Marina Krutchinsky

A realistic mock interview for the exact role you're targeting. I ask the questions senior leaders actually use, you answer under real pressure, and I tell you straight where it landed and where it broke (and how to fix it).

This session is for you if:

→ You have a real interview coming up

→ You want one full run-through before the one that counts

→ You freeze, ramble, or blank when the questions get hard

→ You want to hear how your answers sound to a senior decision-maker

Before the session (send at least 48 hours ahead):

→ The job description

→ Your resume and/or LinkedIn

→ 3–5 stories you plan to use

→ The interview format and rounds, if you know them

I build the mock around your actual role and read your stories first, so the questions hit where it matters

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During the session, we’ll work on:

→ We run a live mock built around your target role

→ I press on judgment, ownership, tradeoffs, and business impact

→ I push back the way a real panel will

→ Then I give you direct feedback: what worked, what sounded weak, what to fix

You’ll leave with:

→ A clear read on how you come across under pressure

→ The answers that need rebuilding before the real interview

→ A specific fix list

→ The calm that comes from having done it once already

A focused 30-min session for UXers interviewing for individual contributor roles. We work your answers through a hiring manager / VP lens, so you know exactly how the people deciding your future are reading you.

This session is for you if:

→ You have an IC interview coming up
→ Your suspect your answers may run too long, too vague or too tactical
→ You can't tell which of your stories make you sound "more senior"

→ You want direct feedback before the real thing

Before the session (send at least 24 hours ahead):

→ The job description (if you have a specific one, or just the level you are aiming at)

→ Link to your Linkedin

→ 2–3 career stories (or story ideas at least) you want to polish

→ Any interview questions you're worried about

I read all of it before we meet, so we skip the catch-up and go straight to the work

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During the session, we’ll work on:

→ Your opening pitch ("Tell me about yourself")
→ Your 2–3 interview stories

→ How you explain your decisions, tradeoffs, and impact

→ Where you sound strong, and where you sound under-leveled

→ What a hiring manager will question or doubt

You’ll leave with:

→ A sharper interview narrative
→ Clearer, more senior answers
→ Specific language to use
→ A short fix list before the interview

→ Your newly found confidence

You have to present your work to a panel, and that round is where senior and super senior designers get rejected. We run it live so you find out where the room checks out before the room that decides your offer does.

This session is for you if--

→ You have a portfolio or work-presentation round coming up

→ You're a Senior, Lead, Staff, or Principal candidate

→ You've been told your work is strong but your presentation falls flat

→ You want to survive the toughest questions before they're asked for real

Before the session (send at least 48 hours ahead):

→ Your actual presentation deck (I highly recommend having a separate deck for this, in addition to your online portfolio)

→ The job description and the format of the presentation round, if you know it

I review your deck slide by slide in advance, so we open with the problems that matter most

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During the session

→ You present 15–20 minutes live, exactly as you would to the real panel

→ I play the panel: I interrupt, push, and ask the questions that make people sweat

→ Then we tear it down together - where you lost the room, which slides to cut, how to pitch your work at the right altitude

You’ll leave with

→ A tightened presentation

→ A kill-list of the slides dragging you down

→ The two or three hard questions pre-answered

→ A clear sense of how you command a room under fire

[Reframing your IC work as Leadership] You're interviewing for a Director role and you've never held the title for. This session pressure-tests your stories so you walk in sounding like a leader, not a senior IC who got lucky.

This session is for you if--

→ You’re a Senior, Lead, Staff, or Principal UX professional interviewing for Director roles
→ You’ve never held a Director title before., OR held one at a small company
→ You have interviews in the next 2–4 weeks
→ You suspect your answers may still sound too tactical

Before the session (send at least 48 hours ahead):

→ The completed prep brief (I'll send it to you to fill out right after booking)

→ 4–6 career stories drafted using my structure (about an hour of work)

→ The job descriptions for the roles you're interviewing for

I read and pre-audit everything, so we spend the full hour working and fixing.

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During the session

→ We audit your stories for Director-level altitude

→ We find which answers land and which sound under-leveled

→ We reframe your weakest stories in real time

→ We sharpen your language around leadership, judgment, influence, and business impact

→ We run 4–5 live mock questions and coach your answers on the spot

You’ll leave with

→ A clear read on which stories work at Director level
→ Reframed language for your weakest answers
→ Live feedback on how you come across under pressure
→ A specific fix list for the days before your interview

You signed the offer. Now you have to deliver in a room full of people who didn't hire you, in an org running lean and watching closely. This session builds the plan that keeps you out of the "should we have hired them" conversation.

This session is for you if--

→ You just accepted a Director, VP, or Head of Design role

→ You haven't started yet, or you're in your first few weeks

→ You're stepping into a bigger scope than you've held before

→ You want to show value fast to the exec who took the bet on you

Before the session (send at least 48 hours ahead):

→ Your role scope and reporting line

→ What you know about the team, the org structure, and the exec who hired you

→ The mandate you were given, and why the seat was open

I read the landscape in advance, so we build a plan grounded in your real situation.

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During the session

→ We map the political terrain you're walking into

→ We build a 30-60-90 that proves your value early

→ We identify who you need to win in the first month

→ Go over common invisible mistakes that get new leaders pushed out

You’ll leave with

→ A 90-day plan built around visible wins

→ A stakeholder map for your new org

→ The early warning signs to watch for

→ A clear first move for weeks ahead