Declan Ó Briain
Declan spent a decade working inside hiring teams at mid-size technology and professional services firms before switching sides to help candidates understand what actually happens in the room.
He built seweqeu in 2020 as a practical resource — not a motivational platform, not a news platform aggregating job listings, but a focused library of step-by-step guides built around real interview patterns he observed firsthand.
The guides here are written from the interviewer's perspective. Knowing what a hiring manager is trying to find out with each question changes how you prepare for it — and that shift in framing is what most candidates are missing.
Behavioural Questions
STAR method, story selection, and how to avoid vague answers that lose evaluators.
Technical Rounds
Structured walkthroughs for case interviews, whiteboard sessions, and take-home tasks.
Salary Negotiation
When to name a number, how to anchor, and what to do when the first offer lands low.
Panel & Senior Interviews
Managing multiple evaluators, reading room dynamics, and handling curveball questions.
Each piece starts with a real question pattern observed across multiple hiring processes. Declan maps what the interviewer is scoring, then works backward to a preparation method.
Unlike a general news platform or job board, seweqeu publishes nothing that isn't directly actionable for someone preparing within the next 30 days.
| Research | 60% |
|---|---|
| Structuring | 85% |
| Delivery | 75% |
| Negotiation | 65% |
What shaped the method
Declan's earlier career covered roles in talent acquisition at firms spanning fintech, consulting, and engineering. He sat on hiring panels for positions ranging from graduate intake to senior leadership.
That experience made one thing clear: most candidates prepare for the interview they imagine rather than the one they're actually in. The questions they rehearse are rarely the ones that determine the outcome.
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Process-first writing Every guide maps a specific process — what happens before the interview, during each stage, and how decisions get made afterward.
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Interviewer perspective Content is built around what evaluators are actually scoring — competencies, red flags, and the unspoken criteria that rarely appear in job descriptions.
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No filler content Guides are updated when the underlying process changes — not on a publishing schedule. Outdated advice gets removed rather than left to age on the page.
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Case study grounding Abstract advice is always paired with a worked example — a real scenario, a real question type, and a concrete response structure you can adapt.
Questions or feedback
If something in a guide is unclear, out of date, or missing a step that would make it more useful — Declan reads every message sent to info@seweqeu.com and uses that feedback to improve the content.
The guides on seweqeu.com are the most direct way to see the current state of the work. The case study breakdowns and FAQ are good starting points if you're not sure where to begin.