The Successful Software Manager
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Positioning yourself

Whether you are going for a role that's internal with the same organization, or external with a different organization, you are still subject to an application and interview process.

The good news is that this process itself should not be radically different from the one you succeeded in to become a developer. There are still policies and laws to ensure that it is a fair and non-discriminatory process. However, the focus will be different because the skills and experience required are different. Furthermore, the techniques to test whether you have the required skills will also be different.

The key challenge will be to persuade the hiring manager that you are not just a developer. Remember that you are competing not just against other developers who want to become a manager, but potentially experienced managers as well. So, you need to think about yourself less as a developer, and more as a manager.

Persuading the hiring manager may well be easier if you already work together. So, this is an advantage of staying with the same organization. They will be aware of your reputation and portfolio of work and, more importantly, what you're like as a person and potential manager.

If there is an open manager vacancy within your organization, take the opportunity to find and speak to the hiring manager. Since they are hiring for a role that is a natural progression for you as a developer, the chances are that you already work together, or at least know one another. The hiring manager may even be your mentor! However, I do recommend that you don't artificially reverse engineer this scenario to be the case.

Consider your discussions with them as an informal pre-interview. So, remember to be professional, as well as open and honest about why you want to become a manager.

If there isn't a manager vacancy within your organization and you've decided to stay, this is where you may look to engineer a role. Be aware that there are negative connotations to the phrase engineering a role. In some cases, this means artificially manufacturing a bogus situation for your own gains over others'. To do it correctly and ethically, it must be driven by a genuine business need, in which case, you are simply highlighting the fact that there is a gap in the current organizational structure to the organizational decision makers. Therefore, you're making a win-win situation for everyone involved.