Berlin, Germany
Elman Huseynov
Lead Software Engineer at Zalando. Previously Shopify. 10 years building software.
Technical interview coaching from someone who runs the interviews. 100+ interviews run. 10+ engineers hired. 27 markets shipped to.
Worked at
- Zalando
- Shopify
- Scoutbee
Where to go next
You are an engineer
Get ready for the interview that matters
Mock interviews, resume and LinkedIn review, or the whole programme in one go. You get a scorecard, not encouragement.
Mock interviews, resume, LinkedIn, negotiation
See servicesYou are hiring
Make your interview loop predict performance
Interviewer training, scorecards and calibration through SmartHiring. Your team keeps the playbook afterwards.
Audits, workshops and interviewer calibration
See SmartHiringYou are a recruiter or an organiser
Hire me, or invite me to speak
Open to leadership and Staff or Principal roles, part-time remote contracts, and conference or meetup talks.
Berlin, open to temporary relocation
See what I am open toWhy me
I sit on the side of the table that decides.
Most interview coaching comes from people who last interviewed years ago. I interview now, write the scorecards, and sit in the debriefs where the decision is made.
- Technical interviews run
- 100+
- Engineers hired
- 10+
- Markets my hiring process covers
- 27
- Years building software
- 10
Services
9 ways to work with me.
Each one has its own page with what is included, who it is not for, and the price. Only the builds are quoted per project; everything else has its number on the page.
For engineers
Mock interview
DSA, system design, behavioural or culture fit. Real format, real scoring, written feedback.
What it includesResume and CV review
Your resume reviewed by someone who screens them, then a call to rewrite the weakest parts together.
What it includesLinkedIn profile optimization
Headline, About and experience rewritten to the words recruiters search, so they find you first.
What it includesCareer coaching
Stuck at the same level? One session with someone who has interviewed 100+ engineers, then a written 6 to 12 month roadmap.
What it includesFor companies
Websites and apps
A website or a mobile app built end to end by one engineer, fast and indexable at launch. Six live examples on the portfolio.
What it includesFractional CTO
Architecture, delivery and hiring decisions on retainer, for teams without a full-time CTO.
What it includesCore Web Vitals rebuild
Core Web Vitals and technical SEO. This site scores 100 across the board, and I will show you how.
What it includesFounder What I build
I teach this because I keep building it.
8 products, all mine, all shipped outside a day job. 2 teach engineers, 1 hires them, 5 are tools I needed and nobody had built.
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Available for talks on hiring, interviews and engineering leadership.
6 prepared talks, from a 20-minute meetup slot to a half-day workshop. Bio, photos and topics are all on 1 page.
Writing
Free, and worth reading.
The STAR Method for Software Engineers, Fixed
STAR gets a story out in 2 minutes. It leaves out the 4 things an engineering panel actually…
47 Behavioral Questions and What They Test
The full list, grouped by the 7 things a panel is actually measuring. Prepare the 7 and you…
The Behavioral Answer That Survives the Follow-Ups
STAR gets you through the first answer. The follow-ups decide the round, and most people have not prepared…
Before you ask
Questions I get every week
Do you offer free calls?
There is a free 15-minute call first, to work out whether a session is worth booking at all. The sessions themselves are paid, and the price is on the page before you book. Companies get a free 20-minute audit call to scope the work.
If you are not looking to pay, that is fine. The blog is free and genuinely useful. Start there.
What makes you qualified to run mock interviews?
I am a Lead Software Engineer at Zalando, previously Shopify. I have run over 100 technical interviews and hired more than 10 engineers.
My scorecards go into the same debrief your loop will be measured in, so the feedback is the judgement a real panel applies.
Who do you work with?
Software engineers preparing for an interview or a promotion, and engineering teams that want their hiring loop to predict performance.
Event organisers land here too. Talks are on the speaking page, with the formats and the bio already written.
Can you help me prepare for a FAANG interview?
Yes. I run the same format those loops use: coding, system design, behavioural, and the hiring manager screen.
I hold the bar Zalando and Shopify hire against, which is the same bar. I will not hand you any company's real questions.
Can you refer me to your company?
No. A referral should come from someone who has seen your work, and one paid hour is not that.
What you get instead is an honest read on where you stand against the bar, and what to fix first.
Do you guarantee I will get the offer?
No, and be careful with anyone who does. Interviews have too many variables outside your control.
What I can do is remove the failures that are in your control: unclear communication, missed requirements, and a weak structure under pressure.
Ready to work on this properly?
Mock interviews, resume and LinkedIn review for engineers. Websites and apps, fractional CTO work, Core Web Vitals and interviewer training for teams. Every session is paid, and each page says what it costs before you book.