technical roles after people management

Aug 30 2024 · 6min · career

introduction

As someone who has spent quite a few years in a people management role, I am at a crossroads. While I enjoy being a leader of teams, a force multiplier, and a source of growth for my team, I also enjoy being hands-on. I have heard throughout my career about people that move between the two tracks regularly, but in my own experience, I have found it hard to convey the technical skills “at a glance” to warrant a first callback.

To help with the process, I reached out to my network — a few people who have made this same transition, as well as recruiters — to see if I can glean some tips that will help others in this situation.

First, I want to note that changing roles within your current organization is probably much easier than doing so when transitioning jobs. If you are looking to change companies and tracks simultaneously, then please read on.

Note: A quick assumption on my part that every engineering leader role remains technical in nature to some degree.

a technical resume

The first item that anyone will look at when deciding to call you is your resume. This is an opportunity to sell your technical skills and experience, even while as a team leader, so you want to be specific about the work you have done and how that work translates into leveling up your skills.

promotions

these require you to have understood the contributions from your team and to help mentor them.

• What levels did you promote to?
• What were their specialties?
• What tasks did you delegate to your team after you had shared those skills?

architecture

the level of detail depends on your position (Engineering manager, director, or VP), but architecture is a key component of your skill display. While individual engineers may implement features, helping the team build working systems and demonstrating your knowledge is paramount to success.

• How did you improve on current system design?
• What new tools and technologies did you introduce, and how did they benefit the team or organization?
• What skill gaps did you identify, and what did you do to fill them (hiring, training, or SaaS solutions)?

one-on-ones

during these, you should be avoiding status updates and listening to what the individual team members need from you.

• How did you mentor their skills and support their growth?
• How often did you review their code and make suggestions — even if the pull request was already closed?
• How did you shape the individuals to fit within your team vision?

skills list

everyone is using AI or an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to filter resumes, so you need to make sure you have the right buzzwords in your resume.

• The person looking at your resume first probably will not have a technical background, so they are looking for exact matches.
• Tailor your resume to match the job description - TypeScript, React, and Next.js instead of JavaScript, for example.

personal projects

If you have published something of your own or contributed to an open-source project, this is a valid way to talk through the choices you made along the way.

• Not everyone has the energy to build things on the side.
• Do not use off-the-shelf task-list tutorials (unless you have fundamentally changed or added to the project), as these only showcase that you can watch a video.
• Open-source is the best here, but sometimes the community can be gatekeepers, so do not be discouraged if you cannot make headway here.

an active repository service

Unlike your resume, a public Gitlab/Github/Bitbucket account is a great place to showcase those tutorial projects. As an added bonus, you can take the projects a step farther and deploy them. At the very worst, anyone looking through your repositories will know you put in the time, effort, and repetitions, even if you did not create something world-changing. At best, someone will follow from your resume to your repositories and gather that you do actually have the skills they need.

If you are the type that keeps code snippets, writes guides, or has a smile file, a public git account will let you share those as well. Even if you are writing these items to yourself, having this knowledge out there for people to find will only raise your profile.

network

Networking tends to come slightly easier to people leaders than individual contributors, but it remains a task many prefer to avoid — especially cold-calling / cold-emailing. However, this may be the most important item to consider, as it came up repeatedly as the best way to switch career paths.

former colleagues

If you have someone you worked with previously that knows you and your technical background, they may be able to at least get you to the initial screening call — a huge win that bypasses the ATS. Hopefully, they are in good standing at their organization and can either put your name through a referral system or even connect you to the hiring manager directly.

account contacts

As an engineering leader, you may have had the opportunity to work with account executives to procure services, such as a metrics platform, content management system, or another “as a service” platform. During the process, connect with these people on LinkedIn and reach out to them if you notice they have shared contacts or their own company is hiring.

interest contacts

This one will have better effects the longer that you nurture a relationship. Build a network that shares your interest, or reach out to companies doing interesting work that you are looking to pursue eventually.

1. Find a leader at a company you genuinely appreciate and want to know more about.
2. Reach out to them to connect about that work, and why you are interested (not immediately about a role you want to get).
3. See if they are willing to set up a time to chat in the near future, and again talk about the work they are doing and why you are interested.
4. Get into the weeds, share experiences and technology that you have worked with as relevant to the conversation — practice speaking technically to people who do not know if you are technical.
5. Build the rapport organically, and if you see something come along for which you think you would be a fit, broach the subject of a referral.

This will take time, leg work, and potentially rejection. I know I have felt like people reaching out “just to connect” are doing so because I can do something for them, but I believe I also need to adjust my thinking. While building your network this way, also think about the people that are reaching out to you and perhaps give them some of your time. Set aside a couple of hours a week to nurture this network, and it will pay dividends in the long run.

closing

While undoubtedly you have heard about people moving from individual contributor roles into the management track and back again, the friction to do so can be real. Additionally, make sure that your reason for changing tracks is a choice you want to make and not something you are doing as a reaction. Remember, the grass is greener where you water it. Looking over the fence and seeing how much ICs can buil, how little overhead they have from multiple stakeholders, and how they can simply put their head down to deliver might seem exhilarating. What you might not easily see, however, is the impact you are having on the people reporting to you, how many careers you are helping to define, and how much more strategic impact you can have as a people leader at any level. In the end, if you ultimately decide to make the move back into an IC role, hopefully I have given you an easier path to walk during that transition.