Tech Career Services
For 25+ years I've been on the other side of the interview table — hiring engineers, running teams, deciding which offers went out. I present at Google HQ on AI-assisted job search. Now I put that to work for the person being interviewed.
Tech career services from Oleg Sotnikov cover three things: AI-first job search coaching, interview preparation for engineering and leadership roles, and outplacement for companies reducing engineering headcount. Oleg has interviewed and hired engineers for 25+ years as a CTO and founder, and presents at Google HQ on AI-assisted job search. Coaching is scoped on a free 30-minute call; the resume checker, resume templates, and STAR method guide on this site are free and do not ask for a signup.
Where to Start
Three paid engagements and three free resources. The free ones do not ask for your email or push you into a trial.
Who This Is For
The three situations people usually arrive in.
Engineers and engineering managers changing roles
You're moving between companies, or the role ended and the search became the job. The goal is to get it done in weeks rather than let it drift for a year.
Senior and executive candidates
CTO, VP Engineering, head-of-platform. Fewer seats, longer processes, and interviews that test judgment and track record rather than syntax.
Companies letting engineers go
You're cutting engineering roles and want the people leaving to land somewhere good. That package is outplacement, and the company pays for it rather than the person leaving.
Why Me
- 25+ years hiring in tech, from the first resume screen through the offer call
- I present at Google HQ on AI-assisted job search
- I took my own organization from 25 people down to 2, so I know how layoffs are decided from the employer's side
- 9 startups founded and 2 exits — I've hired for brand-new teams and for scaled ones, and the bar is different in each
Frequently Asked Questions
Who do you coach?
Tech roles, from engineers to CTOs: software, platform, data and ML engineers, engineering managers, and senior leaders interviewing for VP or CTO seats. Product and design candidates at tech companies fit too, since they sit in the same hiring process. If your target role has an engineering interview loop attached to it, I can take you through it.
What does career coaching cost?
There's no fixed menu. Some people need one session before a specific interview; others want a whole search run over several weeks, and the price follows the scope. We settle it on a free 30-minute call, and you leave that call with a plan whether or not you hire me.
Is this separate from your fractional CTO work?
Yes. It is a separate practice run by the same person. The career side works with candidates and with companies running reductions; the fractional CTO side works with founders and CEOs building teams. Both draw on the same 25 years of hiring, but the engagements are booked and scoped separately, and nothing said in one crosses into the other.
Do you work with candidates outside the US?
Yes. Everything runs remote and async-first: I'm on US Pacific time and work in English and Russian. Most of what we cover — targeting, interview structure, how AI screening behaves — transfers across markets. Where local conventions differ, such as resume format, we adjust for the market you're actually applying to.
Start With a Free Call
Thirty minutes on where you are in the search and what you're aiming at. You'll get my read on what to do next, even if that read is that you don't need a coach.
Remote, English or Russian. You do not need to prepare; bring your resume if you have one.
Related reading
Notes on hiring, interviews, and using AI in a job search.
