General Preparation
39 emails
Current Revision: v2026.1
Interview preparation fundamentals and process navigation.
This newsletter covers a lot of content about general preparation and will duplicate little bits of content from this web site and some some of the other newsletters. It covers personal brand, how to research companies, now to network with people, what kinds of 'recruiters' to stay away from, how to ask gret questions in an interview, and how to handle rejections and job offers. Daily delivery of content is recommended if you're actively preparing or already on the job market. If you're in a comfortable role and not expecting to look for new work in 3 months or more, 2 messages per week is a good pace.
Audience
Some content is specific to the tech industry, but most content is general purpose, suitable for any job seeker.
Recommended pace
Daily delivery if you're thinking about starting a job hunt or if you're actively looking for a new job now.
Prior Knowledge
None; some examples from the tech industry, but mostly general use.
Topics / lessons
This is the current set of emails/lessons in this series.
- Build your personal brand
- Responsible AI Usage during the Job Search
- My top 2 job search tips
- Your first tech job is the hardest
- Staffing agencies and consultancies
- Beware of job accelerators
- LinkedIn networking strategies
- Use your network for job leads
- Informational interviews for insight
- Why company research matters
- How to research company culture
- Research company products & services
- Research your interviewers
- Craft your perfect pitch
- Customize your resume for each application
- Write compelling cover letters
- Practice mock interviews
- Storytelling in interviews
- Track your job applications
- Apply for remote jobs successfully
- Interview day preparation checklist
- Dress for interview success
- In-person interview conduct
- Remote interview success
- Manage pre-interview anxiety
- Body language in interviews
- Reasonable take-home assignments
- Navigate interview questions well
- Ask great interview questions
- Post-interview reflection
- Follow-up and thank-you notes
- Companies should respect your time too
- Handle feedback and rejection well
- Salary negotiation basics
- Understand job offers completely
- Counter-offers and renegotiation
- How to decline a job offer
- Continuous learning for career growth
- General Interview Prep series wrap-up