Introduce Yourself and Explain What You Want in Your Next Engineering Role

The interviewer opens a 30-minute software engineer phone screen with two questions in a row. The screen is mostly behavioral and experience questions, including a deep dive on something technical you implemented, and ends with a short code-reading exercise. ### Clarifying Questions - How long should the introduction run, given that the whole screen lasts 30 minutes and more questions follow? - Should it cover the whole career, or concentrate on the most recent roles? ### Part 1 — Tell me about yourself Give the interviewer a short introduction to who you are as an engineer. ```hint Pick the thread Choose the one or two threads in your experience that matter most for this role, and let them, rather than chronology, decide what goes in. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - A clear arc: what you do now, how you got there, and what you want next - Two or three specifics (systems, scope, results) instead of a list of technologies - A length suited to a 30-minute screen, with a natural hook for the technical deep dive that follows ### Part 2 — What are you looking for in a new role? Explain what you want from your next role. ```hint Wants the role can satisfy Name things this team could realistically offer, and connect each one to something you have already done or started to grow into. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - Two or three concrete wants (kind of problems, scope, team, way of working), each with a reason - Consistency with the introduction and with this role - A positive framing that says what you are moving toward, not only what you are leaving ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A concise, specific narrative that sets up the experience questions that follow - Motivation that fits the role and is backed by evidence from past work - Honesty without negativity about a current or previous employer - A calibrated length and a clean handoff back to the interviewer ### Follow-up Questions - Why are you looking to move now rather than a year from now? - Which of the things you want would you be willing to give up, and which are non-negotiable? - If ownership is one of the things you want, tell me about the last time you took on something nobody had assigned to you. - What would make you turn down an offer from this team?