Cracking Tech Interviews When AI Changes the Rules
From Modern Web by Modern Web
October 1, 2025 · 48 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the impact of AI on tech interviews and developer workflows with insights from Wes Eklund of AWS ProServe.
In this episode of the Modern Web Podcast, Rob Ocel and Danny Thompson talk with Wes Eklund from AWS ProServe about interviews, practical AI, and the future of developer workflows. Wes shares what trips candidates up in coding and behavioral rounds, how to ask better questions, and why prepping multiple honest STAR narratives matters. Danny introduces the Thrive Framework for behavioral interviews and Rob underscores the discipline required to stand out in a crowded market. The trio then digs into 100 Days of Code in the AI era, smart ways juniors can learn with AI, and how Wes’s team uses MCP servers and Amazon Q to speed design, onboarding, and day-to-day delivery. They cover the lull in MCP hype, real security concerns, the “80 percent is a win” mindset when AI accelerates work, and when it actually makes sense to build agents. They close on thin, purpose-built agents, enterprise adoption patterns, and why frameworks like DSPy could reshape moats and costs. Key Takeaways from this episode: - Wes explains how candidates often fail because they neglect behavioral prep, and Danny introduces the Thrive Framework as a system to stand out. - The group debates whether juniors should…
People in this episode
Hosts: Rob Ocel, Danny Thompson
Guest: Wes Eklund
Topics covered
- tech interviews
- AI in development
- behavioral interviews
- developer workflows
- learning with AI
- MCP servers
- enterprise adoption
Keywords
- tech interviews
- AI
- behavioral prep
- Thrive Framework
- MCP servers
- 100 Days of Code
- developer workflows
- learning strategies
- enterprise adoption
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: AWS ProServe, Amazon Q, MCP, DSPy
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