# Mode: interview/plan — Interview Prep Planner Given a job description and interview date/time, build a structured, time-blocked preparation plan tailored to the candidate's specific gaps. --- ## Inputs 1. **Job description** (required) — paste inline or provide URL 2. **Interview date and time** (required) — to calculate hours available 3. **Interviewer name and role** (if known) — shapes depth and tone of prep 4. **Round type** (if known) — screening, technical/domain-specific, design/case study, behavioral panel 5. **CV** at `cv.md` + `article-digest.md` (if present) — read for experience, skills, proof points 6. **Profile** at `config/profile.yml` + `modes/_profile.md` — read for narrative, archetypes, and targets 7. **Story bank** at `interview-prep/story-bank.md` — existing STAR+R stories 8. **Question bank** at `interview-prep/question-bank.md` — existing gaps (if file exists) --- ## Step 1 — Fit Assessment Read CV and JD. Produce a two-column assessment: **Strengths to anchor on:** experience, titles, domain, proof points that directly match the JD. **Gaps to close:** skills, tools, or experience called out in JD that are absent or weak in CV. Rank by likelihood of being tested in this specific round type. Be honest. A gap is a gap — flag it clearly so prep time goes to the right places. --- ## Step 2 — Round Intelligence Identify what this round is actually evaluating based on: - Interviewer role (manager = communication + passion + fundamentals; practitioner = depth + judgment) - Round label (screening, technical/domain, design/case study, final) - JD signals (what they emphasize) **Recruiter screen:** - Box-checking: fit, comp alignment, logistics, communication - Not a technical test — depth questions come in the HM and later rounds - Likely: background pitch, "why us/why this role", comp expectation, timeline, one logistical question - Treat this as the easy checkpoint; use prep time to build the foundation for what comes after **Hiring-manager screen:** - Communication, passion, fit — plus leadership philosophy and judgment - Fundamentals of the core skill in the JD — not deep internals - 1–2 behavioral stories - Likely: background, "why us", one core concept from the JD, one leadership story, forward-looking situational question **Technical / domain deep-dive with a practitioner:** - Depth in the core skill from the JD (e.g., runtime internals for engineering, modeling choices for data, valuation methods for finance) - Applied scenarios from the role's day-to-day - Live exercise or worked walkthrough possible - Stories used as evidence, not the main event **Design / case study panel:** - Full solution — constraints, components, tradeoffs, failure modes - The quality dimensions the JD emphasizes (e.g., scalability, compliance, measurability) - Senior-level: set constraints, ask clarifying questions, drive the conversation Calibrate the plan to the round. Over-preparing depth for a screening wastes time and creates the wrong mindset. --- ## Step 3 — Build the Time-Blocked Plan Calculate hours available from now until interview time. Divide into blocks: Before sizing the blocks, check `interview-prep/question-bank.md` (if it exists). Any question marked 🔴 from a prior round is a proven gap — it gets a dedicated block regardless of how the CV-vs-JD analysis ranks it. Real performance data outranks inferred risk. **Template (adjust block sizes based on total hours available):** ``` Block 1 — Lock your narrative (first, always) - Write out your background timeline explicitly - Prepare "why this company" with a specific connection to your history - Prepare your strongest proof point story (30-second version) - Time: ~15% of available hours Block 2 — Priority domain topic (highest-risk gap first) - One topic per block — don't mix - For each: concept → your story hook → likely follow-up questions - Time: ~25% of available hours Block 3 — Secondary domain topic - Second-highest-risk gap - Time: ~20% of available hours Block 4 — Behavioral stories - Map existing stories to likely question types - Practice the 2-minute verbal version of each - Prepare the Reflection for each — the senior-candidate differentiator - Time: ~15% of available hours Block 5 — Company research - Product pages relevant to the role - Connection between your history and their specific domain - 3–4 sharp questions to ask them - Time: ~10% of available hours Block 6 — Practice run (if time permits) - One question per likely topic — out loud, timed - Time: ~10% of available hours Block 7 — Buffer + rest - Stop studying 60–90 minutes before the interview - Cramming in the last hour adds noise, not signal - Time: remaining ``` Adjust block sizes based on gap severity and round type. If it's a screening, Block 4 (behavioral) and Block 5 (company research) are more important than deep domain blocks. --- ## Step 4 — Priority Quick-Reference At the end of the plan, produce a one-page quick-reference the candidate can skim 15 minutes before the interview: ```markdown ## 15-Minute Pre-Interview Review **Your anchor sentence:** [one sentence that captures why you're right for this role] **Top 3 things to remember:** 1. [most important message to leave the interviewer with] 2. [most likely question and your first sentence of the answer] 3. [the connection between your history and their domain] **Your questions to ask:** 1. [question 1] 2. [question 2] 3. [question 3] ``` --- ## Step 5 — Save Output Save the plan to `interview-prep/{company-slug}-{role-slug}.md` if a file doesn't exist, or append a `## Prep Plan` section if it does. --- ## Rules - **Calibrate to the round.** A screening prep plan looks very different from a design-panel prep plan. Don't default to maximum depth for every interview. - **Gaps first.** Time is finite. The candidate's strengths don't need prep — their gaps do. - **🔴 gaps from the question bank take priority over inferred gaps.** Real performance data beats CV-vs-JD analysis. If the candidate already knows they struggle on a topic, don't bury it. - **One topic per block.** Mixing topics in a single block reduces retention. - **Always include rest time.** A rested candidate outperforms a cramming one. - **Never generate fake company intel.** If you don't have research, say so — don't invent culture claims or technical details about the company. - **Never invent claims for the candidate.** The anchor sentence and pre-interview talking points in the quick-reference (Step 4) must be grounded in what the candidate actually has — `cv.md`, `article-digest.md`, or the story bank. Don't draft claims that depend on experience or metrics the candidate doesn't have. If a claim appears in `interview-prep/retracted-claims.md`, never include it.