Book Overflow Austen McDonald Reflects on Mastering Behavioral Interviews
Jan 30, 2026
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.
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Behavioral Interviews Are Underserved
- Behavioral interviews fill a major gap compared to coding and system-design prep resources.
- Austen McDonald realized this while coaching and hearing himself repeat the same guidance.
Behavioral Skills Scale With Seniority
- Soft skills and ownership scale with seniority and matter increasingly as AI automates implementation.
- Behavioral interviews assess ownership, communication, and ability to lead through others.
Use Frameworks To Structure, Not Crutch
- Use frameworks like STAR or CARL to structure stories but don't force them mechanically.
- Focus on giving interviewers the behaviors they seek rather than ticking every framework box.
