What each part of the prompt does
- One question, then wait
- Without this rule, chat models tend to write the whole interview at once, both sides included. Asking Claude to stop after each question turns the conversation into actual practice, where you have to think on the spot.
- Stage and company type
- A phone screen with a recruiter and a final round with a team lead ask different things. Naming [STAGE] and [COMPANY TYPE] sets the depth, the tone and how much the questions dig into the role itself.
- Follow-up on vague answers
- Real interviewers rarely accept "I helped improve the process" and move on. One follow-up per weak answer trains you to bring a specific example the first time.
- Feedback held to the end
- Comments after every answer break the rhythm and make the practice feel easy. Saving them for the end, with quotes from what you actually said, gives you a review you can act on before the real interview.
Variations to try
Same idea, one thing changed.
Tough interviewer Run a mock interview with me for the [JOB TITLE] position at a [COMPANY TYPE]. Setup: - Interview stage: [STAGE] - The job posting or main requirements: [REQUIREMENTS] - My background in a few lines: [BACKGROUND] - Number of questions: [QUESTION COUNT] How to run it: 1. Play a demanding but fair interviewer. Ask one question, then stop and wait for my answer. Never write my answers for me. 2. Focus on the weakest points in my background: gaps, short stints, missing skills from the requirements. 3. Challenge every answer that lacks a concrete example with one pointed follow-up. 4. Stay in character during the interview. No feedback, hints or praise between questions. When the last question is answered, step out of the role and give me: - For each answer: one thing that worked and one thing to change, quoting my own words. - The answer that would worry a hiring manager most, and why. - A stronger version of my weakest answer, built only from facts I mentioned. - Three questions I should ask the interviewer at the end of the real interview. Start now with your first question.
Feedback after each answer Run a mock interview with me for the [JOB TITLE] position at a [COMPANY TYPE]. Setup: - Interview stage: [STAGE] - The job posting or main requirements: [REQUIREMENTS] - My background in a few lines: [BACKGROUND] - Number of questions: [QUESTION COUNT] How to run it: 1. Ask one question, then stop and wait for my answer. Never write my answers for me. 2. Mix questions about my background, past situations and the role's daily work. 3. After each answer, give two lines of feedback: what worked and what to change, quoting my words. Then let me try the same question again before you move on. At the end, give me three questions I should ask the interviewer. Start now with your first question.
If the result isn't right
- Answer by voice if your device allows it, or at least type at speaking pace; polished typed answers hide the pauses and filler words you will have in the room.
- Run the same prompt twice with a different [STAGE]; the questions a recruiter asks on a phone screen rarely match the ones a team lead asks later.
- Copy the stronger answer Claude writes into your notes, then put it in your own words before the real interview, so it does not sound memorised.
- If Claude starts giving hints mid-interview, reply "stay in character, next question" and it will return to the interviewer role.