How to use them
- Talk, don't type. Aim for 4 to 8 sentences each. Stories beat bullet points.
- You don't need a big resume. A class project, a club, a part-time job, research, a hackathon, or a side project all count as real experience.
- Use real names, numbers, and outcomes ("raised $2k", "team of 5", "got 200 signups").
- Don't self-edit for grammar; Claude Code cleans it up later. Just keep talking.
- Say only what you'd be comfortable on a public website. Anything private gets stripped later, but it is easier to not say it.
- Short on time? Do the ★ core 30. They cover everything the chatbot needs. The rest add color.
1. Snapshot & positioning
- 1In two or three sentences, who are you and what are you looking for right now?★ core
- 2What kind of role, internship, or field are you targeting, and why that?★ core
- 3What's the throughline across your experiences so far, the thing that connects classes, jobs, and activities that might look unrelated on paper?
- 4What are you genuinely good at? Name two or three strengths and give a quick example of each, from anywhere: class, a job, a project, a club.★ core
- 5Where are you still growing? What's a skill you're deliberately working on right now?
- 6What makes you different from other students applying for the same roles?
2. Experience & impact
- 7Walk me through your most significant experience so far, an internship, a job, research, or a big class or club project. What did you actually do?★ core
- 8What accomplishment are you proudest of, and what was the result? A number if you have one.★ core
- 9Tell me about a time you took something disorganized or broken and made it better, a process, a group project, a task at work.
- 10Describe a project you owned from start to finish. What was it and how did it turn out?★ core
- 11Tell me about a time you led or stepped up without a title, got a group moving without being in charge of them.★ core
- 12What's the hardest problem you've solved, in a class, a project, or a job, and how did you crack it?★ core
- 13Tell me about a time you failed or something didn't work out. What did you learn?★ core
- 14Describe a time you had to learn something new, fast, to get something done.★ core
- 15Tell me about a decision you made without having all the information you wanted.
- 16When have you disagreed with a teammate, a professor, or a manager? How did it play out?
- 17Give an example of a time you convinced a group to go with your idea.
- 18What's a measurable result you can point to, a grade you pulled up, money raised, signups, hours saved, a percentage, and how did you get it?★ core
3. Skills & how you work
- 19What's your toolkit, the software, languages, or platforms you actually use?★ core
- 20How do you use AI in school or work? Give a concrete example.★ core
- 21How do you approach a problem you've never seen before?★ core
- 22How do you prioritize when everything's due at once, finals, deadlines, work, all of it?
- 23How do you like to work in a team? What role do you usually end up playing in group projects?★ core
- 24How do you handle feedback? Give an example of acting on tough feedback from a professor, manager, or teammate.★ core
- 25What does "good enough to turn in" or "ready to ship" mean to you? How do you know when something's done?
- 26Describe how you'd explain a complicated idea to someone without the background.
4. Projects & building
- 27Tell me about something you made or started outside of class requirements, a side project, an event, a club, content, anything.★ core
- 28What were you trying to solve, and who was it for?★ core
- 29What did you learn building it that a class couldn't have taught you?
- 30What's something you want to build or do next, and why that?★ core
- 31When you start something new, how do you decide it's worth your time?
5. Motivation & fit
- 32Why this field or major? What pulled you in?★ core
- 33What kind of work energizes you, and what drains you?★ core
- 34What does a great team and a great manager or mentor look like to you?
- 35What are you optimizing for in your first roles, growth, learning, impact, money, something else?★ core
- 36What would make you turn down an otherwise good offer?
- 37Where do you want to be a few years after graduating?★ core
- 38What's a belief you hold about your field that not everyone agrees with?
6. Education & background
- 39Walk me through your education so far, your major, your focus, and why you chose it.★ core
- 40What's a class, subject, or thing you studied that you still think with today?
- 41How did you get into the field or major you're in? What was the path?★ core
- 42What's a formative experience, school, work, or life, that shaped how you operate?★ core
7. The human behind the resume
- 43What do you do for fun, and does any of it connect to how you work?★ core
- 44What's a strong opinion you have about your field right now?★ core
- 45Who or what has shaped how you think, a person, a book, a mentor, a moment?
- 46What's something people are surprised to learn about you?
- 47How would a close friend or teammate describe working with you?★ core
- 48What's a habit or routine that keeps you sharp?
8. The close
- 49Why should someone pick you over a similar candidate? Make the case.★ core
- 50Is there anything important about you that none of these questions surfaced? Say it now.