Navigating the Engineering Manager interview

At first glance, manager interviews might not seem much different from individual contributor interviews—you’ll likely still face coding, architecture, and culture rounds.

The key difference lies in the evaluation: Communication skills carry far more weight than coding ability. If you can't communicate effectively, you probably won’t get an offer, even if you excel technically.

Being an effective communicator

How you communicate is just as important as what you communicate. During an interview, aim for responses that are brief, concise, and interesting.

Being brief — The Interview Anti-Pattern

Manager interviews can sometimes feel counterintuitive because interviewers often aren't initially looking for deep technical dives. The more I learned about management, the more I struggled with interviews. Until I realized that, especially in early rounds, interviewers often just want to check specific skill boxes.

I was sabotaging myself by giving overly detailed answers. In response to broad questions, I’d share every relevant situation I could recall. Naturally, the more experience I gained, the longer my answers became.

Interviewers typically want to see that you grasp the main concepts before probing deeper. So, keep your initial answers brief and let them ask follow-up questions if they need more detail.

Getting to the point

When answering interview questions, aim to get straight to the point. One popular strategy is the STAR method:

• Situation: Briefly describe the context. Where were you? What was the challenge or opportunity? Why did it matter?
• Task: Clearly define what needed to be done. What were your responsibilities or objectives?
• Action: Detail the specific steps you took. Emphasize your role, the strategies you used, and how you overcame obstacles.
• Result: Summarize the outcome. Highlight the positive impact, measurable improvements, or lessons learned.

The STAR method is standard interview advice, covered extensively in books and articles. While it’s a solid foundation, it's not always enough on its own.

Being interesting

Listen to experienced podcast speakers. They often structure their stories with a clear progression—using transitions like “and therefore” or “but…”—so each action logically leads to a consequence. They also weave in reactions (their own or others') to make the story more engaging. This is key to good storytelling.

Avoid overusing fillers like “and then,” which don’t add much value. Your story should have a clear direction and build towards its conclusion. Also, steer clear of unnecessary tangents or asides—save the extra fun facts for after you join the company.

Types of Interviews

Managing Experience

The most common interview questions focus on your past experiences. This can be tricky if you haven’t held a formal management role, as you might lack direct examples for questions like, “Tell me about the last time you conducted performance reviews.”

Ironically, having extensive management experience can also be challenging. With so many examples to choose from, picking the most relevant one can be hard. A good strategy is to choose the most recent relevant example, as the details will be fresher in your mind.

If you’re asked about a situation you’ve never faced as a manager, be honest about your lack of direct experience. Then, follow up with how you would handle it hypothetically.

For example, consider this common question:

“Tell me about the last time you had to handle an underperforming engineer.”

A good response could be:

“I haven't directly managed an engineer through a formal performance improvement plan before. However, my approach to underperformance would be to first understand the root cause through open conversation, set clear expectations, provide support and resources, and track progress regularly.”

This shows you understand the concepts and have a strategy, even without direct experience.

Another common type of question involves hypothetical scenarios. The best way to start is often by asking clarifying questions. Saying “It depends” might feel like a cliché, but it’s often the right starting point because there’s rarely a single right answer in software development. Asking questions shows you don’t jump to conclusions.

Regardless of the question, keep your responses positive. People prefer managers who look for the upside, even in difficult situations. Avoid negativity, complaining, or putting anyone down—especially former colleagues or employers. Instead, focus on constructive outcomes or lessons learned, even from challenging scenarios.

Coding / Architecture

Even if you haven't coded actively in a while, you need to brush up on your architecture skills. Some companies don't require managers to code day-to-day but still expect strong architectural thinking. They have a point: A coach doesn't play on the field, but they still need to understand the game deeply.

Remember: You'll primarily be evaluated on your communication skills, not just your technical depth.

If you're given a system design problem like "design a URL shortener," how clearly you explain your approach matters more than inventing a perfect solution on the spot. They want to see how you think and communicate complex ideas.

Start by breaking down the problem and asking clarifying questions. For instance: How many users are expected? What's the read/write ratio (accessing URLs vs. creating them)?

It's okay to make assumptions, but state them clearly. For example: “I’m assuming some URLs will be accessed far more frequently than others.”

Depending on the interview format, you might need to use a specific diagramming tool, or you might choose your own. Even if no tool is required, using a virtual whiteboard app (like Excalidraw) is a good idea. Practice using one beforehand.

Share your screen so the interviewer can follow your thought process visually and interact with you. This is usually better than just sending a link to a shared document.

My curiosity once helped me during an architecture interview. After presenting my design, I asked the interviewer how they would approach the problem. This led to a great conversation about how their company used Kafka for scaling, touching on team size, costs, and maintainability. We even discussed different tech stacks. The interviewer seemed genuinely pleased with the discussion, and I ended up getting an offer.

Cultural questions

This round often focuses on how well you align with the company's values. In many cases, it's relatively straightforward.

To prepare, thoroughly read the company values, usually found on their website. Internalize them, because you'll likely be asked for examples of how you've embodied similar values in your past work. This is often the core of the cultural interview.

Becoming the interviewer

The cultural interview is sometimes conducted by an executive. This is a great opportunity to understand how senior leadership thinks and where the company is headed. Use this time to ask insightful questions.

Research the company beforehand to formulate good questions. This can also help clarify any reservations you might have about joining.

One potential red flag is when interviewers can't clearly articulate the company's vision and goals. The vision is the long-term aspiration (e.g., "Become the leading platform for X"), while goals should be concrete short-term objectives (e.g., "Launch the new feature set targeting Y market segment by Q3"), not just vague targets like “get more users.” If the short-term goals are unclear, it might indicate a lack of direction.

Seems easy, right? Usually, but sometimes there’s a catch:

The catch

Occasionally, the cultural interviewer might switch gears entirely, perhaps re-running an earlier technical interview (like architecture) or diving deep into your resume. Be prepared for unexpected turns.

If the interviewer goes into "detective mode," they might scrutinize your resume, probing for gaps or challenging past experiences. Your best bet is to provide precise, concise answers and avoid giving them loose threads to pull. Stay calm and avoid sounding overly confident or defensive.

They might ask why you want to leave your current role, or even why you left previous jobs. Never speak negatively about past employers or colleagues; this is a common way candidates disqualify themselves.

Depending on how aggressive the interviewer becomes, you might need to seriously consider if this is a company culture you want to join. I’ve encountered interviewers who seemed to enjoy the "detective" role a bit too much, crossing the line into overly confrontational or "asshole" territory.

If they unfairly criticize you ("neg" you), belittle your work, or dismiss your accomplishments, take it as valuable data about the company culture. Remember, the people conducting cultural interviews often significantly influence that culture. If you encounter this behavior, my advice is simple: run.

An interviewer justifying such behavior as just being "tough" might be a façade, especially since they know candidates have limited leverage in the interview process.

How to know when you aced the interview

Towards the end of an interview, you might get signals about how it went. If the interviewer starts enthusiastically selling the company to you or seems eager to keep the conversation going, it often shows they think you're a strong candidate and are perhaps relieved the search might be over. If they use phrases like "When you join us..." or "You'll be working on...", you might be in good shape.

Conversely, if they seem distant, provide curt answers to your questions, or wrap things up abruptly, it might mean you won't be moving forward. At that point, there's likely little you can do to change their mind.

However, you can still ask questions that might provide valuable feedback for future interviews. Try something like: "If I were to get this role, based on our conversation, what advice would you give me for my first few months?"

Some interviewers remain poker-faced, but asking thoughtful questions rarely hurts, and any feedback you gain is valuable.

If your initial screen was with a recruiter or HR, always follow up with an email asking for feedback. Recruiters often act as advocates for candidates and can sometimes provide helpful insights—some have even shared summarized interviewer notes with me!

Bonus: Negotiating an offer

Once you receive an offer letter, the leverage shifts. The company wants you, future teammates are likely looking forward to you joining, and everyone involved is probably glad the interview process is ending. Now you need to decide if the offer meets your expectations and negotiate details like the start date.

To understand your market value, research compensation on sites like Glassdoor and Levels.fyi. This research can significantly impact your final offer by showing not only what the company might typically pay but also what competitors in the same market and location offer.

Based on my experience comparing real offers with data on these aggregator sites, the reported salaries can sometimes be inflated (perhaps 10-20% above the true median). This might be because individuals who negotiate successfully are more likely to report their salaries, or perhaps due to some unrealistic entries. Keep this context in mind when looking at the data.

If you believe you should negotiate for a higher salary, approach it constructively. Don't hesitate to ask, but frame it professionally. It's highly unlikely an offer will be rescinded simply because you asked for more money. However, how you ask matters. I’ve seen offers withdrawn when candidates were arrogant or demanding during negotiation. As long as you remain professional and respectful, you have little to lose by asking.

Sometimes, a company genuinely can't offer more; the initial offer might represent the absolute top of their budget for the role. Even if you ultimately decline the offer due to compensation, maintaining a positive relationship can keep the door open—you might even be contacted later for a different, perhaps more senior, position.

You'll also negotiate your start date. You might feel pressured to start immediately after giving two weeks' notice at your current job. Feel free to push back and add more time between roles. I always give myself at least two weeks to decompress and recharge and I can't recommend this enough. Starting refreshed is better for you and your new company. They'll get the best version of you on day one.