Master the interview

Under pressure, most people either freeze or ramble. A simple structure fixes both. STAR — Situation, Task, Action, Result — gives every answer a spine: set the scene in one sentence, say what you had to do, spend most of the time on what YOU did, and land on the result, ideally with a number.

The common mistake is 80% context and no result. Flip it: two sentences of setup, the bulk on your actions and decisions, and always close on the outcome. It's the same skill as a strong CV bullet — outcome-first thinking, spoken.

"Tell me what you know about us" is a filter. Generic praise fails it; specifics pass it. Before any interview, learn three things: what the company actually does (the product, who pays), something recent (a launch, funding, a public post), and who you're talking to (their role, what they'd care about).

You don't recite this — you weave it in. Tie your answers to their real problems, ask questions that only someone who did the reading could ask, and reference the interviewer's domain. Preparation is the cheapest edge and almost nobody fully takes it.

Weak candidates ask about perks. Strong ones ask questions that show seniority and genuine evaluation: what does success look like in this role in six months, what's the hardest problem the team faces right now, how do decisions actually get made. These do two things — they give you real information to decide, and they leave the interviewer thinking "this person operates at a higher level."

End with intent, not begging: a plain sentence that you're excited and why, based on what you learned in the conversation. Confidence, specificity, done.