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The first call: 20–30 minutes where a recruiter checks that you're a fit, that you communicate clearly, and that you'd be nice to work with.

1. 1The first two minutesGet past “How are you?” warmly, without sounding scripted.
2. 2“Tell me about yourself”A 60–90 second answer that sounds like a story, not a résumé read out loud.
3. 3“Why are you looking?” and “Why us?”Give positive reasons, show you did your homework, and never complain about your current job.
4. 4Salary, notice period and logisticsSound calm and friendly when talking about money and timing.
5. 5Your questions and the goodbyeAsk two or three real questions and end the call warmly.

Stories about how you work (deadlines, disagreements, mistakes) and the “what do you do for fun?” questions.

1. 1Telling a story that doesn't sound like STARUse STAR as the skeleton, but talk like you're telling a friend.
2. 2Disagreements and conflictShow you can disagree respectfully and still get to a good outcome.
3. 3Mistakes and failuresOwn it, show what changed, and don't over-apologize.
4. 4Culture questions and life outside workLet them see a person (hobbies, pets, where you live) and connect it back to work lightly.
5. 5Buying time and saying “I don't know”Pause naturally and handle questions you can't answer without panicking.

Explaining projects and trade-offs out loud, like you would to a teammate.

1. 1Walking through a project you builtSay what it does in one sentence, make your part clear, and let them choose where to zoom in.
2. 2Explaining how something worksStart with a simple picture, add one technical layer, then ask how deep they want to go.
3. 3Talking about trade-offs and decisionsGive a clear choice, say what you gave up, and say what would change your mind.
4. 4Debugging war storiesTell a bug story with a clear symptom, how you narrowed it down, and what changed after.
5. 5Follow-ups you can only half answerSay where your experience ends, then reason out loud from what you do know.

Phrases for clarifying, thinking out loud and talking through trade-offs.

1. 1The first five minutes: clarifying the problemAsk a few smart questions and say your assumptions out loud before you draw anything.
2. 2Thinking out loud and signpostingGive the interviewer a map, so they can follow your thinking without guessing.
3. 3Back-of-the-envelope numbers, said naturallyEstimate out loud, round freely, and say what the numbers mean for your design.
4. 4When the interviewer pushes backTreat tough follow-ups as teamwork: admit the weak spot, then fix it.
5. 5Wrapping up and what you'd do nextFinish with a short summary, the main trade-offs and what you'd do with more time.

Talking while you type, and recovering from bugs with a bit of humor.

1. 1Before you type: restate, ask, planSpend the first few minutes making sure you understand the problem, then say your plan out loud.
2. 2Talking while you codeKeep the interviewer with you by explaining what each part is for, in short sentences.
3. 3Getting stuck and taking hintsSay where you're stuck, keep moving with a simpler version, and use hints well.
4. 4Finding and fixing bugs out loudTreat bugs as normal: trace through, explain what went wrong, fix it and run it again, calmly.
5. 5Testing, complexity and running out of timeShow you're careful: test edge cases, explain the complexity, and finish cleanly.