.

I know the first thing I'll do when things clear out: Take a couple of weeks gap and extend my help to other job seekers right now.

I've already helped two people get into tech and start IT jobs that have a future.
If I could get paid for just mentoring - I'd do that, instead of corporate politics and developing all sorts of gizmos no one really needs :D

But I don't see it as a reliable pipeline for feeding our family. So, I just help out pro bono.

Huge thanks for everyone who gave ideas.
Of course, I still have two more rounds (plus homework) to clear and definitely still seeking interesting topics and questions to sharpen my management skills

Sounds like it went well and you'd be perfect for the role. Since you like mentoring and helping people get into tech, you are a born manager who can bring out the best in people. All the best with other round of interviews.

There are mntters who are interested to get into tech so if you see one of these threads, they will be grateful for your help.

Maybe I can ask you. If you had to start again, what is the best area of tech to go into. Sorry this is such a wide question. Asking for my son who does not think he is good at coding but likes maths and physics. I think he will make a good (tech) consultant.

@blueshoes

I am glad that you asked :)

1. There's coding and there's coding... 95% of the work is USING tools that were developed by some REAL clever people. I mean: Super-high IQ, PhD and above in computer science, insane work ethic (no family), etc...

A common Java Developer is just a user of these tools.
As a user, it's tricky to wrap your head around it, at first, and then takes years of real work to master.
But the people who invented the Java Language and the software that Java Code translates to, are the real geniuses.

2. Math and Physics are definitely on the top end of studies to get into tech. He could be one of those geniuses I mentioned - although I'd advise him not to go that route. It's mostly free work!

Yes, all the super-difficult tasks are done for free! It's a really funny world...
I know a guy who designs foundries to make computer chips. He can make a machine that can write your name on a piece of silicone smaller than how much your nails grew while reading this sentence!

• He makes $2000 per month...

3a) Right now, I would get started on Rust. It's a beautiful programming language that might take over, once people move away from Java/Python (just how they moved away from COBOL, C++, Pascal...).
Most importantly, it is used in blockchain technology - that's the thing that makes CryptoCurrencies (bitcoin) and NFT (those digital pictures a person can buy for a million dollars, if they are really stupid).
Smart Contracts, Side-Chains, Ordinals, are other things being developed on the blockchain and will be used in our future technology.
The pay is insane - but no junior roles :)
A good blockchain developer with 5 years experience can demand circa 140k, working from home.

3b) Another place to make huge money and work on the edge of what's possible, very interesting to mathematicians is Python Quantitative Analysis.
Basically writing software that buys and sells stock, options, foreign currency, commodities, etc...
200k.
I've seen job ads that offer even 400k - but I imagine they'd want someone who already has an algorithm with a >50% win rate

3c) AI is a decent place to enter, right now. Still no junior jobs but there are ways around it :) It's a bit more saturated and the salaries aren't as strong but we are only getting started with AI.
AI itself barely makes money now but future models could really disrupt the market and the people who wrote them will be Elon Musk, Steve Jobs kind of rich.

3d) DevOps - it's like a plumber, for cloud systems :)
You don't even need to code, although knowing some coding is key for getting the juiciest jobs, because DevOps is really plumbing those cloud systems for developers to use. You learn to play well with them, you are golden :)
Excellent salaries but a lot of variance in what you need to know.
The best is if he can join a company that has a lot of room to grow and just stick to their flavor of devops, instead of trying to be a jack of all trades.
Good DevOps makes +80 and I've seen management roles for 140k.

...

Java, regular python stuff - decent wages, easy to find jobs, including junior roles. Not a bad life at all.
Range of salaries is pretty wide, can see anything from 55 to 120k and it doesn't mean the 55k one is "easier".
It's just a little crazy. Obviously the 55k job on offer isn't going to attract the best talent.
Key is to seek the highest salary you can pass a test for and then grow into the job - it's what everyone does.

Front-end - forget about it. Too much work and pay can sometimes be really bad.
Learn front-end for your own projects, not for work.

C# (.Net) - I don't know! I see both real low ball offers and some juicy offers.
I am not a C# developer myself. So, I can't talk from experience.
Probably alright!

My point in point 1 is that no body should feel that they can't code!
People have invented for us very easy to use tools.
Takes a little time to break through the anxiety and negative thoughts.
Takes a little patience to learn and practice things to a point where it's actually fun and not a grinding experience getting something to barely work

@draxdomax you are a wealth of knowledge. I am busy taking notes. Wish ds had half your enthusiasm. Ds is a little lazy to be a genius. Currently, he is happy buying and selling clothes on Vinted ...

Derailing your thread here. How would a new graduate get into Rust, blockchain development, algorthmic trading coding or DevOps?

In other sectors, like management consulting or law, there are big firms that will train you up. Is there the equivalent in tech? I feel tech is a slightly different beast because there is phenomenal growth and change in the industry. Do people join start ups to learn and gain experience or big tech companies?

Is UK a good country or better to go to the US or elsewhere?

Eh, once he has a mortgage, a child and gets a paycheck for 23,000 a year for a full time job with no growth - his laziness will be cured!

For development, it's very important to have a portfolio.
Right now, there are no junior/apprentice/graduate jobs because there are people out there who are good and released for no fault of their own.
Companies are gobbling these up at cut price.

But I don't think that's going to last.
Few months ago, I couldn't get a reply to my CV of +20 years in IT.
Now I am getting a bite almost every CV sent.
Soon, I can see how recruiters start approaching proactively and then, after that, companies will have to open up to starter roles.
j
I'd say 1 year this time would xbe a good time and that's plenty for picking up a trade.

I don't have a crystal ball though!

For Devs:

• Get a portfolio of projects, as real-world as possible
• Join an open source project (yeah, that free work I was talking about!)
• Expand network on linkedIn, try to get people to look into your open source / portfolio... Try to make interesting posts about the technology to get a conversation going.

My current interview came from an insightful post about the value of helping others. It just got spread and someone checked out my profile and asked for my CV

For DevOps:

• Join a QA team. Easy work (not as easy as it used to be), good money.

QA's are a bit neglected, it's really a downer. So, you must see it as a stepping stone, a chance to gain a reputation in a growing company.

Since QAs have to self-serve with many things, it gives them opportunity to do a lot of Dev ops and leverage that with their CTO, when a full DevOps role is open.

• Use the time to get certifications. They are super easy, just require time and some money (some companies will help you pay for the courses).

Personally, I never rated those certs a lot but I understand sometimes, merely for compliance, they have to hire someone with the right stamps on their card.

...

There are other tech jobs like release engineering - need to be organised and be able to do lots of little meaningless tasks and handle people, most of which will be weirdo spoiled techies like me.
Good money.
Good demand.
Coding is only required as a tool to know your techies aren't bulshitting you.

Release management is more of the above, with less code and more people dealing-with

Another one is IT recruitment!
The fee is 20%.
If you find someone who is then hired, after 6 months, the company pays you a finders fee, 20% of the salary of that employee.
Working in a big recruitment keeps things steady.
It's not easy to talk to CTO to have their attention for checking out your CVs.
Look at some IT recruitment companies (Hays, Austin Fraser) ... Check out "what's it like working for us" - way too many pictures of young shits in sportswear somewhere in the Caribbean.

Working as a lone-wolf recruiter probably gets more money but need to have big balls to stay the course with months and months of no income... And then 5 buses come together and you make 120k and call it a year...

About recruitment: I meant to say the employer pays 20% to the recruiter.
However, if you are just an employee in the recruitment company, you obviously don't get the whole 20%. More like 5%.

But I must admit, talking to recruiters, I can't hear them being salty when discussing 4-digit day rates with a potential candidate. They are clearly doing alright themselves

@draxdomax really appreciate the tips and intelligence. Tech is a whole new world to me so very grateful.