The EM job market is brutal. Here’s what actually worked for me.
All the CV & LinkedIn tips, and interview prep material you could hope for if you're interviewing for Engineering Manager roles.
👋 Hey, it’s Stephane. Welcome to my weekly newsletter where I share lessons, and stories from my journey to help you lead with confidence as an Engineering Manager.
Getting hired as an Engineering Manager is unbelievably tough right now.
Companies want you to do everything:
Line manage, tech lead, manage projects and timelines, communicate with everyone, make sure the team is performing, hire, fire, keep good people, think about the future, be able to code, review architectural decisions, keep an eye on pull requests…
I can go on for days.
Getting an EM job today has never been harder.
I’ve done it twice in the last year though! Here’s how.
This isn’t a flex.
It’s to say that I’ve been there recently. Throughout the years, I have applied to many jobs, got ghosted, refined my CV and optimized my approach. Eventually, I think I figured it out.
I did all the research one can on this process, consumed every content on the internet on it to learn about it, made all the adjustments I needed, and now I am able to have 3x more interviews and reliably as well.
What I needed was:
A CV that made my leadership experience and skills obvious.
A LinkedIn profile that backed it up.
A system for how to apply for jobs (that works today).
All refined and easy to follow.
Get hired as an Engineering Manager (sponsored)
I am sponsoring this issue with my own product! Your support on it would mean the world to me.
If you are searching for an Engineering Manager job in this horrendous job market and want to make your life easier, I’ve got something for you!
I have created material that simplify everything:
CV & LinkedIn for Engineering Managers
How to apply (and actually get interviews)
How to prep for behavioural/leadership/people & values interviews
Many people have used the exact same resources in the past year and saw immediate success!
I created this system for me first and since I have found so much value from it I needed to share it with you too!
If you have any questions on it, feel free to reach out at stephane@em-tools.io
Back to this week’s thought.
Your CV and LinkedIn profile say a lot about you
Duh! But I don’t mean the obvious here. Your experience of course matters.
But it is not just what goes in there, but how it is written too.
A badly formatted CV might signal that a candidate doesn’t have a sense of good structure. Typos may show a lack of attention to detail. And if it’s hard to read, it might mean they don’t understand what their audience needs.
These are generalizations of course, but regardless, bias plays its part when reviewing someone’s profile.
My eyebrow would raise itself automatically seeing a CV filled with typos.
I’ve reviewed applications where people sent in a 4-page CV. Each role they had came with an essay. Reading them really felt like a punishment to me.
If one can’t skim your CV and know who you are in a few seconds they will move on to the next one.
Is your CV written in the most optimal way to pass all of the below?
the ATS
the recruiter’s first glance
the recruiter’s few minutes spent on it
and, the hiring manager’s deeper read
How confident are you in the information you’ve written on it?
Get 50 Notion templates & The EM’s Field Guide when you subscribe
As for LinkedIn... Most people treat it like a résumé copy-paste (if they even do that).
However, CVs and LinkedIn profiles serve completely different goals.
People say:
Your CV will give you a chance for a conversation.
LinkedIn will get you found before you even know a conversation is an option.
It’s only logical that since they serve different purposes, they need to have different content on them, no?
Hint: LinkedIn is a sophisticated keywords game.
I teach exactly what that means and how to optimise it in:
The #1 resource to get an Engineering Manager offer in this competitive market
A deeper dive in it. You’ll find in it:
CV & LinkedIn for Engineering Managers
EM-Specific Resume Template (doc + PDF)
How to write impact-driven job bullet points (with 10+ examples)
LinkedIn Optimization Guide specifically for current & aspiring EMs
Good EM CVs (4 complete examples)
How to pitch your Tech Lead experience for an EM role (with examples)
How to Apply (and actually get interviews)
Applying smart: optimise response rate from your applications
Job Application Tracker 2025
How to get referrals without sounding weird
EM Behavioural Interview Prep
The 7 EM Interview Behavioural Themes (People, Delivery, Vision, Conflict, Org Design, Stakeholders, Impact)
STAR + PAST + 2/2/2 - Your Narrative Framework
100+ Behavioral Qs + Model Answers (aligned to those themes)
This is specifically for people looking for a EM role (regardless if you have been a manager before or not).
The biggest reason why I have created it is what I have seen working as a mentor/coach. Many people are amazing at doing the work, but terrible at selling it (ie. talk about it).
That is a pattern, and I want help you improve on that.
You can check it out here → Get Hired as an Engineering Manager
You don’t have to be a unicorn 🦄
The aim here is not to transform you into a magical genie.
What I aimed with this product it to put some rules around how to:
Package what you’ve already done
Show the impact you've made
Get in front of decision-makers without spamming job boards
Once we used this method with my mentees the responses they got were night and day.
See you in the next one,
~ Stephane
PS. If you’re taking this management thing seriously, here are more ways I can help:
Follow me on LinkedIn for insights during the week (free).
As mentioned in this article, if you’re looking for an Engineering Manager job, check out this product that I made for you!
Check the products that I offer with a paid subscription - 50 Notion templates, guides, and more. It’s a lot!
Work with me through 1:1 coaching. I find it extremely rewarding to give personalized guidance to engineering leaders who are interviewing for EM roles or are looking to grow in this area.
If you’re a Software Engineer I have a partnership with CodeCrafters – build Redis, Git & more from scratch (40% off with my link).
If you're preparing for interviews, I am also writing this newsletter for architecture design that you might be interested in:
"Companies want you to do everything". Yes, and I will add "everything, well and fast."
Nowadays, EMs not only need the skills but a proper strategy to get a position. Having the right coach and/or mentor is essential nowadays.