Interviews from the Hiring Manager's Side of the Desk
Deena Beach
Former SVP, Warner Bros. & Disney
What they're actually thinking, evaluating, and deciding while you talk.
You made it to the final round. You prepped, you had your stories, you liked the people. Then the email came: "We've decided to move forward with another candidate." No reason given. You'll never know what happened in that room.
I know, because I was in it. For 20 years I ran the interviews, sat on the panels, and made the call. I know what I'd decided by your first answer, what changed my mind, and what got said after you walked out.
Every interview guide is written from your side of the table. Practice your stories. Research the company. All true. But AI and recruiters screen the early rounds now, so the interview with the person who decides is shorter, higher-stakes, and the only one that counts. And no guide tells you how they decide.
This workshop teaches you to interview from the hiring manager's side of the desk. Answer the four questions I was really asking. Spot the moment a door quietly closes and reopen it. Ask the question that flips the room. Then follow the decision: the debrief, the reference call, and why the offer is the number it is.
You already know how to do the job. This is the part nobody explains.
What you’ll learn
Read the room like the person running it. Answer what they're really asking, counter the quiet no, and walk out as the one they fight for.
Understand the blind date HR set up: why the first five minutes decide more than the last fifty.
Know what your resume already told them & what they're hoping you are
Learn and spot the four questions underneath every one they ask
Learn the story types that cover most interviews, including the failure question & why you're leaving
Practice live: tell one, get the debrief a hiring manager would actually give, tell it again
Recognize the answers that sound fine to you & land as red flags on the hiring manager's side of the desk
Spot the moment an interview ends without anyone saying so & reopen the door before you leave the room
Recognize what you haven't said that they need to hear & deliver it in your wrap-up
Ask the one question that turns you from candidate into peer & avoid the ones that quietly hurt you
Understand the panel debrief: how recruiter & hiring manager disagree, and who wins
Know what the reference call is really for & how to set yours up
Learn why the offer is the number it is, where there's room, & how to ask without losing what you just won
Workshop agenda
Before you walk in
The blind date HR set up. What your resume already told me, the problem I'm hoping you'll solve so I can stop interviewing, and the four questions underneath every one I ask.
While you talk
The questions you'll get and what I'm listening for in each. The standard ones and the tricky ones & how to prep stories and responses to cover them all.
Hot seat
Volunteers answer a real question live and get the debrief in real time. Everyone else takes notes on what they'd have said.
Break
10 mins
The quiet "no"
How an interview ends without anyone saying so. What you haven't said that I need to hear, and how to deliver it in your wrap-up. The questions to ask back.
After you leave
The panel debrief. Recruiter versus hiring manager and who wins. The reference call. Why the offer is the number it is and where there's room.
Ask a hiring manager anything
Open Q&A. Nothing on the line.
Learn directly from Deena
Deena Beach
Ex-SVP Marketing, 20 years hiring, promoting & restructuring teams | WBD, Disney
Who this workshop is for
You have interviews coming up and you haven't done one in years. The process changed, and you're good at your job but out of practice.
You get to final rounds and don't get the offer. You prepare, the conversations go well, and you never find out what went wrong.
You're going for a bigger role than the one you have, internally or somewhere new, and you need the hiring manager to see you at that level.
What's included
Live sessions
Learn directly from Deena Beach in a real-time, interactive format.
Recording and materials, same day
Miss a section or want to rewatch the hot seat before your interview. It's in your portal that afternoon.
Live hot seat
Option to answer a real interview question and get the debrief a hiring manager would actually give.
Take-home toolkit
The four questions every hiring manager is really asking, your story and response bank started during the session, and the questions to ask back. One document, yours to keep.
Ask a hiring manager anything
Twenty years running interviews at Warner Bros. and Disney. Ask whatever you've wanted to ask a hiring manager and couldn't, with no interview on the line.
Follow-up 1:1 available
Workshop attendees can book a 50-minute Interview Prep Session with me afterward at the workshop rate.
Maven Guarantee
Your purchase is backed by the Maven Guarantee.
Frequently asked questions
Maven for Teams
Reimbursement
Get your company to pay
Everything L&D needs: email template, receipts, and certificate of completion.
Get reimbursedTeam discount
Learn with your teammates
Save 20%+ when 2 or more teammates enroll in the same cohort.
Save 20%+ with a teamPrivate cohort
Run a cohort for your org
A dedicated cohort with a custom schedule and curriculum, tailored to your team.
Book a private cohort$300
USD
7:30–10pm EDT