1 min lesson
Pin your why-Cursor to something only you'd say
Answer this as if it were happening now: "In a portfolio review, an interviewer asks to see the part of a project you're least proud of. What's the strongest response?" Say what supports your choice.
Step 1 of 2
Pin your why-Cursor to something only you'd sayAuthenticity test
- Name a specific Cursor interaction you admire or would change and why - inline diffs, tab prediction, the agent UI. Generic praise of the mission is the tell of a candidate who skimmed the site.
- Tie it to what you'd build: “the interaction paradigms here aren't settled and I want to be one of the people inventing them” is a Design Engineer's why, not a generalist's.
- Bring proof of daily use. A real thing you built in Cursor this week beats any statement of enthusiasm.
Pre-empt your weakest piece. Open that walkthrough with “the part I'd redo is the exit animation, here's why” before they ask. Naming your own 90% spot first converts a potential gotcha into evidence of exactly the high standard the values round is hunting for.
“I chose a sliding inline panel over a modal because the modal hid the code the user was reviewing. It cost me a focus-management headache, but keeping the diff in view was worth it.” One decision, one trade-off, one consequence - that's the shape of a craft answer that doesn't draw a follow-up.