Like almost anything in today's world, interviewing has a lot to do with getting the other person's interest, and then maintaining it for some time. That goes for both the parties on the call, but perhaps realistically falls a bit more on the interviewee than the interviewer. Of course, in both cases, the content of the conversation needs to be genuinely interesting and without fluff.

I've been interviewing candidates for two roles for some time now at work, and as unfortunate as it is, that interest often fails to form because candidates don't prepare for common questions or pick the wrong project to talk about.

I know that for an interviewee, it is hard to guess what different teams or companies may value more; or what is a bigger red flag for them compared to others. But after years of taking interviews for different teams, I believe some things are always appreciated:

• First principles thinking while focusing on the end goals. Which leads to,

• Asking difficult questions, specially 'why', and not implicitly accepting the status quo. Which leads to,

• Ownership and a preference for action. While involving the team if you are working within one.

It was the same for me the last time I was on the other side.

When one or more of these are missing, it becomes a deal breaker; sometimes in the very last round. And then the cycle must start again.

For a candidate, these 3 points are not an exhaustive list by any chance, and rejections come for many subjective reasons from different teams.

But that last part is beyond one’s control, and that is what interviewing is. You persevere and start the process again.

Interesting reads

The css articles were mostly a coincidence this week

1. https://nerdy.dev/nice-select
   Learned about the new ‘appearance:base-select’ and what it enables

2. https://jakearchibald.com/2025/animating-zooming/
   This was quite a fun read about another one of css’s quirks; and something that reminds you how cool css is.

A project I discovered

Not a new discovery, but an MIT licensed incredibly well made modern icon library. This is my go to default. Do give it a star if you like.

Phosphor Icons

A flexible icon family for interfaces, diagrams, presentations — whatever, really.

A photo I took

Good-bye from one of the coldest winters in a decade in Berlin. See you next week!