Superpower Your Job Search with LLMs
I’ve spent a lot of time hiring designers. Especially the last 7 years. The process is quite intense for both parties going into it, which is not helped by the fact that often there’s a lack of clarity in the role and the fitment of the candidate.
But candidates struggle to get in. Even the good ones. Recently I started helping out friends and designers I worked with to get placed into roles they really like. And I’ve also been playing a lot with LLMs in the meantime. Spending a few weeks chatting with LLMs about how candidates can be better prepared for interviews, I realized there’s massive value in getting help from LLMs in the prep work.
I wrote down a few very definitive ways you can benefit from LLMs. Let’s dive in!
🔍 Research the background of the company
With an LLM, you can quickly familiarize yourself with any company with a few prompts. Especially things like – what’s been the recent PR about the company, what are some of the challenges the company faced, who their competitors are, who their key leadership personnel are, what their share of the market is, and so on.
This helps you in the early stages of considerations, where you can either lock down companies to target or eliminate them based on this research.
I'm researching [COMPANY NAME] as a potential employer for a [POSITION] role. Please provide a detailed background analysis focusing on:
1. COMPANY NARRATIVE & POSITIONING:
- The company's founding story and how their mission has evolved
- How they position themselves in the market (their unique value proposition)
- Key pivots or transformations in their business model over time
- The problem they claim to solve and for whom
2. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS (last 6-12 months):
- Notable product launches, updates, or strategic initiatives
- Significant partnerships or collaborations
- Any PR events (both positive and negative) and how they were handled
- Major announcements or changes in direction
3. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE:
- Their primary competitors (both established and emerging)
- How they differentiate from these competitors
- Areas where they lead vs. areas where they lag behind
- Any unique market position or niche they occupy
4. LEADERSHIP & ORGANIZATION:
- Background of key leadership team members (CEO, CTO, etc.)
- Leadership style and vision based on interviews and public statements
- Notable changes in leadership and what those might signal
- Organizational structure and how the [POSITION] role fits within it
5. COMPANY CULTURE INDICATORS:
- Values they emphasize in external communications
- How they present their workplace culture
- Employee sentiments from review sites like Glassdoor (patterns, not just ratings)
- Public recognition or awards for workplace practices
6. POTENTIAL RED FLAGS:
- Recurring challenges mentioned in news coverage
- Customer sentiment patterns from public reviews and social media
- Areas of friction in their product or service experience
- Any ethical controversies or concerns relevant to my values
Please focus on factual information from reliable sources, citing key sources where possible. Prioritize insights that would help me determine if this company aligns with my career goals and values.
📊 Check the company’s financial performance & projections
If you’re targeting a public company, a ton of information is available through their own official webpages – specifically their quarterly reports.
You can check their quarterly performance against their projections for the last few quarters, see future projects, see where they are investing capital and resources, and see where the areas of opportunity are in terms of new research and development. This helps you understand their priorities and direction and see the role technology (and, as a proxy, you) will play in helping the financial outcomes of the company.
Often companies get into a ‘post-R&D’ phase where there are clear signs of them no longer investing strategically in new innovation. This could be an important indicator for you.
I need to understand [COMPANY NAME]'s strategic direction through their financial reporting. Please analyze their last 4 quarterly reports (10-Q) and most recent annual report (10-K) with a focus on:
1. PERFORMANCE VS. PROJECTIONS:
- Comparison of actual results against previous guidance/projections for each quarter
- Areas where they consistently exceed or miss projections
- Executive commentary on performance gaps and how their narrative has evolved
- Adjustments to future guidance and the reasoning provided
2. STRATEGIC INVESTMENT MAPPING:
- Breakdown of capital allocation across different business segments
- R&D spending trends as both absolute figures and percentage of revenue over the past 8 quarters
- Year-over-year changes in investment priorities
- Compare their R&D investment ratio to industry averages and key competitors
3. TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION INDICATORS:
- Specific technology initiatives mentioned in management discussions
- Patents filed in the past 2 years and their strategic alignment
- Technical talent acquisition trends (if mentioned)
- References to digital transformation, automation, or emerging technologies
4. FUTURE GROWTH VECTORS:
- New product or service areas receiving increasing mention
- Geographic expansion plans or market penetration strategies
- Emerging revenue streams and their growth trajectory
- Long-term strategic initiatives that align with my expertise in [YOUR EXPERTISE]
5. INNOVATION LIFECYCLE ASSESSMENT:
- Signs indicating whether they're in growth, maturity, or decline phase in their innovation cycle
- Balance between maintaining existing products vs. developing new offerings
- Language patterns suggesting risk aversion vs. innovation appetite
- Executive emphasis on efficiency vs. growth and how that's changed over time
6. STRUCTURAL RED/GREEN FLAGS:
- Significant restructuring activities or workforce adjustments
- Changes in key technical leadership positions
- Shifts in organizational structure affecting R&D or product development
- Partnerships, acquisitions, or divestitures signaling strategic direction
Please extract specific quotes from executives about technology strategy and future direction, noting dates and contexts. Also highlight any discrepancies between stated priorities and actual investment patterns that might reveal the company's true strategic direction.
✨ Get a vibe check on the company
Your work goes beyond the company performance and just numbers though. It’s equally important what life at a company would be like, often for mid-level roles or junior roles, the vibe of the company is way more improtant than anything else.
Things like what an average day looks like at the company, how involved the founders are in the mission, what are some unconventional customs at the company you can look forward to, what do people specifically like about working there… and so on are what end up giving a much clearer picture of working there.
# What's the Real Vibe at [COMPANY]?
I'm considering [COMPANY] and need the unfiltered truth about their culture and environment. Skip the business analysis - I need to know what it's actually like to work there day-to-day.
## Founder presence and influence
- Are founders still actively involved or checked out? What percentage do they still own?
- Do they still drive product decisions or has that moved to committees?
- Can regular employees interact with founders or are they isolated?
- Does the original mission still guide the company or has it been diluted?
- How has the culture changed as the company has grown?
## Authentic culture assessment
- What's the actual vibe - energetic, burnt out, corporate, creative, political?
- What do former employees consistently cite as reasons for leaving?
- Is it dominated by certain personality types or genuinely diverse in thinking?
- Do meetings feel productive and engaged or performative?
- Are people genuinely friends or just professional colleagues?
- How much do politics and favoritism impact success versus actual contribution?
- What behaviors are rewarded in reality vs. what they claim to value?
## Work environment realities
- How does it compare to its reputation - better, worse, or completely different?
- What's the real approach to flexibility and work-life boundaries?
- Do people take vacations without guilt or is there implicit pressure?
- How do managers actually treat their reports when things go wrong?
- Are people comfortable challenging ideas or is conformity expected?
- Do teams collaborate effectively or protect their territories?
- What's the unspoken dress code and appearance expectations?
## Communication and transparency
- Do employees speak honestly or carefully manage what they say?
- Are failures and challenges discussed openly or hidden?
- How much information is shared about company decisions and direction?
- Do different departments know what others are doing?
- Is feedback genuinely welcome or performatively requested?
- Do employees feel safe raising concerns?
## Signs of health or dysfunction
- Is the turnover rate concerning in specific departments?
- Do people look energized or exhausted?
- How do employees talk about the company on social media and blogs?
- Are perks substantive or superficial distractions from deeper issues?
- Do long-term employees still show passion or have they become cynical?
- Is the culture consistent across locations/departments or fragmented?
## The real day-to-day
- What does a typical day actually look like for someone in my role?
- How do decisions actually get made versus the official process?
- What unwritten rules or norms would surprise a newcomer?
- What would my first three months really be like?
- What frustrations would I likely encounter that aren't mentioned in interviews?
Please give me the honest, unvarnished reality - both positive and negative. I want to know what this place is actually like, not what they present to candidates.
💭 Find user pain points and product strengths
The voice of a company’s customers is the purest, unadulterated signal of trust that you can gauge early on. A lot of such feedback is available on their product’s reviews, Reddit forums, Google ratings, and many other places. You can use LLMs to give you a clear sense of what customers absolutely love about the company and hate about the company.
Apart from the concerns the customers have, knowing what they love about the company’s products is just as important – you can use this information during interviews strategically by connecting it to the ideas you can share about improving the products even further.
I'm researching customer perceptions of [COMPANY NAME]'s products/services for an upcoming interview. Please analyze available customer feedback from multiple sources to provide me with an unfiltered view of their market reception:
1. SENTIMENT CARTOGRAPHY:
- Identify the 5 most consistently praised aspects of their products/services
- Identify the 5 most frequently criticized aspects of their products/services
- Map emotional intensity across different feedback categories (what drives passionate responses vs. mild reactions)
- Detect shifts in customer sentiment over the past 12-18 months and potential causes
2. PRODUCT STRENGTH ANALYSIS:
- Specific features or experiences that customers repeatedly highlight as exceptional
- Comparative advantages mentioned when users switch from competitor products
- Unique value propositions that resonate most strongly with actual users
- "Unexpected delights" - positive aspects customers didn't anticipate before using the product
- Customer loyalty drivers that could be amplified or expanded
3. PAIN POINT DETECTION:
- Recurring frustrations mentioned across multiple feedback channels
- Specific use cases or scenarios where the product consistently falls short
- Unmet customer needs or expectations that appear in feedback
- Feature requests or improvements most frequently mentioned
- Instances where customers mention workarounds to overcome limitations
4. CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION INSIGHTS:
- Differences in feedback between user types (e.g., enterprise vs. individual, frequent vs. occasional)
- Variations in priorities across different user segments
- Specific user personas who appear most satisfied vs. most frustrated
- How technical vs. non-technical users perceive the product differently
5. COMPETITIVE COMPARISON:
- How users directly compare the product to specific competitors
- Features or aspects where competitors are mentioned as superior
- Areas where users believe the company has a clear advantage over alternatives
- Switching triggers that cause users to move to or from competitor products
6. INTERVIEW PREPARATION INSIGHTS:
- Strategic opportunities I could discuss that address key pain points
- Ways I could suggest enhancing already-strong features that customers love
- Thoughtful questions I could ask about customer feedback implementation
- How my specific skills/background could help address identified customer needs
Please analyze sources including product review sites, social media (especially Reddit, Twitter, and relevant forums), app store reviews, Trustpilot/G2/Capterra ratings, and YouTube comments/reviews. Identify patterns across multiple sources rather than isolated opinions, and note any significant discrepancies between official marketing claims and actual customer experiences.
⚖️ Understand calibration level & expectations
Companies aren’t always methodical in structuring their levels in design. This is quite the case even in Product and Engineering. A job posting for ‘Senior Designer’ could be quite different for company A and for company B. Companies also don’t always write good job descriptions. It’s hard to come across a JD that’s crisp, good, and real. Most are just copied and remixed and hence useless.
You can chat with LLMs to figure out from the tons of information they have ingested what the expectations could be for a specific role and level you’re targeting at the company. This clarity is quite important and can help you save time if there’s no fit by revealing expectations clearly.
I need to decode the true expectations for a [SPECIFIC ROLE] at [COMPANY NAME] (level: [SENIOR/MID/JUNIOR/ETC]). Please help me analyze:
1. WHAT THIS ROLE REALLY MEANS HERE:
- How does this job title/level compare to similar positions at companies like Google, Meta, or typical startups?
- What's this same role called at [3-4 COMPETITOR COMPANIES] and how do the responsibilities differ?
- Is this title inflated or deflated compared to industry standards?
- How might responsibilities at this company differ from what I'd expect elsewhere?
2. REAL EXPECTATIONS VS. LISTED REQUIREMENTS:
- How many years of experience do people in this role typically have?
- Which skills are truly must-haves vs. what they're willing to compromise on?
- Will I be working solo or leading others?
- How much decision-making power does someone at this level actually have?
- What kind of output and timeline pressures are realistic in this role?
3. HOW THE ROLE HAS CHANGED:
- How has this position evolved at the company over the last few years?
- Which skills matter more now than they did before?
- Where do people in this role typically go next in the company?
- How long do people usually stay at this level before moving up?
4. COMPANY CULTURE REALITY CHECK:
- How does their business and product strategy affect day-to-day work?
- Which company values actually impact how this role operates?
- What's their real work style (collaborative, independent, process-heavy)?
- Who would I report to and work with across teams?
5. MONEY TALK:
- What's the real salary range here vs. what similar companies pay?
- Any quirks in how they structure compensation (equity, bonuses, etc.)?
- How does location factor into their pay scale?
- Where might I have leverage in negotiations?
6. WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE:
- How will my performance actually be measured?
- What causes people to struggle in this role?
- What backgrounds do people who excel here typically have?
- Warning signs that might indicate this isn't the right fit for me
7. INTERVIEW STRATEGY:
- Which parts of my background should I emphasize?
- How can I address obvious gaps in my experience?
- Questions I should ask to uncover unstated expectations
- Which work examples would resonate most with them
Please look at current employees' LinkedIn profiles, company structure, Glassdoor reviews, and recent articles to give me insights beyond their generic job posting.
🧠 Plug your jargon gaps
Every company has specific terminology they use for different artifacts and metrics, and parts of the product. When I was at Google, learning this vocabulary took me months. And when I did, it became an invaluable asset to communicate quickly and effectively.
But that’s not all. There’s industry-specific jargon too. If you’ve designed for SaaS or for domains like Sales, you may still not know terms like TCO. TCO is Total Cost of Ownership – a typical term used to measure the cost of running and managing software. You may have missed this term completely because your company doesn’t use it. Or uses a different one.
LLMs can help you get up to speed on these so that when you talk to a company, you can use the terms they understand or terms that are industry-standard, instead of those you used only within your company.
I'm interviewing at [COMPANY NAME] for a [POSITION] role in the [INDUSTRY/SECTOR] space. Help me understand the key terminology I should know:
1. Company-specific language:
- Based on their website, job postings, and public communications, what unique terms or acronyms does this company use?
- Are there specific frameworks or methodologies they mention repeatedly in their materials?
- Do they have proprietary names for product features or processes?
- How do they refer to different user segments or customer types?
2. Industry terminology I might not know:
- What are the 15-20 most common acronyms and terms used in this industry that might not be obvious to outsiders?
- Which metrics and KPIs are standard in this field but might not be used elsewhere?
- Are there industry frameworks or models I should be familiar with?
- What technical or specialized vocabulary would insiders use when discussing this field?
3. Translating my experience:
- How do terms from my background in [CURRENT/PREVIOUS INDUSTRY] translate to this new context?
- What concepts might I know by different names based on my experience?
- Are there terms I currently use that might confuse or be misinterpreted by people in this new context?
4. Using terminology effectively:
- Which terms should I prioritize incorporating to sound knowledgeable?
- How can I naturally work these terms into interview responses?
- What questions can I ask that demonstrate I understand key concepts without forcing jargon?
- How can I clarify unfamiliar terms during an interview without seeming uninformed?
5. Real-world examples:
- Give me 3-5 sample sentences using their terminology correctly in context
- Show me how I might explain my past work using their preferred terminology
- Provide examples of how terminology might differ between this company and others in the same space
Please pull terminology from their company blog, product documentation, executive interviews, job descriptions, and industry publications to ensure accuracy. Focus on terms that would genuinely help me communicate more effectively, not just impress with buzzwords.
💪 Analyze your profile readiness
You often assume you fit a role. It’s nice and optimistic to think so. And then when you get rejected, you beat yourself up over why that happened. I think in general you should always prepare and be fully aware of whether you’re punching above your weight when you apply for a role or if you’re at par with the role.
Generally sharing your profile, i.e. your LinkedIn link, your portfolio, your career summary, and the role description with LLMs can help you get that preliminary check. You can still aim high even if you’re not fully ready yet. You just would have to prepare more.
Help me honestly assess the gap between my current skills and a job I'm targeting:
Here's where I am now:
- My LinkedIn profile: [LINK]
- My portfolio: [LINK]
- Current role/title: [TITLE]
- Summary of my experience: [BRIEF CAREER SUMMARY]
- Core skills & strengths: [LIST YOUR TOP SKILLS]
- Recent projects I'm proud of: [1-3 EXAMPLES]
- Areas I know I need development: [BE HONEST]
Here's the role I'm targeting:
- Job description: [PASTE FULL JD]
- Company: [COMPANY NAME]
- Industry context: [RELEVANT CONTEXT]
Please analyze:
1. Skills match assessment:
- Which requirements do I clearly meet based on my experience?
- Which requirements am I close on but might need to strengthen?
- Which requirements show significant gaps?
- Are there implied skills not explicitly stated that might be expected?
2. Experience alignment:
- How does my experience level compare to what they're likely seeking?
- Are there specific experiences I'm missing that seem critical?
- Does my project history demonstrate relevant capabilities?
- How close am I to being truly qualified vs. aspirationally qualified?
3. Reality check:
- On a scale of 1-10, how qualified am I for this role honestly?
- Am I reaching, at level, or potentially overqualified?
- What would a hiring manager's first impression likely be?
- Would I be considered a risky hire or a solid candidate?
4. Preparation strategy:
- What specific gaps should I address during interview preparation?
- How can I frame my experience to highlight transferable skills?
- Which aspects of my background should I emphasize?
- What examples should I prepare to demonstrate relevant capabilities?
- What questions should I be ready to address about my readiness?
5. Application decision:
- Is this role realistic for me now or better as a future target?
- If I'm reaching, what intermediate roles might bridge the gap?
- How many additional months/years of experience would make me competitive?
- Specific steps I could take to become a stronger candidate
Please be brutally honest - I need a realistic assessment, not encouragement. I want to understand exactly where I stand so I can prepare effectively or adjust my targets if needed.
🎁 Brainstorm a few ideas for the company
It goes without saying that if you go into an interview process with a general idea of how you’d help improve their products or experience, it is a good sign.
More than the quality of the ideas, it’s the willingness to do the work before you have the job. And honestly, it doesn’t take a lot to come up with a few interesting ideas for any product out there. Jam with the LLMs and have a few handy.
I'm interviewing at [COMPANY NAME] for a [POSITION] role and want to bring some meaningful product improvement ideas to discuss. Help me develop 3-5 thoughtful suggestions based on:
About their product:
- Product/feature to analyze: [PRODUCT NAME]
- Main user base: [TARGET USERS]
- Current pain points I've observed: [LIST 2-3 ISSUES]
- Their recent product direction: [RECENT UPDATES OR FOCUS]
- Competitors doing interesting things: [1-2 COMPETITORS]
For each improvement idea:
1. Give me a clear concept that addresses a real user need
2. Explain how it benefits both users and their business goals
3. Connect it to their existing product strategy/direction
4. Include implementation considerations (complexity, timeline)
5. Suggest how I might naturally introduce this in conversation
6. Explain why my background makes me suited to help with this
Also provide:
- A few open-ended questions I could ask that would create an opportunity to share these ideas
- Ways to present these as collaborative suggestions rather than criticisms
- How to frame these ideas to show I've done my homework without seeming presumptuous
Focus on practical improvements that demonstrate my understanding of their product, users, and business, not just flashy features.
📱 Develop a cool prototype
This is a very 2025 thing to say – building a prototype is as easy as firing a quick prompt these days. But it’s quite powerful if you use it right.
Let’s say you have an interview with Airbnb. You know Airbnb has been struggling to give their Experiences the due visibility on the platform. You can think about this problem and come up with a creative solution for it (viability aside). The best way for a company like Airbnb that respects designers getting hands-on with code could be to hack up a prototype that works well.
Lovable, Bolt, v0.dev… there’s a ton of tools out there. No reason to not get your hands dirty.
I need to build a quick, impressive prototype for my [COMPANY] interview showing how I'd solve [SPECIFIC PROBLEM].
Context:
- Company: [COMPANY NAME]
- Problem I'm targeting: [SPECIFIC CHALLENGE]
- My concept: [YOUR SOLUTION IDEA]
- Target users: [PRIMARY USERS]
- Key interaction/feature to demonstrate: [CORE FUNCTIONALITY]
Help me:
1. Choose the right tool ([v0.dev/Bolt/Framer/etc.]) for this specific prototype
2. Draft the initial prompt or approach to create it quickly
3. Identify the key screens/states needed to tell the story
4. Suggest any interactive elements that would make it compelling
5. Plan how to present this in an interview setting (setup, narrative, key points)
I want something I can build in under [TIME CONSTRAINT] that demonstrates both my thinking and initiative.
🔬 Get your portfolio reviewed
I’ve written a ton about building better portfolios. I think we all need a brutal assessment of our portfolios every now and then. There’s a ton of room to improve the quality.
I suggest you ask LLMs to review your portfolio honestly and give you as clear feedback as it can to tactically improve everything you can. You’d realize that simple things like scroll behaviour on your website, choice of fonts, lack of project links, and lack of an intro section can all hamper your chances of advancing through interview conversations.
Eliminate this risk by getting your portfolio reviewed thoroughly.
Review my portfolio with brutal honesty and provide actionable improvements:
Portfolio link: [URL/PDF]
Target role: [POSITION I'M APPLYING FOR]
Target companies: [LIST 2-3 COMPANIES]
My experience level: [YEARS/LEVEL]
Areas I'm particularly concerned about: [ANY SPECIFIC CONCERNS]
Please evaluate:
1. First impressions and usability:
- What's your immediate reaction in the first 5 seconds?
- Any technical issues, load times, or navigation problems?
- How's the readability, typography, and visual hierarchy?
- Is scrolling behavior intuitive and smooth?
- Mobile responsiveness issues?
2. Content effectiveness:
- Is my introduction clear and compelling?
- Are my best projects immediately visible?
- Do my case studies tell coherent stories with clear problems and outcomes?
- Am I effectively showcasing my specific contributions vs. team efforts?
- Are metrics and results clearly highlighted?
- Missing information that leaves questions unanswered?
3. Project selection and presentation:
- Do my featured projects align with my target role?
- Is there sufficient depth vs. breadth?
- Are process explanations clear without being excessive?
- Quality of visuals and how they support my narrative?
- Missing project types that would strengthen my candidacy?
4. Technical portfolio elements:
- Specific UI/UX improvements needed?
- Missing or hard-to-find information?
- Call-to-action effectiveness?
- Contact information accessibility?
- Resume integration and downloadability?
5. Differentiation assessment:
- How does this compare to other portfolios at my level?
- What would make a hiring manager remember my work?
- Elements that feel generic or forgettable?
- Opportunities to better highlight my unique skills or perspective?
Please be brutally honest - I need specific, actionable feedback to improve my chances, not encouragement. Include 10 priority fixes I should make immediately.
🎙️ Prepare scenario-based questions
This is by far the trickiest part of interviews. Especially as you get more senior, the softer aspects of the job – communication, conflict resolution, managing stakeholders, and managing senior leadership become very important.
The interviews that test these aspects are very conversational. They focus on your lived experiences. Think about the toughest instance of a failed collaboration with your Engineering counterpart. Or that time when you really had to strike a compromise with a Product partner and how you navigated that conversation.
The hardest thing to do is to try and come up with these answers on the spot. You’d almost never remember the best, most suitable instance, and will forget details that will make your story stronger.
LLMs can be amazing at helping you prepare these scenarios. You give it a few of your stories, and it helps you craft the perfect narrative that you can use in these conversations.
Help me prepare powerful stories for behavioral interview questions. I need to craft 3-5 memorable examples that showcase my skills in handling challenging situations.
My target role: [POSITION & LEVEL]
My professional background: [BRIEF SUMMARY]
For each of these scenarios, help me structure a compelling narrative:
1. Difficult stakeholder situation:
[DESCRIBE A SPECIFIC CHALLENGING STAKEHOLDER SITUATION YOU FACED]
2. Cross-functional collaboration challenge:
[DESCRIBE A SPECIFIC COLLABORATION CHALLENGE YOU NAVIGATED]
3. Leadership disagreement:
[DESCRIBE A SITUATION WHERE YOU MANAGED UPWARD EFFECTIVELY]
4. Design compromise:
[DESCRIBE A SITUATION WHERE YOU HAD TO BALANCE COMPETING PRIORITIES]
5. Project recovery:
[DESCRIBE A SITUATION WHERE YOU TURNED AROUND A STRUGGLING PROJECT]
For each story, help me:
- Craft a concise yet detailed narrative following the STAR method
- Highlight the specific interpersonal/soft skills demonstrated
- Emphasize my decision-making process and the principles that guided me
- Include concrete outcomes and what I learned
- Identify key moments that show emotional intelligence and leadership
- Prepare for follow-up questions interviewers might ask
Please focus on making these stories authentic, memorable, and relevant to senior-level expectations. I want to internalize these stories, not memorize them word-for-word.
🚧 Structure your case study presentation
I love this capability of LLMs the most. It’s so hard to describe how powerful this is. In the lead-up to the interview conversations, you can literally keep feeding details of your case study bit by bit to the LLM across days, and then you can just one-shot a very compelling cohesive narrative to build your presentation that covers everything you fed to it.
That’s insane.
You can tell the LLM the time duration you have to present, who the interview panel is going to be and the contents of your case study, and it will masterfully help you create a great outline for your deck.
Help me structure a powerful case study presentation for my upcoming interview:
Presentation details:
- Company I'm interviewing with: [COMPANY NAME]
- Role I'm applying for: [POSITION]
- Time allotted: [DURATION] minutes
- Interview panel composition: [TITLES/ROLES OF INTERVIEWERS]
- Presentation format: [SLIDE DECK/LIVE DEMO/PORTFOLIO WALKTHROUGH]
About my case study:
- Project title: [PROJECT NAME]
- My role: [YOUR ROLE]
- Timeline: [DURATION]
- Team composition: [WHO YOU WORKED WITH]
- Key challenges: [MAIN PROBLEMS ADDRESSED]
- Business impact: [METRICS/OUTCOMES]
I've been collecting details about this project over time. Here are all the pieces I want to include (in no particular order):
[PASTE ALL YOUR NOTES, BULLET POINTS, METRICS, PROCESS DETAILS, CHALLENGES, SOLUTIONS, IMAGES DESCRIPTIONS, ETC.]
Please help me:
1. Create a compelling narrative arc for this presentation
2. Suggest a minute-by-minute breakdown of how to use my time effectively
3. Identify the 3-5 most important points to emphasize
4. Structure a presentation outline with slide recommendations
5. Note where to include specific examples, visuals, or demonstrations
6. Suggest areas where I should prepare for likely questions
7. Recommend how to adjust the presentation if time runs short
My goal is to demonstrate both my technical skills and my strategic thinking while keeping the audience engaged throughout.
⏱️ Time your presentation
Interview panels see timing your presentation as something that’s as important as the contents of the presentation. And we’re really bad at guessing how long a presentation would take.
You can rehearse with an LLM and check how long each section would take. It can also help you edit out inessential parts that eat up time.
Strongly recommended.
Help me fine-tune the timing of my interview presentation:
Presentation details:
- Total time allotted: [DURATION] minutes
- Current presentation outline:
[PASTE YOUR FULL PRESENTATION OUTLINE/SCRIPT]
Please analyze my presentation for timing optimization:
1. Estimate how long each section would likely take to present
2. Identify sections that are too detailed or could run long
3. Flag essential vs. non-essential content
4. Suggest specific cuts or condensations to save time
5. Recommend time allocations for each section (intro, problem statement, process, solution, results, Q&A)
6. Highlight points where I'm likely to get derailed by questions
7. Suggest transitions that keep the presentation moving efficiently
My goal is to deliver a compelling presentation that respects time constraints while still showcasing my best work.
💰 Analyze compensation plan
This is the most fun amongst all of the above. Probably because it means you’ve scored an offer already.
Compensation packages are hard to discuss with people around you. Not with LLMs, though. You can summarize compensation offer letters effectively, plan out your earnings for the next 4 years along with a reasonable % increment factor, and pull in data from sources on the internet to compare how the offer ranks against some of the competitors, the market benchmarks, and your own previous compensation package.
You can also factor in the cost of living in your location, compare it to a few other geographies you care about, and see how the offer stacks up.
Another thing LLMs do a great job at is factoring in the unquantifiable aspects of an offer – the prestige of the company, remote vs on-site, length of the commute, quality of life in the location offered, and so on. This makes it an invaluable tool to discuss your offer in detail.
Help me analyze and evaluate this job offer comprehensively:
Offer details:
- Company: [COMPANY NAME]
- Position: [ROLE & LEVEL]
- Location: [CITY/REMOTE STATUS]
- Base salary: [AMOUNT]
- Bonus structure: [DETAILS]
- Equity: [AMOUNT, TYPE, VESTING SCHEDULE]
- Benefits: [HEALTH, RETIREMENT, PERKS]
- Starting date: [DATE]
For comparison:
- My current/previous compensation: [DETAILS]
- My target compensation: [AMOUNT/RANGE]
- My location/cost of living: [CURRENT LOCATION]
- Other offers I'm considering: [BRIEF DETAILS IF ANY]
Please analyze:
1. How this stacks up against the market:
- Comparison to industry standards for similar roles
- How it ranks against competitors like [LIST 2-3 COMPETITORS]
- Whether it's fair value based on my experience level
2. Long-term outlook (4-year projection):
- Total compensation over 4 years with reasonable growth
- What my equity might be worth (worst-case, likely, and best-case)
- Potential career advancement and pay growth
3. Location and lifestyle factors:
- Cost of living compared to where I am now
- Tax differences I should know about
- Housing and commute situation
- Quality of life considerations
4. Beyond the numbers:
- Growth and learning potential
- Company stability and direction
- Expected work-life balance
- Team culture and fit
- How this role helps my career long-term
5. Negotiation approach:
- Where I have the most leverage based on market data
- Realistic counter-offer suggestions
- Which non-salary benefits might be negotiable
- How to frame my response effectively
Please include specific data points where you can and help me understand both the immediate value and long-term impact of this offer.
Phew, that was long. I hope you can see how powerful such a way to go about job search can be. Let me know if there’s anything I missed.
Caveat of using LLMs
I do not support using LLMs during interviews. All my examples above are for the preparation before the interviews or when you’re in the process. There have been many examples of people cheating by employing an LLM to answer questions on their behalf. The jury is still out on how we all collectively feel about this as the industry, but it’s definitely not okay to do so if the other party is unaware and has not agreed to allow LLMs to be employed during interviews.