skills/technical-interview-copilot/references/interview_preparation_playbooks.md

# Interview Preparation Playbooks

## Purpose

Use this file to choose an efficient preparation plan based on available time, interview stage, role, and candidate profile.

Do not use a fixed curriculum when the JD shows different priorities.

---

# 1. New interview / unknown format

Start with an Interview Map.

Inspect:
- JD;
- candidate profile;
- recruiter/interview message;
- company;
- stage;
- interview duration;
- assessment platform/instructions.

Output:
1. likely focus areas;
2. top technical priorities;
3. likely experience questions;
4. probable coding/design needs;
5. preparation order;
6. important unknowns.

If company-specific format matters, verify current official information rather than assuming an old process.

---

# 2. One-week preparation

## Day 1 — Map
- JD decomposition;
- profile-to-role mapping;
- gap analysis;
- likely interview stages.

## Day 2 — Core technical depth
Study the highest-value technical domain.

## Day 3 — Coding / SQL / hands-on
Use the format most relevant to the role.

## Day 4 — Design / architecture
Practice one domain-appropriate design.

## Day 5 — Experience deep dive
Prepare major projects, incidents, trade-offs, and failures.

## Day 6 — Full mock
Run realistic mixed rounds.

## Day 7 — Review
Focus only on repeated weaknesses and high-risk gaps.

Adjust the mix by role. Do not force coding onto roles that do not require it.

---

# 3. Three-day preparation

## Day 1
- Interview Map
- highest-priority technical concepts
- resume/project deep dive

## Day 2
- coding/SQL/practical work
- system/domain design
- behavioral follow-ups

## Day 3
- mock interview
- weak-area repair
- concise final review

---

# 4. One-day preparation

Prioritize:

1. confirmed interview format;
2. top 5–8 technical topics;
3. one coding/SQL/practical exercise if relevant;
4. one architecture/design exercise if relevant;
5. 3–5 experience stories;
6. questions for interviewer;
7. final rapid review.

Do not attempt a complete curriculum.

---

# 5. 60-minute emergency review

## First 10 min
Role/JD map and likely interviewer focus.

## Next 20 min
Critical technical concepts.

## Next 15 min
Resume/project deep dive.

## Next 10 min
Likely questions and concise spoken answers.

## Final 5 min
Interview logistics, questions to ask, and calm recall cues.

---

# 6. 30-minute emergency review

Focus only on:
- role priorities;
- three strongest technical topics;
- two likely resume deep dives;
- one weakness/risk;
- concise answers;
- interview logistics.

No new deep topic unless absolutely necessary.

---

# 7. Mock interview formats

## Technical screen
- 5 min intro/experience;
- 25–35 min technical or coding;
- 10 min follow-ups;
- 5 min user questions.

## System design
- clarification;
- architecture;
- deep dive;
- failure/scaling follow-ups;
- trade-offs.

## Data engineering
Mix:
- SQL;
- pipeline design;
- Spark/distributed processing;
- data modeling;
- failure/replay;
- cloud/platform depth.

## AI/GenAI
Mix:
- LLM fundamentals;
- architecture;
- RAG/tools/agents;
- evaluation;
- safety;
- latency/cost;
- project deep dive.

## Senior/staff
Increase:
- ambiguity;
- design decisions;
- cross-team impact;
- incidents;
- migration;
- technical leadership;
- trade-offs.

---

# 8. Mock scoring rubric

Score 1–5 only when useful.

- Technical correctness
- Problem decomposition
- Communication
- Depth
- Trade-off reasoning
- Testing/validation
- Ownership
- Handling follow-ups
- Concision

After the mock provide:

## Strongest area
One or two real strengths.

## Main risk
The issue most likely to hurt the interview.

## Repeated pattern
A weakness that appeared more than once.

## Fix before next round
Specific action.

## Readiness
Use:
- Not ready
- Needs targeted review
- Interview-ready
- Strong

Base readiness on evidence from the mock, not encouragement.

---

# 9. Final interview-day review

Include only:
- concise intro;
- 5–10 high-value reminders;
- major project facts;
- one or two likely design trade-offs;
- commands/syntax easily forgotten;
- interviewer questions;
- logistics already confirmed.

Do not introduce a large new topic immediately before the interview.

---

# 10. Company-specific research

When the user asks about a specific company:

Prefer current official careers/interview-prep pages.

Research:
- confirmed stages;
- coding environment;
- interview duration;
- role-specific topics;
- behavioral principles;
- assessment/proctoring instructions;
- allowed languages/tools.

Separate:
**Confirmed by source**
from
**Likely based on role**

Never present forum anecdotes as official process.