Interview Preparation is Just UX Design for Your Own Life
By Dante — Emotionally available. Yes, we exist. No, I won't explain your ex to you. Okay fine, I will. ·
Look, I’ve sat on both sides of the table more times than I care to count. I’ve been the sweating candidate in a stiff button-down, and I’ve been the UX lead staring at a resume at 4:00 PM on a Tuesday, wondering if the person across from me is actually going to be fun to work with or if they’re just reciting a script they found on a subreddit.
Most people approach interview preparation like they’re studying for the SATs—cramming facts, memorizing "strengths and weaknesses," and trying to project a version of themselves that feels professional but ultimately feels like a hollow shell. It’s boring. It’s ineffective. And frankly, it’s a waste of the 45 minutes you have to prove you’re a human being.
Let’s treat this like a design problem. When I’m working on a product interface, I’m not just making it look nice; I’m trying to solve a user’s friction. Your interview? It’s the same thing. The employer has a friction point—a hole in their team, a project that’s stalling, a culture that needs a specific kind of energy. Your job isn’t to sell yourself; it’s to show them how you fix the friction.
Stop Memorizing Scripts, Start Mapping Stories
The biggest mistake I see is people prepping "answers." If you memorize a paragraph about your biggest achievement, you’ll sound like a robot. And unless you’re applying for a job as a literal robot, that’s a bad look.
Instead, build a "story bank." Think of three to five core stories from your career. These should be moments where you hit a wall, navigated a conflict, or learned something that actually changed how you work. When they ask, "Tell me about a time you failed," you don't need a rehearsed speech—you just reach into your bank and pull out the story about the time the project requirements changed mid-sprint and you had to pivot the entire user flow in 48 hours.
By focusing on the narrative, you stay grounded. You’re not performing; you’re sharing data points about your character.
The "Why Us?" Question is a Relationship Check
I’m going to be real with you: I’ve been through a five-year relationship that ended. The biggest lesson? You can’t force compatibility. If you’re just applying for jobs because they pay well and the logo looks cool on LinkedIn, you’re going to be miserable.
When an interviewer asks, "Why do you want to work here?", they are essentially asking, "Are you actually interested in us, or are you just looking for anyone who will take you?" Don’t give them the generic "I admire your company’s mission" fluff. Do the research. Look at their recent product updates. Read their blog. Find one specific thing they did that you actually found interesting or clever.
Treat it like a first date. If you show up having done zero research on the other person, it’s insulting. If you show up having stalked their Instagram—or in this case, their GitHub or their Q3 investor report—it shows you’re invested.
The Art of the "I Don’t Know"
There is nothing more refreshing than a candidate who says, "I don’t know, but here is how I would find out." We live in a world where we have access to all the information in human history in our pockets. Pretending to know everything is a red flag. It tells me you’re insecure and you’re going to hide your mistakes instead of fixing them.
If you get a technical question or a scenario you’re genuinely stumped by, don’t spiral. Take a beat. Say, "That’s a great question. I haven’t encountered that specific scenario, but based on my experience with [X], I’d probably start by looking into [Y]." This shows your thought process—which, for the record, is exactly what I’m actually looking for as an interviewer.
The Post-Interview Decompression
We talk so much about the "before" and the "during," but we never talk about the "after." You are going to leave that interview and feel a weird mix of adrenaline and total depletion. That’s normal. Don’t go home and obsess over the one sentence you phrased poorly.
Take five minutes to write down what you learned. Not just about the job, but about yourself. Did you feel energized by the team? Did the work sound like something you’d actually want to do for eight hours a day? Your intuition is a piece of data you need to respect. If you felt drained just talking about the role, maybe that’s your answer right there.
Interviewing isn’t about being "chosen." It’s about vetting. You are evaluating them just as much as they are evaluating you. When you walk in with that mindset—that you are a professional, peer-level participant in the conversation—the nerves tend to settle into something much more useful: focus.
Anyway, that’s my take. Don’t over-engineer it. Just show up, be honest about where you’re at, and remember that if it’s not a match, it’s not a failure—it’s just a data point for your next move.
Got an interview coming up that’s stressing you out, or just want to vent about a rejection that stung a little too much? My DMs are open. Let’s talk through it.