Austen McDonald

Austen McDonald, former senior engineering manager and hiring committee chair at Meta and author of Mastering Behavioral Interviews, shares why behavioral interviews matter now. He breaks down the decode-select-deliver loop, the eight signal areas interviewers seek, the big three prompts, building a story catalog, and ethical framing. Short, practical, and aimed at both candidates and recruiters.

Austen McDonald, author and coach who trains interviewers and helps engineers master behavioral interviews. He explains why he wrote the book and what makes behavioral interviews valuable. He compares STAR and CARL, highlights common storytelling pitfalls, and talks about framing startup experience, handling layoffs, and keeping a deck of stories for career growth.