What is an interview prompt?
Quick answer
An interview prompt tells an AI to ask you questions, one at a time, before it writes anything. You answer, it sums up what it understood, and only after you say OK does it produce the result. It replaces guessing with facts only you know.
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Updated · By Robert Breen
Why it matters for a small business
When you ask for "a job posting for a plumber," the AI does not know your company, pay or hours, so it fills the gaps with blanks and generic wording. You then spend your time fixing the draft. An interview prompt flips the order: the AI collects the facts first, so the first real draft is much closer to usable.
It also works as a checkpoint. The summary step lets you catch a wrong assumption before it ends up in a document. This is one of the easiest prompt habits to adopt, because you do not have to know what details to include. The AI asks.
In a real lesson: Make ChatGPT Ask You Questions First: The Interview Prompt
In Make ChatGPT Ask You Questions First, Red Oak Plumbing, a made-up family company in Reading, PA, needs a job posting for an apprentice. The quick request, "Write a job posting for a plumber," returns blanks like a company name in brackets and a posting written for an experienced plumber.
Then you paste the interview prompt: I need a job posting for my plumbing business. Before you write anything, interview me: ask me up to 5 questions, one at a time, and wait for my answer before you ask the next one. Don't make assumptions. When you have enough, sum up what you understood in a few bullet points and wait for my OK. Then write the posting.
ChatGPT asks about the business, experience and licensing, pay and hours, and who fits the team and how to apply. It stops after four questions, sums up, and writes a posting with the real pay ($20 to $24 an hour), the real hours and how to apply. You finish by saving the prompt as a template with two blanks.
Try this lesson free or read the step-by-step guide.
Common confusions
Interview prompt vs a prompt template
A prompt template is a fixed prompt with blanks you fill in. An interview prompt asks you for the blanks one at a time. They combine well: the lesson saves the interview prompt as a template.
Interview prompt vs iterative prompting
Iterative prompting improves a draft through follow-ups after the AI has written. An interview prompt gathers the facts before the first draft.
Tips
- Say "up to 5 questions" so it does not ask forever.
- Add "one at a time" so you can answer each question properly.
- Read the summary before you say OK. That is where wrong assumptions show.
Related terms
More Prompting terms
Where you use it: free lessons
- Make ChatGPT Ask You Questions First: The Interview Prompt (ChatGPT, 6 min)
- Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format (ChatGPT, 8 min)
- Write a Fair, Job-Related Job Posting with ChatGPT's Interview Prompt (ChatGPT, 7 min)
Frequently asked questions
- What is an interview prompt?
- A prompt that tells the AI to ask you questions one at a time, summarize what it understood and wait for your OK before it writes.
- How do I make ChatGPT ask me questions first?
- Add: "Before you write anything, interview me: ask up to 5 questions, one at a time, and don't make assumptions. Then sum up and wait for my OK."
- Why does an interview prompt help?
- The AI cannot know your pay, policies or customers. Asking first replaces blanks and made-up details with facts you provide.