I created this Playbook to be a living resource for the tech community. Think of me as an empathetic partner and guide, leveraging my experience to help you navigate the complexities of a high-growth career.

The “Easy Factor” Philosophy

Whether you’re writing a resume or leading a team, my guiding principle is simple: Make it easy for people to see your value. Recruiters and executives are busy; they won’t dig for your impact. This Playbook is designed to help you hand it to them on a silver platter.

What’s Inside the Playbook?

I’ve organized these resources into curated Collections so you can find exactly what you need:

• The Interview Collection: This is your technical and behavioral “Field Guide.” It includes my foundational [9 Step Roadmap Series] designed to help you master behavioral interviews, the evolved [STAR(L) Framework], and strategies to optimize your [Resume for Maximum Impact].
• The Mental Health Collection: A safe space for discussing the internal hurdles of a tech career. I share strategies for navigating imposter syndrome, anxiety, and stress. This collection focuses on treating these not as “bugs” to be fixed, but as conditions to coexist with while still delivering high-level impact.
• The Communication Collection: Starting with my [Feedback Model], I am building a series of guides on the “human” side of tech—because technical skills land the job, but communication skills build the career.
• The Resource Collection: My vetted [Tech Career Toolkit], featuring the books and tools I recommend to my own coaching clients (and how to use them effectively).

A Holistic Approach: More Than Just Tactical Guidelines

I designed this Playbook to be more than just a series of robotic steps to follow. It is a collaborative space where we work together to build a career that is both high-impact and sustainable. My approach is rooted in “Google-caliber” strategic thinking. It is always tempered with the understanding that we are human beings first and engineers second.

• Sharing My Former Hiring Manager Perspective: To truly stand out in a competitive market, you need to understand the view from the other side of the screen. As a former hiring manager, including at Google, I don’t just coach you on how to answer questions. I help you understand what leadership is actually looking for. Sprinkled throughout this career playbook, you’ll see hiring manager insights which will give a sense how working with a former hiring manager gives you a leg up.
  

  

  Hiring Manager Perspective

  When we discuss your job search or interview prep, I bring a hiring manager’s perspective to every session.

• A Commitment to Your Well-Being: Having navigated the intense pressures of high-growth tech myself, I know that things like imposter syndrome, anxiety, and burnout aren’t “bugs” to be fixed, but rather “features” we learn to co-exist with compassionately. You will see Well-Being Reminders throughout the Playbook—these are invitations for us to pause and ensure you are taking care of yourself while you strive for excellence.
  

  

  Well-Being Reminder

  Reminder to take a minute to take care of yourselves.

• Leveraging AI Responsibly: We are navigating the AI revolution together, and I believe we’d be foolish not to leverage these tools appropriately. With my AI Polish reminders, I’ll show you how to use AI to amplify your own unique thoughts and polish your results. However, we always start with a human-in-the-loop approach—using “Reality Checks” to guard against hallucinations and ensure your work remains authentic and accurate.

  

  AI Polish

  Remember to always start with your own thoughts. Then use AI to polish the results.

  

  AI Reality Check

  AI hallucinates! Never accept the output with reviewing it first.

Let’s Build Your Path Together

I’ve written these strategies for the ambitious IC aiming for management, the new EM feeling underwater, the job hunter battling a tough market and the anxiety that often comes with it, and the veteran leader who wants to get better at their craft while managing the stress of high-stakes environments.

Explore the Playbook, use the frameworks, and when you’re ready for a personalized strategy session—whether for a high-stakes interview or a complex performance cycle— let’s chat.  

The post Welcome To My Career Playbook appeared first on Lee Newman's Career Playbook.

I’ve designed this 9-part series to take you from feeling overwhelmed by a job description to feeling completely “Job Ready.” Think of this roadmap as our shared game plan. We’ll look at everything from parsing job ads to building high-impact “Super-Stories.”

The 9-Step Journey

Follow these steps in order to build your personalized interview library:

1. [Preparing Your Game Plan]: We start by setting the goal and understanding what “good” looks like.
2. [The 4-Step Strategy for Confidence]: We break down the milestones that move you from jitters to focus.
3. [Reading Between the Lines]: Learn to treat the job description as a “cheat sheet” for your interview.
4. [Your Interview Checklist]: We simplify dozens of requirements into a manageable success checklist.
5. [Finding Your Wins]: We “mine for gold” in your career history to find the moments that matter.
6. [Quality Over Quantity]: Learn the secret of the “Super-Story” to reduce your mental load.
7. [The STAR(L) Method]: We give your stories a professional structure that highlights your growth.
8. [The Super-Story in Action]: See a real-world example of how to use metrics and scope for maximum impact.
9. [The Final Walkthrough]: Practical tips for rehearsing so you find your authentic voice.

Why This Framework Works

This isn’t just theory. This is the exact framework I used during my own journey as I interviewed for an Engineering Manager role at Google. By focusing on partnership, empathy, and measurable results, we ensure that you aren’t just “answering questions”—you are demonstrating that you are the strategic hire the team needs.

AI Polish

Throughout this guide, I share my perspective at various stages of this process where I think AI, used responsibly, can add a level of polish while reducing prep time.

Google Insight

Be sure to read through Google’s Best practices, advice, and tips [link] before preparing your stories as well.

Note that while Google’s page recommends the STAR story structure, I highly recommend the STAR(L) template. Read more in this post.

Let’s get started. If you’re ready to dive in, head over to [Part 1: Preparing Your Game Plan].

If you want to accelerate this process with personalized, 1-on-1 feedback on your specific career stories, let’s chat. I specialize in helping tech professionals find their voice and land their dream offers.

The post The xGoogle EM’s Guide: A 9-Step Roadmap to Acing Your Tech Behavioral Interview appeared first on Lee Newman's Career Playbook.

I was worried about sounding like I was attacking my team or, worse, ruining a good working relationship. But as a leader, avoiding feedback is—to put it mildly—suboptimal. I realized that to help my team grow, I had to grow first.

After attending several workshops and reading everything I could find, I developed a hybrid model that combines Radical Candor, SBI (Situation, Behavior, Impact), and a concept I call Recommending with Agency.

Here is the framework that turned me from a hesitant manager into a confident coach.

The Framework: RC + SBI + R

By combining these three powerhouses, you get a five-part model that keeps the conversation objective, supportive, and solution-oriented.

1. Radical Candor (The Foundation)

• The Goal: Establishing that you are moving in the same direction while being supportive.

Before you say anything else, let the person know you are on their side. You aren’t giving feedback to tear them down; you’re doing it because you want them to succeed.

2. Situation (The Context)

• The Goal: Setting a clear stage so there’s no confusion about what you’re discussing.

Describe the exact moment the behavior happened. Keep it objective and factual.

3. Behavior (The Action)

• The Goal: Providing clear, data-driven observations.

Describe what they did. Use the word “you.” This was the hardest part for me! I used to avoid “you” because I felt it was an attack, but being direct is actually kinder.

4. Impact (The Result)

Share how that behavior impacted you, the team, or the project.

• The Goal: Helping them see the “why” behind the feedback.

5. Recommendation (With Agency)

• The Goal: Pivot into a collaborative, problem solving discussion.

Instead of leaving them guessing on what might have been a more desired behavior (from your perspective), offer a path forward. Even if they choose a different solution, you’ve opened the door to a collaborative “roll-up-your-sleeves” conversation.

The Model in Action: The “Over-Answering” Tech Lead

Imagine a Tech Lead (TL) who constantly answers every question in meetings, accidentally silencing the junior engineers they are supposed to be mentoring. Here is how I would deliver this feedback in a 1:1:

• RC: “I’m so happy to see how effectively you’re leading these three engineers to get our project across the finish line.”
• S: “During our product review with the Director last week…”
• B: “…you answered every question asked, even the ones specifically about the modules the junior developers built.”
• I: “Because you spoke first, those junior folks didn’t get the chance to show their expertise to the Director, which is vital for their career visibility.”
• R: “In the future, I suggest pausing to give the room a chance to answer. A trick I use is to press my tongue to the roof of my mouth and count to seven before speaking. What do you think about that approach?”

AI Polish

After prompting your favorite LLM, feed it your drafted feedback. Then ask it for, well…, feedback.

Another Example: The Vague Manager

In this scenario, imagine a new manager of a team had presented their first annual strategic vision for the team. You are the manager’s director and one of your indirect reports shared with you confidentially that they thought the vision lacked detail, was uninspiring and they are considering leaving the team. You decide to confidentially share this with the manager in a 1:1.

• RC: “I’ve been consistently impressed with the technical execution your team has delivered this half, and I’m fully committed to helping you transition into the more strategic aspects of your leadership role because I want to see you succeed.”
• S: “During the department-wide planning session last Tuesday, and in my subsequent skip-level conversations this week…”
• B: “… you presented the team’s three-year roadmap as a list of broad themes—like ‘Improving Efficiency’—but did not provide specific milestones nor a defined ‘North Star’ metric. When your senior engineers asked for concrete objectives, your responses remained high-level and did not define what success looks like.”
• I: “Because the vision lacks specific clarity, some of your top talent is feeling unanchored. Specifically, one of your key reports told me they no longer have confidence in the team’s direction and is now considering a transfer to another team where they feel the strategy is more defined.”
• R: “I suggest we dedicate our next two 1:1s to drafting a ‘Strategic One-Pager’ that translates those broad themes into measurable key results. I’d like to see you present a revised version to the team by next Friday. I can share a template that worked well for me in the past. What do you think about starting there?”

Mastering Feedback

Moving from hesitation to confidence in your feedback doesn’t happen overnight, but having a system makes it much easier. When you lead with agency, you aren’t just pointing out problems—you’re building leaders.

Hiring Manager Perspective

I expect Senior (and higher) Engineers to be adept at giving feedback.  Be prepared with a good STAR(L) story about giving feedback if this is you.

Have a “sticky” situation you’d like to brainstorm? Whether you want to learn how I went from “feedback-avoidant” to a “feedback machine” or you need help prepping for a tough conversation, I’m here to help. Let’s chat.

The post From Dread to Delivery: The Feedback Model This xGoogle Engineering Manager Used appeared first on Lee Newman's Career Playbook.

This is Part 9 of my 9-part series: The Behavioral Interview Game Plan. [View the Full Series Roadmap]

We’ve done the heavy lifting together. We’ve analyzed the job, mapped out your wins, and built your “Super-Stories” using the STAR(L) method. Now comes the part that truly brings it all together: Practice.

It might feel a little silly at first, but practicing out loud is the best way to move from being “prepared” to being “fluent.”

My Favorite Way to Practice

1. Talk to the Mirror: Stand in front of a mirror and tell your stories out loud. Hearing the words come out of your mouth helps you catch awkward phrasing and find a more natural rhythm. I often find myself making small edits to my stories just by hearing how they sound.
2. The “Power Through” Rule: If you get tripped up while practicing, don’t start over. In a real interview, you won’t have the luxury of a “do-over.” If you stumble, take a breath, find your place, and keep going. Rehearsing how to recover is just as important as rehearsing the story itself.

   

   Well-Being Reminder

   Are you freezing up with practicing? Does your heart beat go through the roof? For more on quieting that voice and finding grounding, visit my mental health support series.

3. Run the Checklist: Once you feel comfortable with your stories, go back to the checklist we built here. Methodically run through each attribute and tell the story that proves it. Yes, it might feel a little repetitive if one Super-Story covers five different points—but that’s exactly the point of practice!
4. Automated Interviewing:With the right prompting you can use your favorite LLM to interview you.

   

   AI Polish

   After you’ve got your AI context set up, ask your LLM to interview you. Use this as a more dynamic way of practicing where you are being asked questions vs reading a list of attributes that, by this point, are mapped cleanly in your mind to a super-story.

   

   AI Reality Check

   The feedback from the LLM may not be very accurate. Ensure the feedback is valid before making any changes to your stories.

You’ve Got This

By the time you finish this process, you won’t be reading from a script. You’ll be sharing your genuine career wins with a future peer. You’ll be able to focus on the person sitting across from you (or on the other side of the screen) because you already know that your experience is valuable and your stories are ready.

I hope you’ve found this series helpful as you prepare for your next big step. I’m always here to cheer you on, so please feel free to reach out with any questions or feedback.

Happy practicing!

Lee

If you’re ready to take your preparation to the next level with 1-on-1 feedback, let’s chat. I specialize in behavioral interview coaching for tech to ensure you walk into that room feeling confident and ready to land the offer.

The post The Final Walkthrough: Finding Your Voice appeared first on Lee Newman's Career Playbook.

This is Part 8 of my 9-part series: The Behavioral Interview Game Plan. [View the Full Series Roadmap]

One of the most common mistakes I see in behavioral interview prep is trying to memorize too much. There is a lot of “mental overhead” that comes with keeping twenty different stories in your head. It’s stressful, and it often leads to shorter, less detailed answers.

Instead, I want to show you how to build a “Super-Story.” By condensing the two scenarios we wrote in our last post into one, we create a narrative that has more “punch” and demonstrates a much broader scope of responsibility.

Merging for Maximum Impact

The Scenario: Partnering cross-functionally to update photo notifications for the Dynamic Island.

• S (Situation): Apple announced the Dynamic Island for the iPhone 14 launch. Our team decided we wanted to be first adopters of this new UI to drive excitement and increase user adoption.
• T (Task): Since I was responsible for image processing notifications, I represented engineering during the initial feature ideation and was responsible for the final implementation.
• A (Action): I partnered cross-functionally with my Product Manager and UX Designer to align on the vision. From there, I replaced our standard “Upload Completed” notifications with a Live Activity that included a real-time progress indicator.
• R (Result): By being an early stakeholder, I influenced the requirements and suggested UX tweaks that reduced my development time from 3 months to just 3 weeks. This allowed us to be live on day one of the iOS release, and we saw a 5% increase in DAU in that first week.
• L (Learning): We used this success to improve our process in two ways. First, we now engage with WWDC content and developer betas much earlier. Second, the PM, UX lead, and I set up a regular meeting cadence to stay aligned on long-term goals including the product direction.

Why This Works

Do you see the difference? In one story, you’ve proven you can:

1. Collaborate with other departments.
2. Handle high-pressure deadlines.
3. Write technical iOS code.
4. Influence product decisions to save time.
5. Deliver measurable business results.
6. Evolve internal processes to be more robust in the future.

The xGoogle EM Perspective: Notice that I added a specific metric here: a 5% increase in DAU. In the tech world, quantifiable results are what turn a “good” story into an “offer-winning” story. It shows you understand the business impact of your code.

AI Polish

You can use an LLM to help frame your result(s) as impact that will resonate with hiring managers and recruiters. Sometimes as the responsible party, because you are so close to the project and the results, it is hard to see a framing that resonates with outsiders. Once you have written your results, check with your favorite LLM.

AI Reality Check

Validate the LLM’s suggestion to be sure that the truth survived the LLM’s reframing of your results.

What’s Next?

You have your checklist, you have your wins, and you have your Super-Stories. Now comes the most important part of our journey: The Final Walkthrough. In our final post, I’ll share my best tips for practicing these stories so they feel natural and effortless on interview day.

Ready to turn your experiences into high-impact Super-Stories? Let’s chat. I specialize in behavioral interview coaching for tech to help you highlight your full scope of experience.

The post The “Super-Story”: Increasing Your Impact by Doing Less appeared first on Lee Newman's Career Playbook.

This is Part 7 of my 9-part series: The Behavioral Interview Game Plan. [View the Full Series Roadmap]

When you’re in the middle of an interview, it’s easy for a story to wander. You might start with a great technical detail but forget to mention the outcome. To help you stay on track and feel confident, I recommend using the STAR(L) method.

It’s a simple framework to ensure your stories are clear, concise, and impactful:

• S (Situation): Set the stage.
• T (Task): What was the goal?
• A (Action): What specific steps did you take?
• R (Result): What was the outcome?  What metrics can you share?
• L (Learning): What did you take away for the future?  What would you do differently?

The “L” is my favorite part—it’s where you show your growth mindset and leadership potential. Let’s look at two ways to build a story using our iOS developer examples.

AI Polish

I can see two compelling use cases for AI here.

• Polish the language and framing, or
• if you’re struggling to mold your past experience into a STAR(L) story.

AI Reality Check

Pay special attention to R and L. Hallucinations can turn polish into poison if its gets these wrong.

Best Practices

General rules of thumb that I’ve developed:

1. The 60 Second Rule.  Walk through ST in 60 seconds. Tell me what the goal (S) was, what the roadblock (T) was, and stop there.”

Hiring Manager Perspective

Something I frequently see is that candidates start out strong, then seem to get lost and start rambling or meandering.  They’re sharing somewhat related details but as a listener, it’s hard to follow. Practice with the 60 Second Rule to ensure you stay on target.

Examples

Demonstrating Ownership (App Maintenance)

Scenario: Preparing to build the Dynamic Island content

• S: When Apple announced the Dynamic Island for the iPhone 14, our team wanted to be early adopters to drive user excitement and adoption.
• T: I was responsible for image processing notifications, so I was tasked with replacing our standard “Upload Completed” alerts with a new Live Activity that showed a real-time progress indicator.
• A: I built out the feature by closely following the new iOS guidelines and ensuring the implementation was robust.
• R: We hit the launch date, and saw our Live Activity usage grow steadily as users embraced the new UI.
• L: Because Apple updates iOS yearly, I realized we needed to be more proactive. We now prioritize WWDC content and developer betas earlier in the year to give us more time to innovate.

Demonstrating Partnership (Collaboration)

Scenario: Partnered with UX and product manager to build out the Dynamic Island content.

• S: Our team prioritized updating our infrastructure to take advantage of the latest iOS features.
• T: We needed to quickly align on product requirements and user experience goals.
• A: I took the lead in partnering cross-functionally with our Product Manager and UX Designer.
• R: By being a stakeholder early on, I was able to suggest minor UX tweaks that reduced our development time from 3 months to just 3 weeks. This allowed us to be live on day one of the iOS release.
• L: This experience showed me the value of shared long-term goals. My PM, UX lead, and I now meet regularly to stay strategically aligned so we’re always moving in the same direction.

The EM Perspective: At companies like Google, a positive “Result” is often the baseline. The “Learning” is what demonstrates that you have the growth mindset and leadership qualities they are looking for.

What’s Next?

These are great individual stories, but remember how we talked about “Super-Stories”? In our next post, I’ll show you how to blend these two examples into one high-impact narrative that shows off your technical skills and your collaboration skills at the same time.

If you want to practice your own STAR(L) stories and get real-time feedback, let’s chat. I offer behavioral interview coaching for tech to help you tell your story with total confidence.

The post Telling Your Story with Impact: The STAR(L) Method appeared first on Lee Newman's Career Playbook.

This is Part 5 of my 9-part series: The Behavioral Interview Game Plan. [View the Full Series Roadmap]

Now we get to the heart of our preparation: finding your stories. Sometimes, when we’re asked to talk about our past work, our minds go blank. We think, “I was just doing my job—was that really a ‘scenario’?” My advice? Yes, it was! Every bug you fixed and every collaboration with a designer is a “win” that demonstrates your value.

Our goal now is to look at our success checklist from the previous post and find a specific time in your career where you demonstrated that quality. To keep things manageable, we’ll just walk through a few examples together to show you how it’s done.

Your Experience Inventory

f

Well-Being Reminder

If your mind is going blank or you are struggling to find your gold, this might be imposter syndrome at work. For more on quieting that voice and finding grounding, visit my mental health support series.

A Quick Note on “Hypotheticals”

If you’re early in your career and a specific quality doesn’t have a matching story yet, don’t worry. You can prepare a “hypothetical” answer. For example, if you haven’t used legacy XIBs before, you might explain your process for how you would come up to speed on them.

Pro-Tip: Always prioritize real stories first. We use hypotheticals as a last resort to show your thought process and how you approach new challenges. Your real-world experience is your greatest asset!

AI Polish

Before using a hypothetical story, work with your favorite LLM to see if it can sniff out a win for particular attribute(s) from your experiences.

Still not finding anything? Let’s chat so we can fine tune your AI exploration before resorting to a hypothetical.

AI Reality Check

As always, when using AI, be sure that the resultant details are valid and not hallucinated. The story should ring true.

As a realty check, do the former lead check. If you were telling your former skip level this story, would they agree with you? Or would they call BS? If the later, don’t use it.

What’s Next?

Once you’ve gone through your own full checklist and jotted down these brief notes, you’re ready for the next level. In our next post, we’re going to take these “wins” and turn them into structured, powerful STAR(L) stories that will truly impress your interviewer.

Finding the right stories can be tough to do alone. If you’re struggling to identify your “wins,” let’s chat. My behavioral interview coaching for tech is designed to help you see the incredible value in your own experience.

The post Finding Your Wins: Mapping Your Experiences to the Goal appeared first on Lee Newman's Career Playbook.

This is Part 3 of my 9-part series: The Behavioral Interview Game Plan. [View the Full Series Roadmap]

When you look at a job description, it can feel like a long list of demands. But I like to look at it differently: it’s actually a “cheat sheet” the company is giving you! It tells you exactly what they value and what they’ll likely ask you about during your behavioral interview.

In this step of our journey, we’re going to look “under the hood” of the entry-level iOS role we discussed. Our goal is to pull out the key attributes that will make you stand out as a candidate.

Notice in the table below how we translate standard job requirements into the specific signals you’ll want to demonstrate in your stories.

Mapping the Job Description to Key Attributes

Let’s parse the entry level iOS role we’re applying for and identify the attributes that we believe are important for this job listing.  As you’ll see in the table below, some pieces of the job listing do not end up associated with an attribute.

AI Polish

Now that you’re done with your manual analysis, prompt your favorite LLM to do the same and compare the results? Did you miss something?

Not quite getting what you want? Let’s chat so we can fine tune your prompts.

AI Reality Check

Be sure that the attributes it recommends aren’t hallucinated. The list should generally match your initial analysis.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

You might notice that some parts of the job listing—like having a specific degree—don’t necessarily turn into a behavioral story. That’s okay! Our focus here is on the action-oriented qualities that you can prove through your past experiences.

By identifying these “signals” now, we are making sure your prep is targeted and efficient. You aren’t just practicing general answers; you’re preparing the exact evidence this specific team wants to see.

What’s Next?

Now that we have our list of attributes, the next step is to get organized. In our next post, we’ll group these together so that your preparation feels manageable and clear. We’re moving closer to building your behavioral interview stories!

If you’re finding this process helpful but want a more personalized deep dive, Let’s chat. I specialize in behavioral interview coaching for tech to help you land that next big role.

The post Reading Between the Lines: Identifying What Matters Most appeared first on Lee Newman's Career Playbook.