gh-dotclaude-marketplace-plugins-interview-assist/commands/strategy.md

model, allowed-tools, argument-hint, description

model	allowed-tools	argument-hint	description
claude-sonnet-4-0	Task, Read, Bash, Grep, Glob, Write	<company-name-or-type> <role-title> [--research-depth=surface|comprehensive] [--focus=company|role|alignment|preparation-plan]	Develop interview strategy for specific companies and roles

Interview Strategy & Preparation Coach

Develop a tailored strategy for your specific company and role. Understand what they're looking for, predict likely questions, and create a preparation plan.

Company Type Analysis

FAANG Scale (Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix)

Interview Characteristics:

• Coding: Hard algorithmic problems (LeetCode hard)
• System Design: Scale of millions/billions of users
• Bar: Very high; they're selective
• Process: Multiple rounds (4-6 hours total)

Preparation Focus:

• Master algorithms (this is their baseline)
• Practice hard problems daily
• Design for massive scale (1B+ users)
• Have stories about scale challenges

Typical Questions:

• "Design a feed system like Facebook"
• "Design a rate limiter"
• "Design a distributed cache"
• "Design a URL shortener at global scale"

Company-Specific Notes:

• Google: Loves system design depth + algorithms
• Meta: Cares about scale and rapid iteration
• Amazon: Values customer obsession + operational excellence
• Apple: Quality and user experience matter
• Netflix: Cares about resilience and performance

High-Growth Startup (Series C/D/E)

Interview Characteristics:

• Coding: Practical problems (can you ship?)
• System Design: Scaling from thousands to millions
• Bar: Moderate-high, but more practical
• Process: 2-3 rounds (2-3 hours)

Preparation Focus:

• Show you can ship quickly
• Demonstrate adaptability
• Have stories about scaling under pressure
• Understand their specific problems

Typical Questions:

• "We're at 100K users, getting slow. Fix it."
• "Design a system for our specific use case"
• "How would you approach our biggest technical problem?"
• "Tell me about scaling something rapidly"

Pre-Interview Research:

• Use their product
• Read their engineering blog
• Understand their tech stack
• Know their current challenges (from news/Crunchbase)

Well-Established Tech Company (Microsoft, Adobe, IBM, Oracle)

Interview Characteristics:

• Coding: Practical over theoretical
• System Design: Real-world with constraints
• Bar: Solid, but less extreme than FAANG
• Process: 2-3 rounds (2-3 hours)

Preparation Focus:

• Show you understand enterprise constraints
• Have stories about complex org navigation
• Know their products
• Understand their competitive position

Typical Questions:

• "Design a system for our customers"
• "How would you approach this legacy codebase?"
• "Tell me about working in large organizations"
• "How do you balance innovation and stability?"

Early-Stage Startup (Seed/Series A/B)

Interview Characteristics:

• Coding: May be optional or lighter
• System Design: Medium scale, specific to their needs
• Bar: Moderate, emphasis on fit
• Process: Casual (1-2 rounds, 1-2 hours)

Preparation Focus:

• Show genuine interest (not career move)
• Have opinions on their technical direction
• Demonstrate adaptability and learning
• Understand their vision

Typical Questions:

• "Tell me about yourself"
• "What would you work on first?"
• "How do you think about our technical challenges?"
• "Why do you want to join us?"

Role-Specific Strategy

IC Track (Individual Contributor)

What They Want:

• Technical contribution
• Mentorship/multiplying impact
• Technical leadership (without management)

Preparation:

• Coding: Solid (probably LeetCode medium+)
• System Design: Yes (you design systems)
• Behavioral: Focus on technical impact + mentorship

Sample Questions:

• "Design a system for this use case"
• "Tell me about your technical expertise"
• "How do you mentor others?"
• "Describe a system you scaled"

Tech Lead Track

What They Want:

• Technical excellence + people skills
• Can make architecture decisions
• Can help engineers succeed

Preparation:

• Coding: Strong (you need to code still)
• System Design: Yes (you decide architecture)
• Behavioral: Focus on both technical + people stories

Sample Questions:

• "Tell me about a team you've led"
• "How do you develop people?"
• "Design this system"
• "How do you handle technical disagreement?"

Manager Track

What They Want:

• Can grow people
• Can navigate org
• Can deliver results through others

Preparation:

• Coding: May be lighter (but not absent)
• System Design: Lighter (you don't design systems)
• Behavioral: Focus on people growth, retention, culture

Sample Questions:

• "Tell me about developing a person"
• "How do you handle underperforming engineer?"
• "Describe your team dynamics"
• "How do you balance business and team needs?"

Pre-Interview Preparation Plan

Week 1: Company Deep-Dive

• Use their product (spend 2+ hours)
• Read recent press (last 6 months)
• Study engineering blog (last 2 years)
• Check their job postings (understand hiring)
• Research leadership team
• Identify 5 technical challenges they likely face
• Understand their business model and competitors

Deliverable: One-page company summary with challenges you could solve

Week 2: Role Alignment

• Study job description deeply
• List top 10 requirements
• Map your background to each
• Identify gaps (be prepared to address)
• Write "why I want this role" (1-2 minutes)
• Prepare 3-5 relevant stories
• Generate 5-7 thoughtful questions to ask

Deliverable: Interview talking points aligned to role

Week 3: Interview Practice

• Practice coding (5-10 problems at their difficulty)
• Design 2-3 systems they likely build
• Mock interview (with friend)
• Get feedback on communication
• Time yourself (coding 30 min, system design 40 min)
• Practice behavioral stories (2-3 min each)
• Record yourself (watch for tics, clarity)

Deliverable: Confidence that you can execute under pressure

Week 4: Mental Prep

• Review your story bank (don't memorize, internalize)
• Review company research (brief last look)
• Prepare your work setup (quiet place, good internet)
• Get good sleep night before
• Eat healthy
• Arrive early (5 min buffer for tech checks)

Deliverable: Calm, prepared mindset

Question Prediction by Company Type

FAANG Typical Questions

• "Design a feed system"
• "Design a cache"
• "Design a rate limiter"
• "Design a distributed storage system"
• "How would you monitor this?"
• "Tell me about your biggest technical contribution"
• "How do you handle disagreement?"

Startup Typical Questions

• "Design an analytics system"
• "We're at X scale, it's slow. How do you solve it?"
• "Design a system for our specific need"
• "Tell me about rapid scaling"
• "How would you improve our tech?"
• "What would you work on first?"

Enterprise Typical Questions

• "Design a system for our customers"
• "How would you approach this legacy system?"
• "Tell me about working in large orgs"
• "How do you balance innovation and stability?"
• "Describe a complex project"
• "How do you influence across teams?"

Positioning Your Background

The Alignment Formula

For each major requirement in the job:

Step 1: Identify the requirement "They need someone who can [X]"

Step 2: Show you have it "At [company], I [did similar work]"

Step 3: Make it specific "Here's an example: [concrete project]"

Step 4: Quantify the impact "The result was [metric/outcome]"

Example Alignments

Requirement: "Experience scaling systems" Your background: "I scaled our database from 100K to 10M QPS" In interview: "That required [challenges], which is why I approach scaling by [methodology]"

Requirement: "Technical leadership" Your background: "I led architecture decisions across 3 teams" In interview: "I did this by [approach], which shows [capability]"

Requirement: "Infrastructure expertise" Your background: "I designed our microservices infrastructure from scratch" In interview: "The lessons I learned were [insights]"

Your "Why" Story (2 minutes)

Prepare to answer: "Why are you interested in this role?"

Structure:

1. What excites you about what they're building
2. Specific technical problem you want to solve
3. How your background prepares you
4. What's next for you

Example:

"I'm interested because:

1. You're solving distributed systems at scale—that's exciting
2. Specifically, I want to dive deep into distributed consensus—I've done similar work
3. My background in systems design means I can contribute immediately
4. I'm looking to go deeper on distributed systems, which this role offers
"

Red Flags & How to Address

If you're worried...

Concern: "I don't have exact experience in [X]" Strategy: "I have deep experience in [related skill], which transfers to [X]"

Concern: "I haven't worked at a company their size" Strategy: "I've scaled [system/team] from [small] to [large], showing I can grow"

Concern: "I'm coming from a different tech stack" Strategy: "I learn new tech quickly. Here's my approach to learning: [methodology]"

Concern: "I'm transitioning roles (IC→Lead, etc.)" Strategy: "I've been preparing by [evidence], and I'm excited about [new domain]"

Interview Day

Night Before

• Get good sleep (matters more than extra studying)
• Light review of company facts
• Prepare your work space

Morning Of

• Healthy breakfast
• Review your "why" story and key talking points
• Get to call 5 minutes early

During

• Take your time (silence while thinking is OK)
• Ask clarifying questions
• Think out loud
• Show genuine curiosity
• Be yourself

After

• Thank you email within 24 hours
• Reference something specific from conversation
• Reiterate genuine interest
• Keep it brief (don't oversell)

Success Metrics

You're well-prepared when:

• ✓ Can discuss their company/problems intelligently
• ✓ Have relevant stories for their role requirements
• ✓ Can solve coding problems at their difficulty
• ✓ Can design systems for their scale
• ✓ Can articulate why this role matters to you
• ✓ Have thoughtful questions to ask them
• ✓ Feel confident about your background/experience

You nailed the strategy when they seem interested in YOU specifically, not just looking for "anyone who can code."