Framing The Dialog

We cover how promotions actually work, why they’re not guaranteed even if we’re performing well, and how to talk about them with our EM in a way that aligns incentives and builds trust.

- We explain that promotions require **both** performing at the next level **and** an organizational need for someone at that level—otherwise even great performers can’t move up.
- We note that promotion discussions require trust; bringing up promotions too early (e.g., in week one) backfires because the manager doesn’t yet know our work or commitment to the team.
- We warn that reorgs can derail promotion momentum when a new manager must advocate for us without shared history; coordinating between old and new managers helps mitigate this.
- We highlight that promotions are meant to signal that we already operate with higher scope, independence, and cross-org trust—not something to wish into existence.
- We emphasize framing promotion goals in terms of **increasing team impact** rather than title or compensation, since managers (especially in tight-budget environments) prioritize engineers who help them deliver more impact, not those who simply want advancement.

The Basics

In this lesson, we outline how to structure manager 1:1s so they become one of the most powerful tools for growth, clarity, and alignment in the IC–EM relationship.

- We highlight that the gold standard for 1:1s is weekly, recurring, and 30 minutes long, which is long enough for meaningful depth but manageable on a manager’s packed calendar.
- We stress that cancellations should be rare because these meetings are the “lifeblood” of the relationship and the primary space where trust, alignment, and problem-solving happen.
- We recommend keeping a running meeting notes document with agendas, discussion points, and assigned action items to ensure continuity and accountability.
- We emphasize that although 1:1s take only \~1–2% of our weekly hours, they influence 30–70% of how quickly we grow and how effectively we leverage our EM.
- We reinforce that strong engineers prepare intentionally for these meetings—coming with notes, plans, and reflection—rather than waiting passively for their manager to drive the conversation.

Amazon Behavioral Interview [Part 10] - Anticipating Customer Needs (Evaluation)

This video provides feedback on an individual's response to a behavioral interview question: "Can you give me an example of when you were able to anticipate a customer need with a solution or product that they didn't know they needed yet?"

- **Strengths:**

  - The interviewee effectively demonstrated customer obsession by describing how they proactively identified and addressed customer needs before they escalated.
  - They highlighted the development of a predictive model to identify at-risk customers.
  - They described how they collaborated with the sales team to proactively reach out to these customers and address potential issues.
  - The interviewee also mentioned the unexpected benefit of this proactive approach: the opportunity to upsell premium support services to delighted customers.

- **Areas for Improvement:**

  - **Quantifying Impact:** While the interviewee mentioned a 75% conversion rate for upselling premium services, they could further enhance their response by quantifying other key outcomes, such as a reduction in customer escalations, improved customer satisfaction scores, or increased customer retention rates.
  - **Highlighting Leadership and Collaboration:** The interviewee could have further emphasized their leadership and collaboration skills by describing how they overcame resistance from within their team or obtained buy-in from other stakeholders for their proactive approach.
  - **Addressing Potential Challenges:** The interviewee could have proactively addressed potential challenges, such as the risk of over-escalation or the potential for misuse of the predictive model by the sales team.

- **Overall:** The interviewee provided a strong foundation for their response. By incorporating the suggested improvements, they can further enhance their ability to effectively communicate their accomplishments and demonstrate their leadership, problem-solving, and customer-centric approach in a job interview setting.

Learn more about Alan's job search program, Kadima Careers, using this [discount link](https://signup.kadimacareers.com/mQBsDvu).

The Sales Engineering Career Path (And How To Become One)

The sales engineering role combines technical expertise with sales skills as an alternative career path. Even if you don't want to become a full-time sales engineer, many of the skills that are essential for sales engineers are directly applicable for strong software engineers.

🛠️ **Learn Why Engineers are in the Best Position to Sell:**

- Explore the intersection of coding and client interaction that defines the Sales Engineering role.
- Learn why Sales Engineering might be the ideal choice for software engineers looking to blend their technical prowess with business dealings.

💡 PRO TIP: **Sales Presentation and Demo Flow For the Best Outcomes:**

- Gain insights into the advantages of pursuing a career in Sales Engineering, from enhanced earning potential to dynamic job roles.
- Understand how your unique skill set can significantly impact client-facing roles within the technology industry.

🔍 **Explore What Career Options Exist in Sales Engineering:**

- Explore different career paths within Sales Engineering and understand the growth potential.
- Learn about real-world success stories from software engineers who have transitioned into Sales Engineering roles.

Taro member discount is available for the [**2-week cohort-based course**](https://maven.com/techsales/sales-for-software-engineers?promoCode=TARO).

Course conducted by: [**https://www.linkedin.com/in/kbalachandran/**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kbalachandran/)

Explore more on Taro: 

- [Should I become a sales engineer?](https://www.jointaro.com/question/CZdBlFzIDk4rxaLJ1jzu/should-i-become-a-sales-engineer/)
- [How do you "sell" your work and show impact as an aspiring Staff Engineer?](https://www.jointaro.com/question/Zr5koQ1TGgx8GzSAquwG/how-do-you-sell-your-work-and-show-impact-as-an-aspiring-staff-engineer/)

What Are Advanced Concepts I Should Know?

In this lesson we talk about how to effectively prepare for AI-assisted coding interviews, with a focus on shifting your study habits to match what these interviews actually test.

- **Learn the "why" before the "how"** — rather than drilling implementations, focus on understanding the canonical problem each data structure solves and practice explaining it in one sentence out loud; with AI handling the code, being unable to independently identify the right approach is now much harder to hide or compensate for.
- **Know the common gotchas for each pattern** — every classic structure has a specific edge case trap (e.g. the `is_end` flag in a trie, recency updates in an LRU cache, off-by-one errors in sliding windows); getting familiar with these upfront dramatically speeds up your ability to verify AI-generated output during the interview.
- **Practice reading code, not just writing it** — since interviews now involve more time spent reading starter code and verifying AI output than typing from scratch, deliberately train yourself to mentally trace logic quickly by reading existing solutions online or having AI generate code for problems you already understand, then tracing through them by hand.

How To Debug Effectively with AI As My Partner?

In this lesson we talk about how to debug effectively with AI as a partner during a coding interview, and when to use it versus when to rely on your own judgment.

- **Use AI to generate more test cases, but step through code yourself** — AI can rapidly produce test cases that would take much longer to write manually, but since it predicts words rather than executing code, it can reproduce the same bugs it originally introduced, making it unreliable for tracing logic line by line.
- **Avoid leaning on AI for debugging, but use it strategically when stuck** — rather than asking AI to find or fix a bug directly, prompt it to brainstorm multiple possible causes, which keeps you in the driver's seat, surfaces hypotheses for you to validate with your own judgment, and reduces the risk of confidently wrong AI suggestions.
- **Always rerun all tests after a fix, not just the failing one** — thorough test coverage lets passing tests serve as reliable verification; if your test suite is thin, compensate with more manual code inspection to avoid introducing regressions you won't have time to track down later.

Amazon Behavioral Interview [Part 22] - Disagreeing With Your Manager (Evaluation)

This video segment provides feedback on an individual's response to a behavioral interview question about navigating a disagreement with a manager.

- **Identified Potential Concerns:** The feedback highlights potential concerns about the interviewee's response, specifically regarding its potential impact on how an Amazon interviewer might perceive the candidate's "bias for action."

  - The initial disagreement with the manager's unrealistic 15-minute response time could be perceived negatively, as Amazon highly values individuals who demonstrate strong initiative and a bias for action.
  - The interviewee's acknowledgment of the initial failure to meet the 15-minute target could be interpreted as a lack of commitment or a reluctance to fully embrace the manager's directive.

- **Suggested Improvements:** To address these concerns, the feedback suggests that the interviewee could have:

  - **Emphasized proactive problem-solving:** Instead of simply acknowledging the initial failure, the interviewee could have highlighted their proactive efforts to gather data, analyze the situation, and propose an alternative solution that was more realistic and achievable.
  - **Demonstrated commitment to the team's success:** The interviewee could have further emphasized their commitment to the team's success by describing how they actively engaged with stakeholders, addressed their concerns, and ultimately achieved the revised goal of a 90th percentile response time within one hour.
  - **Framed the disagreement constructively:** Instead of focusing on the initial disagreement and the perceived failure to meet the 15-minute target, the interviewee could have framed the situation as a learning opportunity and emphasized their ability to adapt and find a successful solution that aligned with the team's capabilities and customer needs.

- **Overall:** The feedback emphasizes the importance of demonstrating a strong bias for action, a commitment to achieving goals, and the ability to navigate disagreements constructively in an Amazon interview setting. By incorporating these suggestions, the interviewee can enhance their ability to effectively communicate their accomplishments and demonstrate their suitability for a role at Amazon.

Learn more about Alan's job search program, Kadima Careers, using this [discount link](https://signup.kadimacareers.com/mQBsDvu).

Feedback Is A Gift. Seriously

In this lesson, we explore how feedback, especially how we *receive* it, is one of the most important levers for building trust with our engineering manager and accelerating our career growth.

- We highlight that managers are the primary (and often only) source of meaningful feedback, since peers rarely want the discomfort or risk of giving constructive criticism.
- We emphasize that when we first receive feedback, our job is to say **thank you**, avoid defensiveness, and take time to reflect—even if we disagree or feel misunderstood.
- We explain that most feedback contains at least a kernel of truth, and our responsibility is to identify what’s useful and implement changes quickly, then follow up later to show progress.
- We warn that pushing back defensively can permanently shut down future feedback, leaving us “rudderless” with no insight into what to improve.
- We share that the fastest-growing engineers treat feedback as a superpower: they assume good intent, absorb nuance, implement rapidly, and create a virtuous cycle where their manager is eager to invest even more in their growth.

EM vs. IC

If you want direct interview support from Alex and Uzair, take their live Maven course with discount code **TARO10**: <https://maven.com/alex-kliotzkin/acing-em-interviews>

This segment breaks down the fundamental differences between the roles of individual contributors (ICs) and engineering managers (EMs), using a structured view to clarify the contrast in scope, responsibility, and domain expertise. It emphasizes how transitioning from IC to EM is a **career shift**, not a promotion, due to the shift in focus from implementation to strategy and people leadership.

- **ICs focus deeply on implementation and domain expertise**, such as full-stack, cloud, embedded, or AI systems. They are vertical specialists with strong knowledge in their technical area.
- **ICs also operate within the software engineering realm**, applying practices like CI/CD, agile processes, and architecture—but mainly to support their implementation work.
- **EMs must be experts in software engineering best practices**, not just to implement them but to ensure sustainable development and product integrity across the team.
- **The core domain of EMs is technical leadership**, which includes stakeholder management, translating business needs into technical goals, strategic planning, communication, and team mentorship (i.e. areas ICs typically don't engage with).
- **Managing both delivery and team dynamics** makes the EM role distinctly broader, requiring versatility across both technical and people-focused domains.

Amazon Behavioral Interview [Part 32] - Missing A Commitment (Evaluation)

This video segment provides feedback on an individual's response to a behavioral interview question about a time they failed to meet a commitment.

- **Strengths:**

  - **Relevant and Engaging Story:** The interviewee provided a compelling and relevant example by describing a critical incident during the Super Bowl, a high-pressure situation.
  - **Honest Acknowledgement of Failure:** The interviewee openly acknowledged the failure and took responsibility for the issue.
  - **Detailed Explanation:** The interviewee provided a detailed explanation of the situation, including the specific challenges encountered (e.g., software bug, communication issues), the impact of the failure, and the steps taken to address the issue.
  - **Focus on Learning and Improvement:** The interviewee highlighted the key learnings from the experience, such as the importance of thorough testing, robust contingency plans, and clear escalation procedures.
  - **Positive Outcome:** The interviewee emphasized that the team ultimately resolved the issue and learned valuable lessons, demonstrating their ability to learn and adapt.

- **Areas for Potential Improvement:**

  - **Deeper Dive into Root Cause Analysis:** The interviewee could have provided more detail on the specific steps taken to identify the root cause of the software bug and how the team prevented similar issues from occurring in the future.
  - **Highlighting Leadership:** The interviewee could have further emphasized their leadership role in addressing the situation, such as:
    - Taking ownership of the problem and communicating proactively with stakeholders.
    - Motivating the team to work together to find a solution.
    - Effectively communicating the resolution to all stakeholders.

- **Overall:**

  - This was a strong response that effectively demonstrated the interviewee's ability to:
    - Acknowledge and learn from mistakes.
    - Take responsibility for their actions.
    - Demonstrate problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
    - Highlight their ability to work effectively under pressure and as part of a team.
    - Communicate their experiences clearly and concisely.

Learn more about Alan's job search program, Kadima Careers, using this [discount link](https://signup.kadimacareers.com/mQBsDvu).

Promotion Dialog Examples

In this lesson, we examine how *not* to ask for a promotion, then show how to reframe the conversation in a way that aligns incentives, builds trust, and opens up productive dialogue with our EM.

- We highlight that asking “Can I get promoted?” is a poor approach because it’s self-focused, lacks evidence, feels transactional, and corners the manager into a yes/no response.
- We break down why this framing fails: it signals entitlement, doesn’t show impact, ignores team goals, and provides no data or context for advocacy.
- We offer a better alternative: expressing commitment to the team, desire to increase impact, and asking what steps are needed to reach the next level—an open-ended, collaborative question.
- We explain that managers value signals of long-term commitment and team-oriented motivation, not demands based on tenure or frustration.
- We reinforce that smart framing aligns our goals with the manager’s incentives: helping us grow increases team impact, which helps them succeed too.

Amazon Behavioral Interview [Part 14] - Delivering Results (Evaluation)

This video provides feedback on an individual's response to a behavioral interview question.

- **Strengths:**

  - **Strong Storytelling:** The interviewee effectively set the scene, highlighting the chaotic situation with multiple communication channels and the potential for critical issues to slip through the cracks.
  - **Clear and Concise Solution:** They clearly outlined their solution: creating a single point of entry for all escalations.
  - **Demonstrated Collaboration:** The interviewee emphasized the importance of cross-functional collaboration, highlighting their efforts to gain buy-in from stakeholders, including the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO).
  - **Acknowledged Challenges:** The interviewee acknowledged the challenges they faced, such as initial resistance from some stakeholders and the need to address concerns about the new process.
  - **Quantifiable Results:** They demonstrated the success of their solution by highlighting the significant increase in compliance with the new process.

- **Areas for Improvement:**

  - **Quantify Impact Further:** While the interviewee mentioned increased compliance, they could have further quantified their impact by mentioning specific metrics, such as a reduction in the number of unresolved escalations, improved customer satisfaction scores, or cost savings associated with the improved efficiency.
  - **Highlight Leadership and Ownership:** While the interviewee acknowledged the support of their leadership, they could have further emphasized their own leadership and initiative in driving the project forward.
  - **Address Potential Concerns Proactively:** The interviewee could have proactively addressed potential concerns, such as the initial resistance from some stakeholders, and outlined the steps they took to mitigate these concerns.

- **Overall:** The interviewee provided a strong foundation for their response. By incorporating the suggested improvements, they can further enhance their ability to effectively communicate their accomplishments and demonstrate their leadership, problem-solving, and results-oriented approach in a job interview setting.

Learn more about Alan's job search program, Kadima Careers, using this [discount link](https://signup.kadimacareers.com/mQBsDvu).

Become An Engineer Influencer [Part 27] - How to De-Risk Quitting

Hi, I’m Uzair

If you want direct interview support from Alex and Uzair, take their live Maven course with discount code **TARO10**: <https://maven.com/alex-kliotzkin/acing-em-interviews>

Uzair is an experienced engineering manager with a passion for helping other leaders grow and succeed in their careers. With a solid background in software development and extensive hiring experience, he brings deep insight into the engineering management interview process.

- Currently serves as an engineering manager at Stripe, with previous experience at Amazon
- Has over 10 years of engineering management experience across tech companies and consulting firms, and more than 20 years in software development overall
- Former Amazon bar raiser, responsible for upholding high hiring standards across 250+ interviews conducted at Amazon and over 750 total in his career
- Has trained, managed, and promoted more than 15 engineering managers
- Brings a wealth of knowledge in both leadership development and technical interviewing to support aspiring engineering managers

Amazon Behavioral Interview [Part 15] - Going Above and Beyond For A Customer (Answer)

This video segment describes a situation where the interviewee went above and beyond to help a dissatisfied customer.

- **Identified a Customer Issue:** The interviewee encountered a platinum card customer who was extremely upset because their car, which was damaged while skiing, was not covered by the card's rental insurance due to a specific exclusion in the terms and conditions.
- **Went Above and Beyond:** Despite the company policy, the interviewee recognized the customer's frustration and proactively sought a resolution. They:
  - Investigated the issue and identified the relevant policy.
  - Engaged with internal stakeholders, including the product team and a senior executive, to advocate for the customer.
  - Successfully secured approval for a $4,000 statement credit to cover the repair costs.
  - Further impressed the customer by arranging for a check to be mailed directly, providing a more tangible and personalized gesture of goodwill.
- **Achieved Positive Outcomes:**
  - The customer was highly satisfied with the resolution and even became a testimonial for the company.
  - The company retained a valuable customer who was initially considering canceling their card.
  - The incident led to a review of the policy and improved communication regarding the scope of rental car insurance coverage.

This example demonstrates the interviewee's commitment to customer satisfaction, their ability to navigate internal processes, and their proactive approach to resolving customer issues.

Learn more about Alan's job search program, Kadima Careers, using this [discount link](https://signup.kadimacareers.com/mQBsDvu).

Leaving An Executive Role To Become A Teacher

[**Ethan Evans**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanevansvp/) is a retired Amazon VP who now teaches managers how to break into executive levels. He was at Amazon for 15 years, and he became a VP in 2013 until he left in 2020.

Ethan could have spent several more decades in high-powered engineering leadership roles, but he chose to leave his lucrative career at Amazon to focuse on personal development coaching and teaching.

**Reason for leaving Amazon:**

- Ethan found more satisfaction in helping people develop than building things. He actually wanted to scale his impact beyond at Amazon with the role of upgrading the whole eng team.
- Amazon wasn't receptive to his ideas for talent development initiatives. they told him the best bet was for him to become the VP of Eng for the HR products.

**Today, Ethan is focused on** teaching individuals for career development. He creates and shares free content (e.g., daily writing on LinkedIn) and then offers paid coaching and training programs for high-potential individuals.

**Motivation for charging for some services:**

- Belief that people value paid services more than free ones.
- Desire to focus limited time on highly motivated clients.
- Money is not the primary driver but it is important for reaching a wider audience and sustaining the work.
- Charging for high-value services from those who can afford it is ethical and practical.

Ethan is now pursuing his passion to help people grow and achieve their career goals. He's adopted a hybrid approach of free and paid services to maximize their impact and reach.

More to explore: 

- [\[Case Study\] Building An Engineering Brand - Why And How (LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Substack)](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/t06NajpS2kSCk98IEmQm/case-study-building-an-engineering-brand-why-and-how-linkedin-youtube-twitter-substack/)
- [When does it make sense to leave big tech?](https://www.jointaro.com/question/v6GBLlfXb1ugNobkEm7w/when-does-it-make-sense-to-leave-big-tech/)
- [I'm Greg, Ex-Google/Netflix current Director at Disney. AMA!](https://www.jointaro.com/question/CdPjNOXvU882180yzs6R/im-greg-ex-googlenetflix-current-director-at-disney-ama/?a=X1zCA1EgxqdSBELHLfkO)

Technical Depth vs Breadth

In this lesson, **Adam Ernst**, Software Engineer at **Meta**, shares his perspective on what it takes to reach the highest levels of the Individual Contributor (IC) career ladder. Rather than choosing between technical depth and breadth, Adam explains how he developed both by following curiosity and solving real engineering problems. He describes a practical approach to learning unfamiliar systems, collaborating effectively across teams, and continuously expanding his expertise through hands-on experience instead of formal study.

- **Develop Both Depth and Breadth:** Adam believes senior engineers benefit from deep expertise in their primary domain while gradually building knowledge across adjacent systems. This combination enables engineers to solve complex cross-functional problems and make a broader organizational impact.
- **Learn Through Real Problems:** Instead of studying technologies in isolation, Adam dives deeply into unfamiliar systems only when they become relevant to the problem at hand. Solving real engineering challenges creates meaningful learning opportunities and builds lasting expertise.
- **Become Self-Sufficient and Collaborative:** By investigating issues independently before asking for help, engineers not only reduce the burden on partner teams but also arrive with informed questions and potential solutions. This approach accelerates learning, builds credibility, and strengthens cross-team relationships.

Original podcast link: [**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA_OYJF3Mmw**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA_OYJF3Mmw)

Hiring Manager (Director+) Perspective

If you want direct interview support from Alex and Uzair, take their live Maven course with discount code **TARO10**: <https://maven.com/alex-kliotzkin/acing-em-interviews>

This segment of the course explains why understanding the mindset of the engineering manager (EM) hiring manager—typically a director or above—is critical for succeeding in EM interviews. It emphasizes that trust, not just competence, is the cornerstone of what these senior leaders are evaluating.

- **Trust is the foundation of EM hiring.** Directors operate in a world filled with ambiguity—changing priorities, unclear requirements, and frequent people challenges. They need leaders they can trust implicitly.
- **Competence is not enough.** While technical ability is important, directors are evaluating whether a candidate will help solve problems or become another issue that needs managing.
- **Reliability during adversity is crucial.** Senior leaders are asking: *Will this person make my life easier when things get tough?* Candidates must show they can thrive in uncertainty and still deliver results.
- **The hiring lens is risk-focused.** From the director’s perspective, hiring an EM is about minimizing risk. The ideal EM is a stabilizing force—someone who says, *“Trust me, I’ve got this”*—and actually means it.

It Depends

After exploring the wide range of pros and cons of working at Big Tech companies, the speakers emphasize that choosing this career path is highly personal and should align with one's individual goals and priorities.

- **No One-Size-Fits-All Answer**: The intention isn’t to prescribe a particular path, but rather to offer transparency around what working at Big Tech is really like—information they wish they'd had early in their careers.
- **Reflect on Personal Priorities**: It's crucial to explicitly list what matters most in a career - whether that’s compensation, work-life balance, tech stack, team culture, or product space—and then align job choices accordingly.
- **Framework for Decision-Making**: By identifying top 2–3 priorities and working backward from those, engineers can better evaluate whether Big Tech aligns with their long-term goals.

Tech Career Growth Videos

Our instructional videos provide software engineers with insights needed for career growth. Masterclasses go incredibly in-depth on a specific tech topic while case studies are real examples from established engineering leaders.