Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="8f47d4f4c2ec8ae8c092f12f2e7c6c0d568d4001a2bcebc570090a29eb7b" Subject: My Advice For Engineers and Engineering Leaders to Get a New Role Faster From: Gregor Ojstersek from Engineering Leadership To: Hidden Recipient Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2025 00:17:02 +0000 X-Hiring: We are hiring, reach out at header-hacker@emailshot.io X-EmailShot-Signature: naPk6VzLSL5NOKylYJT3bZeBEkAz68WLBE4SruzIRe13X4O-8MusHV2hPcWRDfvXf9e4vuGirLO5yjO5MEtq5A== --8f47d4f4c2ec8ae8c092f12f2e7c6c0d568d4001a2bcebc570090a29eb7b Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable View this post on the web at https://newsletter.eng-leadership.com/p/my-adv= ice-for-engineers-and-engineering This week=E2=80=99s newsletter is sponsored by Augment Code. [ https://subs= tack.com/redirect/7ffb77e8-d7c7-444f-81a2-a3ed243abe80?j=3DeyJ1IjoiM2dmeXZt= In0.xu76uFObqArDfP822j-jnN48_jCfgM3m0rbAsF0l24U ] Ship faster with context-aware AI. Augment Code [ https://substack.com/redirect/7ffb77e8-d7c7-444f-81a2-a3ed24= 3abe80?j=3DeyJ1IjoiM2dmeXZtIn0.xu76uFObqArDfP822j-jnN48_jCfgM3m0rbAsF0l24U = ] is built for real engineering teams. It understands your codebase across = 10M+ lines, 10k+ files, and every repo in your stack, so it can actually he= lp: writing functions, fixing CI issues, triaging incidents, and reviewing = PRs. All from your IDE or terminal. No vibes. Just progress. Thanks to Augment Code for sponsoring this newsletter, let=E2=80=99s get ba= ck to this week=E2=80=99s thought! Intro The current market for engineering roles is quite competitive, and a lot of= companies are a lot more cautious when hiring. You can see how big a diffe= rence it is from 2022 and today (late 2025) in this chart: The market has sort of stabilized, but we all know and understand how compe= titive it can get when looking for a new role, both as an engineer or an en= gineering leader. In today=E2=80=99s article, I=E2=80=99ll share my advice and my approach on= what I would do if I would be looking for a new role. Let=E2=80=99s start! Pre-Work That Makes Your Chances Higher Before we get to specifics of how I would approach looking for a new positi= on right now as an engineer or engineering leader, it=E2=80=99s really impo= rtant to understand a couple of things. I am sure you are already aware of them, as we mentioned a lot of these in = previous articles before, but I think they are really important not to negl= ect. If you haven=E2=80=99t focused on some of these yet and you are looking for= a new role, make sure to do that asap. Now, we won=E2=80=99t spend a lot of time on this section as I=E2=80=99ve w= ritten about these things extensively before, so I=E2=80=99ll be more or le= ss doing an overview and sharing the link to the relevant articles. To summarize all of these, we can say that you want to increase your credib= ility [ https://substack.com/redirect/b1082cc3-07b8-404f-a48f-165740e4c7ba?= j=3DeyJ1IjoiM2dmeXZtIn0.xu76uFObqArDfP822j-jnN48_jCfgM3m0rbAsF0l24U ] as mu= ch as possible. Credibility is a cheat code for making things easier for yo= u =E2=86=92 more offers and overall opportunities. Let=E2=80=99s start with the first one: 1. Make sure that your CV is on point This is very important. It=E2=80=99s normally the first impression that a r= ecruiter or a hiring manager gets of you. And if that impression wasn=E2=80= =99t the best, they won=E2=80=99t look at anything else further. Here are 2 articles that would help you with this: This one is a bit older and less extensive, but still has some solid advice= in there: I may do another article in the future to write about optimizing your CV, s= o stay tuned. Here is also a CV that I recommend taking a look at as a good example. From= my friend Jordan Cutler : LINK TO RESUME [ https://substack.com/redirect/9= a10cf28-d378-4d8e-a311-e1458fb4c0ea?j=3DeyJ1IjoiM2dmeXZtIn0.xu76uFObqArDfP8= 22j-jnN48_jCfgM3m0rbAsF0l24U ]. 2. Make sure that you update and optimize your LinkedIn profile For me, personally, LinkedIn has been huge for my career, as almost all the= roles I got were through LinkedIn. Either people contacted me directly, re= ferred me, or I applied to a specific role. And having a good profile that makes a good first impression goes a long wa= y. Here are 3 great articles for that: 3. Writing online will increase your chances further This is very important to understand, as any proof of what you know or what= you did will increase your chances substantially. It gives more confidence= to the hiring manager or recruiter to move further. Writing a blog or a newsletter is always a good idea, and I highly recommen= d it. It has done wonders for me. When I was a full-time CTO, and I was writing online for some time, I saw t= he difference with the stakeholders, my fellow leadership team, and my team= as well. It was much easier for me to get the buy-in on certain decisions = and approaches. This is also a good article to read: Now, let=E2=80=99s go to the next one. 4. Focus on building your network Referrals are the best way to get a new job these days, especially if you a= re looking for an engineering leadership role. The higher the position is i= n the company, the more important the referrals become. The thing is that the higher the position a person has in the company, the = more potential impact they can have on people inside the company. And you w= ant to de-risk the decision as much as possible. It=E2=80=99s a much riskier decision hiring someone that you just know thro= ugh the interviewing process, instead of someone that was recommended by th= e person that you trust. Read more in this article: And also David Weiss mentioned in this article, that his network was the b= iggest reason for him getting a new role faster. Read the article here: Now, let=E2=80=99s get to the last but definitely not the least. 5. Prepare for Interviews Very important to do at least some research on the company, prepare questio= ns, and most importantly, prepare for specific interviews. If you have a technical interview, make sure to go over some of the most co= mmon questions and prepare your answers. And also very important to prepare= your introduction. In most interviews, you=E2=80=99ll be asked to tell a bit about yourself, a= nd it=E2=80=99s important to do that well, as it=E2=80=99s some sort of fir= st impression of you on the interview. If you=E2=80=99ll be doing a behavioral interview, you can do a lot of thin= gs to prepare to do well on the interview. You can prepare the stories and = structure your answers. To help you with this, make sure to read these articles: Also, check out this GitHub repo with a list of questions I have been askin= g on the behavioral interviews I have conducted: Now, let me share a bit about how I got my first full-time role as an engin= eer. Even though that=E2=80=99s not completely ationable for you, I promise= that it=E2=80=99ll all make sense reading the whole article! How I Got my First Full-Time Role as an Engineer This is what I have mentioned already in the article How I Grew From Engine= er to CTO [ https://substack.com/redirect/0eca1f07-9aaa-41b3-aa33-bf9e66486= be9?j=3DeyJ1IjoiM2dmeXZtIn0.xu76uFObqArDfP822j-jnN48_jCfgM3m0rbAsF0l24U ]. After my first two student jobs as an engineer, I started to apply for my f= irst full-time engineering position. How did I get my first full-time role? I remember it like it was yesterday.= I=E2=80=99ve applied to the role and the first interview went well. I was = invited to the second interview. Before that interview, I designed + coded a new website for them. I designe= d it with Photoshop and built it with HTML + CSS + JS and a bit of PHP. The= y liked it and gave me good feedback, and they offered me the position. I w= as ecstatic. This is how the site looked like: As a self-taught engineer, I knew I needed to show something more than just= sending a CV and hoping for the best, as I didn=E2=80=99t have a lot of ex= perience. And this is my exact advice for finding a new role faster: Try to do something to stand out when you apply to the role or when you are= already in the hiring process. I like to call this having an unfair advantage, because you automatically s= tand out from others, assuming they don=E2=80=99t do something similar. And yes, even though I did that 10 years ago and it was much easier to get = a role back at that time, I still didn=E2=80=99t have a lot of experience a= nd no university degree. I would compare that to what most engineers and engineering leaders are fac= ing these days. There are just a lot fewer roles today and more competition= , so you need to showcase yourself a lot better in order to get the role. Now, let=E2=80=99s put this advice into practice. This is What I Would Do to Get a New Role Faster So, now that we understand the concept, let me share the exact step-by-step= process I would take if I would be looking for a new role. And yes, it=E2=80=99s very important to understand that focusing on all of = the 5 things we mentioned above (pre-work section) will make your chances a= lot higher. So, assuming we have focused on that already, let=E2=80=99s go to the first= thing I would do. The first thing I would do is to find 3-5 roles that resonate the most with= me and makes the biggest sense The reason for this is that the strategy called =E2=80=9Cspray and pray=E2= =80=9D, where you just send infinite CVs to infinite companies, normally do= esn=E2=80=99t work so well, as companies receive a LOT of submissions. Especially, the reason for this is that there has been an increase of =E2= =80=9CAI products=E2=80=9D, where they offer automatic submissions to the r= oles, and a lot of people are using that, so that has even decreased the od= ds of this tactic working. So, very important to find the top 3-5 roles that make the most sense to yo= u. Let=E2=80=99s go to the second step next. Find the hiring manager or recruiter, responsible for the role Normally, a person who is hiring will be listed in the job ad, especially i= f you are looking at the job submission through LinkedIn. I would contact that person through LinkedIn, and ask them a few questions = about the role. Something that would be interesting for me to know and that= would give me a better overview of what I can expect. Also, this is a good way to know if the role is still available. Now, we wait for their response, and after we get the response, if we are h= appy with it, I would proceed with the following. Especially for Engineering Leadership roles, I would try to stand out in th= is step already What I would do here is (depending on the role). I would record a video, it= can be a Loom video or anything else, where I would share some improvement= s (suggestions) to the product or service related to the company I am apply= ing to. That can be technical, organizational, process-wise, UX, or something else.= The key here is that you show that you did good research on the company al= ready + you have taught deeply about the product or a service, and that you= want to make things better. I would look to map that suggestion as close as possible to the expectation= s listed in the role. Now the only thing we need to do is to send the video, together with the CV What I would do here is the following. I would do the full submission, toge= ther with the CV, and then I would also include the video in the submission= =2E At the same time, I would send the message to the hiring manager that I hav= e submitted the CV for the position and that I have also recorded a video w= ith potential suggestions for improvements. That=E2=80=99s all! Definitely try it out and let me know how it works for = you. Always keep in mind that you want to look for the unfair advantage in = anything that you are focusing on. It=E2=80=99s how you=E2=80=99ll get much= better results. Doing This Will Make you Stand Out From Others Even though this takes more time, especially if you are doing this for 3-5 = companies, it=E2=80=99s a LOT better approach than just sending CVs and hop= ing for the best. As a hiring manager who has hired many engineers and engineering leaders = =E2=86=92 that kind of submission would definitely stand out for me, and I = would take that candidate a lot more seriously when evaluating for the fit = for the role, no matter if their experience is not 100% fit for the role. Last words Finding your next engineering or engineering leadership role in today=E2=80= =99s market isn=E2=80=99t easy, but it=E2=80=99s absolutely possible if you= approach it with intention, effort, and a willingness to stand out. Most candidates only do the minimum: submit a CV, hope for a response, and = wait. But the people who consistently get offers faster are the ones who take own= ership of the process. They optimize their credibility, they show proof of = their skills, they build real relationships, and they=E2=80=99re not afraid= to go the extra mile. Your goal should be simple: Make it impossible for a hiring manager to ignore you. The market may be competitive, but the bar for effort is still surprisingly= low. If you=E2=80=99re willing to show initiative, think creatively, and d= o more than what is expected, you=E2=80=99ll get your next role not just fa= ster, but on your terms. Now go apply this, stand out, and get that next opportunity. You=E2=80=99ve= got this! Liked this article? Make sure to =F0=9F=92=99 click the like button. Feedback or addition? Make sure to =F0=9F=92=AC comment. Know someone that would find this helpful? Make sure to =F0=9F=94=81 share = this post. Whenever you are ready, here is how I can help you further Join the Cohort course Senior Engineer to Lead: Grow and thrive in the role= here [ https://substack.com/redirect/4e2bd475-6407-4c9d-a00f-a79dcc99cf34?= j=3DeyJ1IjoiM2dmeXZtIn0.xu76uFObqArDfP822j-jnN48_jCfgM3m0rbAsF0l24U ]. Interested in sponsoring this newsletter? Check the sponsorship options her= e [ https://substack.com/redirect/51bc0cef-d077-4b54-ad4f-7aa43dc8720e?j=3D= eyJ1IjoiM2dmeXZtIn0.xu76uFObqArDfP822j-jnN48_jCfgM3m0rbAsF0l24U ]. Take a look at the cool swag in the Engineering Leadership Store here [ htt= ps://substack.com/redirect/eec47f0f-9b0b-4d13-b065-ab04fd992b7f?j=3DeyJ1Ijo= iM2dmeXZtIn0.xu76uFObqArDfP822j-jnN48_jCfgM3m0rbAsF0l24U ]. Want to work with me? You can see all the options here [ https://substack.c= om/redirect/6e931471-ff64-44de-bcd5-b66c07f97907?j=3DeyJ1IjoiM2dmeXZtIn0.xu= 76uFObqArDfP822j-jnN48_jCfgM3m0rbAsF0l24U ]. Get in touch You can find me on LinkedIn [ https://substack.com/redirect/a6aaea06-4b8e-4= e3a-8d47-d7ae456ffe6b?j=3DeyJ1IjoiM2dmeXZtIn0.xu76uFObqArDfP822j-jnN48_jCfg= M3m0rbAsF0l24U ], X [ https://substack.com/redirect/2215307f-d6ea-4b50-a45d= -3cf49d117c0b?j=3DeyJ1IjoiM2dmeXZtIn0.xu76uFObqArDfP822j-jnN48_jCfgM3m0rbAs= F0l24U ], YouTube [ https://substack.com/redirect/c0ff940b-a7d1-4d2b-8772-5= 96779dabe09?j=3DeyJ1IjoiM2dmeXZtIn0.xu76uFObqArDfP822j-jnN48_jCfgM3m0rbAsF0= l24U ], Bluesky [ https://substack.com/redirect/17bfe7ea-0f19-44c3-822c-d01= b6d2b4135?j=3DeyJ1IjoiM2dmeXZtIn0.xu76uFObqArDfP822j-jnN48_jCfgM3m0rbAsF0l2= 4U ], Instagram [ https://substack.com/redirect/ac5d851d-6e38-4449-8f7d-db7= 0c5bc48de?j=3DeyJ1IjoiM2dmeXZtIn0.xu76uFObqArDfP822j-jnN48_jCfgM3m0rbAsF0l2= 4U ] or Threads [ https://substack.com/redirect/a5900880-7375-4a4f-b258-ed9= 327bdb5fe?j=3DeyJ1IjoiM2dmeXZtIn0.xu76uFObqArDfP822j-jnN48_jCfgM3m0rbAsF0l2= 4U ]. If you wish to make a request on particular topic you would like to read, y= ou can send me an email to info@gregorojstersek.com. This newsletter is funded by paid subscriptions from readers like yourself. If you aren=E2=80=99t already, consider becoming a paid subscriber to recei= ve the full experience! You are more than welcome to find whatever interests you here and try it ou= t in your particular case. Let me know how it went! Topics are normally abo= ut all things engineering related, leadership, management, developing scala= ble products, building teams etc. Unsubscribe https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzbGV0dGV= yLmVuZy1sZWFkZXJzaGlwLmNvbS9hY3Rpb24vZGlzYWJsZV9lbWFpbD90b2tlbj1leUoxYzJWeV= gybGtJam95TURrd01UYzBNallzSW5CdmMzUmZhV1FpT2pFNE1Ea3dOamc0TkN3aWFXRjBJam94T= npZMU1UVXpNRGc0TENKbGVIQWlPakUzT1RZMk9Ea3dPRGdzSW1semN5STZJbkIxWWkweE1URTFP= REUxSWl3aWMzVmlJam9pWkdsellXSnNaVjlsYldGcGJDSjkuOGtNclNaZGJOdURYZ0J1em1GRUp= uTllyZ0dQTmhrWXpKbDE1eElxeU9qRSIsInAiOjE4MDkwNjg4NCwicyI6MTExNTgxNSwiZiI6dH= J1ZSwidSI6MjA5MDE3NDI2LCJpYXQiOjE3NjUxNTMwODgsImV4cCI6MjA4MDcyOTA4OCwiaXNzI= joicHViLTAiLCJzdWIiOiJsaW5rLXJlZGlyZWN0In0.pLQykDW2AJxW47cZuIQOhZIue0qjorXC= lZ5I5EHxGS4? --8f47d4f4c2ec8ae8c092f12f2e7c6c0d568d4001a2bcebc570090a29eb7b Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable My Advice For Engineers = and Engineering Leaders to Get a New Role Faster3D""
This is what I would do if I would be looking for a new role in the= current market!
͏     ­͏     ­&= #847;     ­͏     ­͏    = ; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &nbs= p;   ­͏     ­͏     ­&#= 847;     ­͏     ­͏    = ­͏     ­͏     ­͏  = ;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= 47;     ­͏     ­͏     = ­͏     ­͏     ­͏  =   ­͏     ­͏     ­T= 7;     ­͏     ­͏     &= #173;͏     ­͏     ­͏   =   ­͏     ­͏     ­͏= ;     ­͏     ­͏     &#= 173;͏     ­͏     ­͏   &= #8199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏=     ­͏     ­͏     = 73;͏     ­͏     ­͏   &#= 8199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ =     ­͏     ­͏     = 3;͏     ­͏     ­͏   = 199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &= nbsp;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= ;͏     ­͏     ­͏   Q= 99; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &n= bsp;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= ͏     ­͏     ­͏   ̳= 9; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &nb= sp;   ­͏     ­͏     ­&= #847;     ­͏     ­͏    = ; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &nbs= p;   ­͏     ­͏     ­&#= 847;     ­͏     ­͏    = ­͏     ­͏     ­͏  = ;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= 47;     ­͏     ­͏     = ­͏     ­͏     ­͏  =   ­͏     ­͏     ­T= 7;     ­͏     ­͏     &= #173;͏     ­͏     ­͏   =   ­͏     ­͏     ­͏= ;     ­͏     ­͏     &#= 173;͏     ­͏     ­͏   &= #8199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏=     ­͏     ­͏     = 73;͏     ­͏     ­͏   &#= 8199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ =     ­͏     ­͏     = 3;͏     ­͏     ­͏   = 199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &= nbsp;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= ;͏     ­͏     ­͏   Q= 99; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &n= bsp;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= ͏     ­͏     ­͏   ̳= 9; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &nb= sp;   ­͏     ­͏     ­&= #847;     ­͏     ­͏    = ; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &nbs= p;   ­͏     ­͏     ­&#= 847;     ­͏     ­͏    = ­͏     ­͏     ­͏  = ;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= 47;     ­͏     ­͏     = ­͏     ­͏     ­͏  =   ­͏     ­͏     ­T= 7;     ­͏     ­͏     &= #173;͏     ­͏     ­͏   =   ­͏     ­͏     ­͏= ;     ­͏     ­͏     &#= 173;͏     ­͏     ­͏   &= #8199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏=     ­͏     ­͏     = 73;͏     ­͏     ­͏   &#= 8199; ­͏     ­͏     ­
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Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more

Hey, = Gregor here 👋 This is a free edition = of the Engineering Leadership newsletter. Every week, I share 2 articles &#= 8594; Wednesday’s paid edition and Sunday’s free edition, with = a goal to make you a great engineering leader!

Consider upgrading your account for the full experience here= .

<= tbody>
3D""= This post may be too long for email.Open on Substack

My Advice For Engineers and Engineerin= g Leaders to Get a New Role Faster

This is what I would do if I would b= e looking for a new role in the current market!

=
Gre= gor Ojstersek
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READ IN APP3D""
 
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This week’s newsletter is s= ponsored by Augment Code.

Ship fa= ster with context-aware AI.

Augment Code is built = for real engineering teams. It understands your codebase across 10M+ lines,= 10k+ files, and every repo in your stack, so it can actually help: writing= functions, fixing CI issues, triaging incidents, and reviewing PRs.=

3D""

All from your IDE or terminal. No vibes. Just progress.

Ship code faster

<= p style=3D"margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-s= ize: 16px;">Thanks to Augment Code for sponsoring this newsletter, let̵= 7;s get back to this week’s thought!

Intro

The current market for engineering roles is quite competitive, and a lot o= f companies are a lot more cautious when hiring. You can see how big a diff= erence it is from 2022 and today (late 2025) in this chart:

<= td class=3D"content" align=3D"left" width=3D"1456" style=3D"text-align: cen= ter;">=3D""

The market has sort of s= tabilized, but we all know and understand how competitive it can get when l= ooking for a new role, both as an engineer or an engineering leader.

In today’s article, I’ll share my advice and my appro= ach on what I would do if I would be looking for a new role.

Pre-Work That Makes Your Chances Hig= her

Before we get to specifics of how I would approach loo= king for a new position right now as an engineer or engineering leader, it&= #8217;s really important to understand a couple of things.

= I am sure you are already aware of them, as we mentioned a lot of these in = previous articles before, but I think they are really important not to negl= ect.

If you haven’t focused on some of these yet and = you are looking for a new role, make sure to do that asap.

= Now, we won’t spend a lot of time on this section as I’ve writt= en about these things extensively before, so I’ll be more or less doi= ng an overview and sharing the link to the relevant articles.

To summarize all of these, we can say that you want to increase = your Let’s start with the first one:

1. Make sure that your CV is on point

This is very = important. It’s normally the first impression that a recruiter or a h= iring manager gets of you. And if that impression wasn’t the best, th= ey won’t look at anything else further.

Here are 2 ar= ticles that would help you with this:

This one is a bit old= er and less extensive, but still has some solid advice in there:

=
3D"5<= /picture>

5 important pointers to enhance your engineering CV<= /a>

=
Gregor Ojstersek
·
March 16, 2023
Read full story

Why your = job search is failing as an engineer or a manager (and how to fix it)

Gregor Ojstersek and Taha Hussain
=
·
September 29, 2024
Read full story

I may do another article in the future= to write about optimizing your CV, so stay tuned.

He= re is also a CV that I recommend taking a look at as a good example. From m= y friend Jordan Cutler: LINK TO = RESUME.

2. Make sure that you update and= optimize your LinkedIn profile

For me, personally, Linked= In has been huge for my career, as almost all the roles I got were through = LinkedIn. Either people contacted me directly, referred me, or I applied to= a specific role.

And having a good profile that makes a go= od first impression goes a long way.

Here are 3 great artic= les for that:

<= /tbody>
3D"LinkedIn=

LinkedIn guide for engineers and manag= ers

December 15, 202= 4
Gregor Ojstersek and Damjan Blagojevic
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Read full stor= y
3D"From<= /picture>

From invisible to in-demand: LinkedIn for engineers = and managers Part 1

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Gregor Ojstersek and John Crick= ett
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Mar 16
Read full story
3D"From

From invisible to in-demand: LinkedIn for engineers and mana= gers Part 2

Mar 23
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Gregor Ojstersek and John Crickett
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Read full story

3. Writing online will inc= rease your chances further

This is very important to under= stand, as any proof of what you know or what you did will increase your cha= nces substantially. It gives more confidence to the hiring manager or recru= iter to move further.

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Writing a blog or a newsletter is always a good idea, an= d I highly recommend it. It has done wonders for me.

When I= was a full-time CTO, and I was writing online for some time, I saw the dif= ference with the stakeholders, my fellow leadership team, and my team as we= ll. It was much easier for me to get the buy-in on certain decisions and ap= proaches.

This is also a good article to read:

=

Now, let’s go to the next one.

4= =2E Focus on building your network

Referrals are the best wa= y to get a new job these days, especially if you are looking for an enginee= ring leadership role. The higher the position is in the company, the more i= mportant the referrals become.

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The thing is that the higher the = position a person has in the company, the more potential impact they can ha= ve on people inside the company. And you want to de-risk the decision as mu= ch as possible.

It’s a much riskier decision hiring s= omeone that you just know through the interviewing process, instead of some= one that was recommended by the person that you trust.

Read= more in this article:

Your Network is Your A= sset as an Engineering Leader

<= tbody><= td style=3D"vertical-align:middle;">
Sep 24
Gregor Ojstersek<= /a>
·
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Read full story

And also <= a href=3D"https://open.substack.com/users/45895848-david-weiss?utm_source= =3Dmentions" style=3D"color: #064aad;text-decoration: none;-webkit-text-dec= oration: none;">David Weiss mentioned in this article, tha= t his network was the biggest reason for him getting a new role faster. Rea= d the article here:

= 3D"From

From laid of= f to hired: A Software Engineer’s guide

= Gregor Ojstersek and David Weiss
·
November 24, 2024
Read full story
=

Now, let’s get to the last but definitely not the least.=

5. Prepare for Interviews

Very importan= t to do at least some research on the company, prepare questions, and most = importantly, prepare for specific interviews.

If you have a= technical interview, make sure to go over some of the most common question= s and prepare your answers. And also very important to prepare your introdu= ction.

In most interviews, you’ll be asked to tell a = bit about yourself, and it’s important to do that well, as it’s= some sort of first impression of you on the interview.

If = you’ll be doing a behavioral interview, you can do a lot of things to= prepare to do well on the interview. You can prepare the stories and struc= ture your answers.

To help you with this, make sure to read= these articles:

=
=
3D"How
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How to Ace Engineering Manager Intervi= ews

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Gregor Ojstersek and Alex Kliotzkin
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Jun 29
Read full story
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Also, check out this GitHub repo with a list of que= stions I have been asking on the behavioral interviews I have conducted:

7 Mu= st-Have Engineering Manager Stories That Will Land You the Offer

Gregor Ojstersek and Alex Kliotzkin<= div class=3D"pencraft pc-reset color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T reset-IxiVJZ= " style=3D"list-style: none;font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;text-decorati= on: unset;color: #777777;margin: 0;">·
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Aug 31
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Read full story
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Now, let me share a bit about how I got my first full-time role as= an engineer. Even though that’s not completely ationable for you, I = promise that it’ll all make sense reading the whole article!

How I Got my First Full-Time Role as an Engineer

This is what I have mentioned already in the article How I Grew From E= ngineer to CTO.

After my first two student= jobs as an engineer, I started to apply for my first full-time engineering= position.

How did I get my first full-time role? I remembe= r it like it was yesterday. I’ve applied to the role and the first in= terview went well. I was invited to the second interview.

B= efore that interview, I designed + coded a new website for them. I designed= it with Photoshop and built it with HTML + CSS + JS and a bit of PHP. They= liked it and gave me good feedback, and they offered me the position. I wa= s ecstatic.

This is how the site looked like:

<= td class=3D"content" align=3D"left" width=3D"1456" style=3D"text-align: cen= ter;">3D""

As a self-taught engineer, I knew I needed to show something more than jus= t sending a CV and hoping for the best, as I didn’t have a lot of exp= erience.

And this is my exact advice for finding a new role= faster:

Try to do something to stan= d out when you apply to the role or when you are already in the hiring proc= ess.

I like to call this having an unfair adva= ntage, because you automatically stand out from others, assuming they don&#= 8217;t do something similar.

And yes, even though I did tha= t 10 years ago and it was much easier to get a role back at that time, I st= ill didn’t have a lot of experience and no university degree.

I would compare that to what most engineers and engineering leader= s are facing these days. There are just a lot fewer roles today and more co= mpetition, so you need to showcase yourself a lot better in order to get th= e role.

Now, let’s put this advice into practice.

=

This is What I Would Do to Get a New Role Faster

So, now that we understand the concept, let me share the exact step-b= y-step process I would take if I would be looking for a new role.

And yes, it’s very important to understand that focusing on al= l of the 5 things we mentioned above (pre-work section) will make your chan= ces a lot higher.

So, assuming we have focused on that alre= ady, let’s go to the first thing I would do.

  1. The first thing I would d= o is to find 3-5 roles that resonate the most with me and makes the biggest= sense

The reason for this is that the s= trategy called “spray and pray”, where you just send infinite C= Vs to infinite companies, normally doesn’t work so well, as companies= receive a LOT of submissions.

Especially, the reason for t= his is that there has been an increase of “AI products”, where = they offer automatic submissions to the roles, and a lot of people are usin= g that, so that has even decreased the odds of this tactic working.

So, very important to find the top 3-5 roles that make the most se= nse to you. Let’s go to the second step next.

  1. Find the hir= ing manager or recruiter, responsible for the role

Normally, a person who is hiring will be listed in the job ad, e= specially if you are looking at the job submission through LinkedIn.

I would contact that person through LinkedIn, and ask them a few = questions about the role. Something that would be interesting for me to kno= w and that would give me a better overview of what I can expect.

Also, this is a good way to know if the role is still available.

<= p style=3D"margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-s= ize: 16px;margin-bottom: 0;">Now, we wait for their response, and after we = get the response, if we are happy with it, I would proceed with the followi= ng.

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&= #169; 2025 Gregor Ojstersek
548 Market Street PMB 72296, Sa= n Francisco, CA 94104
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