Step 6 — The interview loop, decoded

The loop looks like five conversations. It's really four different tests wearing similar clothes.

The rounds

• Recruiter screen — testing: are your numbers and timeline real? Be boringly consistent.
• Technical — testing: can you think out loud while uncomfortable? Narrate. Silence reads as stuck.
• System / craft round — testing: do you know what you don't know? Say "I'd measure that" instead of guessing.
• Hiring manager — testing: will this person make my life easier or harder?

The question that decides it

"Tell me about something that went wrong." Everyone has the story. Almost nobody has the second half: what you changed afterward so it couldn't happen again. That second half is the whole answer.

Your questions matter more than you think

Ask what the last person in this role struggled with. The pause before the answer tells you more than the answer does.