[rootforce]

There are already some great suggestions on here, but I love this topic so here are mine.

For the interview, come up with an answer to this: Tell me about a time you leveraged your experience and knowledge to multiply the efforts of your team.

A lot of what you will be doing is spending your time helping your team do good work on the right things, so any experience you have where you have done that as a senior or lead is relevant.

When you become a manager:

1. Find a mentor

2. https://www.manager-tools.com/get-started - Some really good fundamentals in podcast form. You can listen on your commute(if you have one)

3. http://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/management/ - Articles on management from an engineering manager.

I would pick one article and one podcast to consume each week so you have time to actually absorb it. If you try to implement some kind of perfect program from the beginning you will likely fail.

[johnbellone]

In the startup world finding a mentor may be hard, and if you are in that situation you may want to look outside for a mentor. But if you are at a large organization, there is often a support network or mentor program already available. Take advantage of it!

If you can, ask your current manager to write a SWOT and use it to pair you up within a mentor to make strengthen your weaknesses. Try to find a mentor outside of your reporting chain.

[SmellTheGlove]

I often suggest having an external mentor regardless, because you can be more candid with confidence that the conversation isn't going anywhere. It's easier said than done, but finding a mentor from a high performing company who is 1-2 levels above you has been really ideal for me.