People Management Skills for Tech Interview Preparation

When it comes to managerial positions in the IT industry, it’s crucial to understand that excellent technical skills won’t cut it. Management skills are essential, and learning skills related to people management will help you increase your chances of getting hired. This article will look at how people management skills can help you prepare for a technical interview.

If you are preparing for a tech interview, check out our technical interview checklist, interview questions page, and salary negotiation e-book to get interview-ready! Also, read Amazon Coding Interview Questions, Facebook Coding Interview Questions to Nail Your Next Interview, and Google Coding Interview Questions for specific insights and guidance on Coding interview preparation.

Having trained over 9,000 software engineers, we know what it takes to crack the most challenging tech interviews. Since 2014, Interview Kickstart alums have landed lucrative offers from FAANG and Tier-1 tech companies, with an average salary hike of 49%. The highest ever offer received by an IK alum is a whopping $933,000!

At IK, you get the unique opportunity to learn from expert instructors who are hiring managers and tech leads at Google, Facebook, Apple, and other top Silicon Valley tech companies.

Want to nail your next tech interview? Sign up for our FREE Webinar.

In this article, we’ll learn:

• People Management Competencies
• Interview Questions on People Management
• Resources on People Management Skills for Tech Interview Prep
• FAQs on People Management Skills for Tech Interview Preparation

People Management Competencies

People management competencies refer to a set of skills and demonstrable characteristics that enhance the efficiency and performance of the people the manager is managing. If you’re good at people management:

• You can motivate your team.
• You give credit where credit is due.
• You have patience, trust, accountability, and a positive attitude.
• You can set and maintain a healthy culture of respect and growth.
• You are capable of running a team.
• You have problem-solving skills.
• You can retain employees and reduce attrition.
• You can plan, let go, and delegate responsibility.
• You do not micromanage.

Interview Questions on People Management

Here are some questions on people management to help you with your tech management interview preparation:

• Tell me about a time when:
• You helped a new employee effectively ramp up.
• You structured the feedback for your team.
• You had to deliver criticism to someone who doesn’t take feedback well.
• You helped someone go for a promotion in your team.
• You evaluated the performance of your team members.
• You mentored someone. Describe the results of your mentorship.
• You motivated your team when they were demotivated.
• You dealt with low performers.
• You fixed a situation where your team felt the project wasn’t important.
• You dealt with a person in your team who requested to skip being on-call.
• You measured and improved the performance of your team.
• You conducted one-on-ones with your team.
• You handled conflict in your team.
• You had to make a difficult decision about laying someone off.
• You helped plan someone’s career and aided them in achieving their career goals.
• You assigned a performance improvement plan.
• You graded OKRs for your team.
• What will you do in the following situations:
• You’ve joined a new team whose culture isn’t aligned with the overall company’s culture.
• Your report has shared that they noticed a bias against them.
• You have to advise your VP on preventing attrition.
• The senior-most engineer on your team has shared in a meeting that a tech issue can’t be resolved within the given deadline.
• How would you:
• Ensure the culture is maintained if you have a remote team
• Handle conflicts in the team
• Help an underperforming teammate perform better

• Define OKRs and describe how you would decide on team OKRs?

Resources on People Management Skills for Tech Interview Prep

Even if you’re going for a managerial role in a tech company, cracking the coding interview isn’t enough. Management skills matter. Here are some resources for both tech and non-tech aspects to help you prepare for your target management roles in tech companies:

• Facebook Technical Program Manager Interview Prep
• Facebook Product Manager Interview Prep
• Google Technical Program Manager Interview Process
• Google Technical Program Manager Interview Prep
• Project Manager Interview Questions
• Amazon Program Manager Interview Questions
• Google Engineering Manager Interview Questions and Preparation
• Google Engineering Manager Interview Questions and Preparation
• Amazon Engineering Manager Interview Questions
• Google Technical Program Manager Interview Questions
• Cracking Amazon Technical Program Manager Interview Questions
• What are Time Management Skills? – With Definitions and Examples – Career Advice
• Crucial Self Management Skills – Career Advice
• What are Time Management Skills? Definitions and Examples – Career Advice
• What are Management Skills: Concepts, Applications, Functions, & Importance – Career Advice
• How To Become a Manager – Career Advice
• How to prepare for Google Engineering Manager interview| Interviewkickstart
• Google Product Manager Interview process | & Timeline| Interviewkickstart

FAQs on People Management Skills for Tech Interview Preparation

Q1. What are some people management skills every manager should have?

In terms of people management, every manager should have patience, trust, accountability, a positive attitude, the ability to run a team, handle conflicts, delegate responsibility, let go, and retain employees.

Q2. What are the five basic managerial skills?

The five basic managerial skills are technical, conceptual, interpersonal communication, decision-making, and diagnostic/analytical skills.

Q3. What is the use of people management?

The main uses of people management are in the following areas: acquisition, optimization, increasing retention, reducing attrition, training employees, directing, improving opportunities for growth, motivating team members, and maximizing the workplace’s productivity.

Q4. Why do managers need human skills?

Managers work with humans, and to get the best out of your human resources, you need to take care of them to ensure increased productivity long term. Human skills make managers better communicators, leaders, and motivators, leading to higher productivity and retention long term.

Q6. What are some common mistakes of new managers?

Some mistakes new managers tend to make are: waiting to give feedback, managing the work and not the people, not being able to delegate tasks, not giving credit and recognition whenever it’s due, unable to find the right footing between distant and friendly, not thinking long-term and not being their authentic self.

Ready to Nail Your Next Coding Interview?

Whether you’re a coding engineer gunning for a software developer or software engineer role, a tech lead, or you’re targeting management positions at top companies, IK offers courses specifically designed for your needs to help you with your technical interview preparation!

If you’re looking for guidance and help with getting started, sign up for our FREE webinar. As pioneers in the field of technical interview preparation, we have trained thousands of software engineers to crack the toughest coding interviews and land jobs at their dream companies, such as Google, Facebook, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, and more!

Sign up now!