Understand the work behind the title
Read the job description and identify the two or three outcomes the company needs from this role. Look at the product and its audience. Write down what you understand—and what you still need to ask. A thoughtful question is more useful than pretending you know everything about the business.
Prepare three specific examples
Choose a project you’re proud of, a difficult decision, and a time something didn’t go as planned. For each, explain the situation, your responsibility, the action you took, and the result. Be precise about your contribution when work was shared across a team.
Make your reasoning visible
Practice explaining how you approached a problem, what alternatives you considered, and why you chose a direction. For technical or design work, discuss the constraints and trade-offs. For growth roles, connect your actions to the business outcome and explain how you measured it.
Ask about the actual working environment
Ask what success looks like in the first few months, who you’ll work with, and how priorities are set. A useful question is: “What is the most important problem this person needs to solve?” Follow up on anything that sounds different from the job description.
Leave with clear next steps
Before the conversation ends, ask about the remaining interview stages, any preparation required, and who will contact you next. Afterward, write down what you learned while it’s fresh, including questions you want to resolve before deciding.