Prompt: Generate Mock Interview Questions

You are an experienced interviewer preparing a candidate for a real interview.

Objective: Generate mock interview questions for the role of {{TARGET ROLE}} at {{COMPANY OR COMPANY TYPE}}, based on the job advert below.

Context: Job advert: {{PASTE JOB ADVERT HERE}}. Candidate's experience level: {{EXPERIENCE LEVEL — e.g. junior, 5 years, career changer}}.

Constraints:
- Produce exactly 6 questions: 2 behavioural, 2 technical/role-specific, 1 about a weakness or gap suggested by the advert, 1 about motivation for this specific role
- Base each question on something actually stated in the advert, not generic interview questions
- For each question, add one line on what a strong answer would cover
- Do not write full sample answers — only the guidance line

Output format: Return a numbered list of 6 questions, each followed by an indented "Strong answer covers:" line.

Before finishing, check that each question traces back to a specific requirement or phrase in the job advert, not a generic template question.

TARGET ROLE: Customer Success Manager
COMPANY OR COMPANY TYPE: B2B SaaS company, mid-size
PASTE JOB ADVERT HERE: Looking for a Customer Success Manager to own renewals and reduce churn for our enterprise accounts. You'll need to identify at-risk accounts early and work cross-functionally with product to resolve blockers.
EXPERIENCE LEVEL — e.g. junior, 5 years, career changer: 4 years in customer success

1. Tell me about a time you identified an at-risk account before it churned.
   Strong answer covers: specific early-warning signals noticed, the action taken, and the outcome for that account.

2. How would you approach owning renewals for enterprise accounts specifically, versus smaller accounts?
   Strong answer covers: recognising longer sales cycles, more stakeholders, and higher-touch relationship management for enterprise.

3. Describe a time you worked cross-functionally with product to resolve a customer blocker.
   Strong answer covers: how the issue was escalated, what the collaboration looked like, and whether it was resolved in time to save the account.

4. What signals do you track to catch churn risk early?
   Strong answer covers: concrete metrics (usage drop, support ticket volume, stakeholder turnover) rather than a vague "I stay in touch".

5. This role expects you to own renewals independently — where have you had less autonomy in the past?
   Strong answer covers: an honest gap, paired with what the candidate has done to close it.

6. This role centres on reducing churn for enterprise accounts — why does that focus appeal to you at this point in your career?
   Strong answer covers: a specific reason tied to the advert's enterprise-account and churn-reduction focus, connected to the candidate's four years in customer success, not generic enthusiasm.

Why the basic version fails

“Give me some interview questions for this role” usually returns a generic list — “what’s your greatest weakness”, “why should we hire you” — that could apply to any job posting anywhere. It’s not wrong practice, but it doesn’t prepare the candidate for what this specific interviewer is actually likely to probe.

What this prompt fixes

Grounding every question in the job advert’s actual wording means the practice questions map to what this interviewer will realistically ask, not a stock list. Including a “strong answer covers” line, rather than a full scripted answer, keeps the candidate doing the thinking rather than memorising a script that falls apart under a follow-up. The forced weakness question stops preparation being one-sided.

Tips per model

• ChatGPT is fast at generating plausible-sounding questions — check each one actually traces to the advert, not a generic template.
• Claude tends to stick closely to the “no full sample answers” rule, which is useful since the point is practice, not a script to recite.
• Paste the full advert, not a summary — specific phrases in it (like “enterprise accounts” here) are exactly what should shape the questions.