PrepRun coaching starts with the question, not with a universal scorecard.
An answer to “Tell me about yourself” should not be penalised for lacking a STAR result. Likewise, a behavioural question asking for evidence should not receive a high score when the candidate only gives general opinions. The relevant framework depends on what the interviewer is trying to learn.
PrepRun first classifies the question into a practical family:
| Family | What the interviewer is usually testing |
|---|---|
| Behavioural | Evidence of a past competency or behaviour |
| Motivation | Reasons for the organisation, role or career direction |
| Introductory | A concise and relevant professional narrative |
| Technical or knowledge | Understanding, reasoning and application |
| Situational | Judgement in a hypothetical scenario |
| Strength or weakness | Self-awareness, evidence and development |
| Commercial awareness | Relevance, prioritisation and implications |
The coach then selects the most useful structure.
A strong answer normally makes these elements easy to identify:
- context and stakes;
- the candidate's responsibility;
- the candidate's own actions;
- the reason behind important decisions;
- a result or observable impact;
- a relevant lesson when useful.
STAR is often effective here, but the output should still sound like a natural answer rather than four labelled sections.
The useful structure is:
- a direct motivation;
- evidence that makes it credible;
- a specific connection to the organisation or role;
- the contribution or direction the candidate wants to develop.
Repeated company slogans are not treated as strong evidence.
The coach looks for:
- a clear present identity;
- selected past evidence relevant to the vacancy;
- a logical transition to the target role;
- a concise final statement of fit.
The answer should be selective rather than a chronological CV summary.
The coach looks for:
- a direct answer to the question;
- clear reasoning;
- accurate use of evidence or concepts;
- assumptions and limitations where material;
- application to the role or scenario.
The coach looks for:
- a sensible first action;
- prioritisation and rationale;
- relevant stakeholders;
- risks and trade-offs;
- escalation or follow-through where appropriate.
Depending on the selected practice mode, the coaching request can use:
- the exact interview question;
- the editable answer transcript;
- the vacancy title and text;
- the target organisation;
- the chosen interview language;
- the candidate's CV in General Interview Coach mode;
- the answer duration and transcript characteristics.
The transcript remains editable because speech recognition can mishear names, numbers and technical terms. The candidate can correct those errors before requesting feedback.
Useful coaching should tell the candidate what to change on the next attempt. A PrepRun review can include:
- Coach rating: an overall summary derived from the relevant category ratings.
- Category ratings: for example structure, specificity, role fit, clarity and STAR when STAR applies.
- Missing points: material parts of the question or vacancy criteria that were not addressed.
- Rewrite focus: the most important structural change.
- Delivery cue: a concise, practical instruction for the next recording.
- Stronger answer: a rewritten version that preserves the candidate's evidence rather than inventing experience.
- Follow-up question: used in General Interview Coach mode to probe vague or unsupported claims.
PrepRun does not know an employer's confidential scoring model and does not predict a hiring decision. The coaching rating is a preparation aid, not an official employer score.
The objective is narrower and more useful: help the candidate make the answer relevant, supported, clear and easier for an interviewer to evaluate.