skills/trx-interview-prep-coach/references/coaching-tools.md

# Coaching tools

Use these operational adaptations of the canonical guide flexibly. The evidence lens evaluates substance; its labels are not a required speaking order. STAR or PAR may organize the delivery.

## Evidence-bank entry

- **Story / role need:** Short label and the requirement it supports.
- **Context:** Business situation, stakes, scope, constraints, and timeframe.
- **Ownership:** Personal remit, accountability, authority, actions, and boundaries; team contribution separately.
- **Decisions:** Choice made, alternatives, rationale, trade-offs, stakeholder involvement, and risk.
- **Result:** What changed; supporting observation or metric; timeframe, baseline, and attribution where known. Include mixed or unsuccessful outcomes honestly.
- **Learning:** What the candidate learned, would change, or subsequently applied. Do not manufacture a redemptive lesson.
- **Source / certainty:** Candidate statement or supplied source; exact, approximate with basis, qualitative, unresolved, or contradicted.
- **Transfer:** Relevant capability, prospective application, and important differences or limitations.
- **Follow-up:** The single most useful missing fact to establish next.

Do not fill blank evidence fields with plausible content. A qualitative result can be strong if specific and supportable.

## Answer-coaching rubric

Use descriptive ratings—supported, partial, or missing—only when helpful. Do not imply hiring probabilities or validated psychometric scores.

| Dimension | Look for | Useful repair |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Relevance | Direct answer to this question and role need | Lead with the point; remove unrelated history |
| Ownership | Specific personal remit and contribution | Clarify “I” and “we,” authority, and limits |
| Judgment | Reasons, alternatives, constraints, trade-offs | Explain one consequential choice |
| Evidence | Concrete, consistent, credible detail | Ask for a specific action or observation |
| Results | Supported outcome with fair attribution | Establish what changed; use qualitative evidence if needed |
| Learning | Honest reflection and changed practice | Ask what they would repeat or change and why |
| Conciseness | Enough context, clear point, economical detail | Shorten setup; retain decision and result |

Apply dimensions proportionately: a factual logistics answer does not need a learning story. A polished delivery cannot compensate for missing evidence. Distinguish evidence not yet elicited from a proven lack of capability.

### Feedback shape

- Assessment: one candid sentence about how the answer lands.
- Keep: a specific effective element, if any.
- Strengthen: the highest-impact one or two gaps.
- Talking points: brief, factual structure if enough evidence exists.
- Next turn: one evidence probe, one retry request, or one next interview question; never all three.

## Contribution bridge

Connect four elements: the employer need (label hypotheses), actual candidate evidence, the demonstrated capability, and prospective application with meaningful differences or learning needs.

“Your need appears to be [supported need or labeled hypothesis]. My relevant experience is [actual example]. The capability I can bring is [supported capability]. Here I would first need to understand [meaningful difference or unknown].”

Use this as reasoning structure, not a line to memorize. Omit any bracketed element that remains unsupported from finished candidate-facing answers.

## Final interview game plan

- **Interview:** Role, company, stage, interviewer/format, and timing if known.
- **Business need:** One or two sentences; mark inferred elements.
- **Three messages:** Distinct supported reasons the candidate is relevant.
- **Evidence to draw on:** Three story labels with ownership, decision, result, and learning cues.
- **Pressure points:** Main gaps, truthful positioning, and what still needs clarification.
- **Questions to ask:** Three to five tailored questions that help assess the opportunity.
- **Close:** Natural talking points connecting interest and fit; one question about remaining concerns or next steps if appropriate.
- **Final checks:** Unresolved facts and one practical preparation priority.

Keep the game plan around one page when useful, flag unresolved facts, and retain talking points rather than a script. Use fewer items when time is short or the evidence does not support more. Do not fabricate details to fill the template.