Interview Tracking Folder Structure Guide¶

Purpose: Documents the structural decisions for the interview-tracking/ folder. Reference this when adding new companies or maintaining existing ones.

Design Decisions¶

Decision 1: Round File Consolidation¶

Decision	Single file per round
Pattern	`rounds/R{n}-{type}.md`
Reasoning	A round is one event. Prep, interview, and review are phases of that event, not separate entities. Keeping them together tells the complete story.

Benefits: - Metadata (date, interviewer, duration) written once, not repeated - Complete context in one scroll - Natural chronological flow: prep → interview notes → review

File Structure:

# R{n} - {Type} Interview

## Metadata
| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Date | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Duration | X min |
| Interviewer | Name - Title |
| Format | Video/Onsite |

---

## Pre-Interview Prep
[Interviewer research, key points, questions to ask]

---

## Interview Notes
[Live notes during interview]

---

## Post-Interview Review
### What Went Well
### Areas for Improvement
### Action Items
### Next Steps

Decision 2: Prep Tracker Location¶

Decision	`prep/tracker.md`
Pattern	Dedicated `prep/` folder
Reasoning	Tracker is meta-information about preparation, not interview content. Separation of concerns keeps README clean.

Benefits: - README stays a dashboard (status + links) - prep/ folder can also hold study materials, quick references - Clear separation: rounds/ = what happened, prep/ = how ready am I

Decision 3: README as Status Dashboard¶

Decision	README contains status only
Contains	Status table, interview progress, next actions, links to files
Does NOT contain	Company overview, JD summary, role details, prep content

Why: - Reduces duplication (role details live in research.md) - README becomes a navigation hub, not a content dump - Quick glance shows "where am I?" not "what is this company?"

Decision 4: Single Source of Truth¶

Information	Canonical Location	Other files...
Job description	`artifacts/jd.md`	Reference via link
Resume	`artifacts/resume.pdf`	Not duplicated
Transcripts	`artifacts/R{n}-transcript.txt`	Not duplicated
Company research	`research.md`	Reference via link
Interview process (intel)	`research.md`	Duration, focus, format
Interview progress (status)	`README.md`	Date, status, file links
Interview metadata	`rounds/R{n}-{type}.md`	Not duplicated
Prep status	`prep/tracker.md`	Not duplicated

DRY Principle: - Each piece of information lives in ONE file - Other files link to it, never copy it - Updates happen in one place

Decision 5: Artifacts vs Dynamic Content¶

Decision	Separate `artifacts/` folder for static inputs
Pattern	`artifacts/` holds JD, resume, transcripts — things that don't change
Reasoning	Static inputs are source data. Research and prep are derived work. Separating them clarifies what changes vs. what's fixed.

What goes in artifacts/: - jd.md — Job description (verbatim copy) - resume.pdf — Resume submitted for this application - official-*.pdf — Prep guides from the company (high credibility) - R{n}-transcript.txt — Interview transcripts - _low-credibility-*.md — Flagged external sources (low credibility)

What stays outside: - research.md — Your analysis and synthesis (dynamic) - prep/ — Your study materials (dynamic) - rounds/ — Your interview notes and reviews (dynamic)

Decision 6: Interview Tables Separation¶

Decision	README tracks progress, research.md describes process
Pattern	Two tables with different columns, no overlap
Reasoning	Status is tracking data (changes after each interview). Format is intel (static research).

README.md — "Where am I?"

| Round | Type | Date | Status | File |

research.md — "What should I expect?"

| Round | Type | Duration | Focus |

Why no Status column in research.md: - Avoids duplicate updates after each interview - research.md stays focused on intel for prep - README is the single source for progress tracking

Decision 7: Prep File Consolidation¶

Decision	ONE tracker + ONE quickref per company
Pattern	`prep/tracker.md` = single rolling file, `prep/quickref.md` = single merged study material
Reasoning	Per-round tracker files cause file bloat. One file per purpose, with `## R{n} Prep` sections per round.

Rules: - prep/tracker.md — ALL rounds tracked in ONE file. Never create per-round trackers - prep/quickref.md — ALL study material in ONE file, organized by topic area (not by round) - Additional domain-specific references (e.g., system-architecture.md) may be separate files - Templates: _templates/prep-tracker-template.md, _templates/quickref-template.md

Decision 8: Cross-Round Postmortem¶

Decision	After all rounds complete → `rounds/postmortem.md`
Pattern	Separate synthesis document for cross-round analysis
Reasoning	README must stay a dashboard (Decision 3). Post-interview analysis is derived content that grows over time and deserves its own file.

What goes in postmortem: - Round-by-round summary scores (labeled as LLM estimates) - Format predictability analysis (expected vs actual) - Consolidated pass likelihood (labeled as LLM estimate) - Cross-round patterns and lessons - Transferable action items

Template: _templates/postmortem-template.md

Decision 9: Transcript Sources¶

Decision	Keep all sources in `artifacts/` with `-{source}` suffix
Pattern	`R{n}-transcript-{source}.txt` (e.g., `R2-transcript-whisper.txt`)
Reasoning	Different transcription sources excel at different things. No need to choose a canonical source.

Rules: - Round file metadata should note which transcript source was used for analysis - Raw transcripts are static artifacts — never modify them - Analysis goes in the round file, not alongside the transcript

Legal note: Recording consent laws vary by jurisdiction (one-party vs. all-party consent). Many companies also prohibit interview recording regardless of local law. Always verify both before recording. When in doubt, ask the interviewer for permission or rely on post-interview notes.

Decision 10: Link Management¶

Decision	Relative links with on-demand validation
Reasoning	Relative links keep the repo portable. Validate after renames or restructures.

Link conventions:

Link Type	Convention	Example
Within company folder	Relative from current file	`[research](../research.md)`
Cross-company	Relative path	`../{other-company}/research.md`

On rename protocol: 1. Before renaming, search for references to the old filename 2. Rename file + update all references in the same commit 3. Verify no broken links

Standard Folder Structure¶

interview-tracking/{company}/
├── README.md              # Status dashboard only (Decision 3)
├── research.md            # Company + role research + intel synthesis
├── rounds/
│   ├── R0-{type}.md       # Combined: prep → notes → review
│   ├── R1-{type}.md
│   ├── ...
│   └── postmortem.md      # Cross-round synthesis (after all rounds, Decision 8)
├── prep/
│   ├── tracker.md         # Single rolling tracker — all rounds (Decision 7)
│   ├── quickref.md        # Merged study materials — all topics (Decision 7)
│   └── {domain}-reference.md  # Optional domain-specific docs
└── artifacts/             # Static inputs only (Decision 5)
    ├── jd.md              # Job description (verbatim)
    ├── resume.pdf         # Resume submitted
    ├── R{n}-transcript-{source}.txt  # Transcripts with source suffix (Decision 9)
    └── _low-credibility-{source}.md  # Flagged external sources

Naming Conventions¶

Round Types¶

Type	When to Use	Example
`recruiter`	HR/recruiter screen	`R0-recruiter.md`
`hiring-manager`	HM interview	`R1-hiring-manager.md`
`technical`	Technical/coding round	`R2-technical.md`
`system-design`	System design round	`R3-system-design.md`
`behavioral`	Behavioral/culture fit	`R4-behavioral.md`
`panel`	Multiple interviewers	`R5-panel.md`
`offer`	Offer discussion	`R6-offer.md`

File Naming¶

File Type	Pattern	Example
Company research	`research.md`	`research.md`
Round file	`R{n}-{type}.md`	`R1-hiring-manager.md`
Prep tracker	`prep/tracker.md`	`prep/tracker.md`
Quick reference	`prep/quickref.md`	`prep/quickref.md`
Domain reference	`prep/{domain}-reference.md`	`prep/cv-pipeline-reference.md`
Postmortem	`rounds/postmortem.md`	`rounds/postmortem.md`

Templates¶

README.md Template¶

# {Company} {Year}

| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Status | 🟡 In Progress / 🟢 Offer / 🔴 Rejected |
| Current Round | R{n} {Status} |
| Next Action | {What to do next} |

## Interview Progress

| Round | Type | Date | Status | File |
|-------|------|------|--------|------|
| R0 | Recruiter | YYYY-MM-DD | ✅ | [R0-recruiter.md](rounds/R0-recruiter.md) |
| R1 | {Type} | YYYY-MM-DD | 🟡 | [R1-{type}.md](rounds/R1-{type}.md) |

## Quick Links

- [Company & Role Research](research.md)
- [Prep Tracker](prep/tracker.md)

File Templates¶

Template	Purpose
`round-template.md`	Single round: prep → notes → review
`research-template.md`	Company research + intel synthesis
`prep-tracker-template.md`	Rolling prep tracker (all rounds)
`quickref-template.md`	Consolidated study material
`postmortem-template.md`	Cross-round analysis (after all rounds)

Artifacts & Prep Conventions¶

Folder Purposes¶

Folder	Purpose	Contents
`artifacts/`	Static inputs	JD, resume, transcripts, flagged external sources
`prep/`	Study materials	Quick references, cheat sheets, topic summaries

Artifacts Naming Convention¶

Pattern: {type}.{ext} or R{n}-{descriptor}.{ext}

File Type	Pattern	Example
Job description	`jd.md`	`jd.md`
Resume	`resume.pdf`	`resume.pdf`
Official guide (general)	`official-{topic}.pdf`	`official-candidate-guide.pdf`
Official guide (round)	`R{n}-official-{topic}.pdf`	`R2-official-pair-programming.pdf`
Transcript	`R{n}-transcript.txt`	`R0-transcript.txt`
Transcript (alt source)	`R{n}-transcript-{source}.txt`	`R1-transcript-otter.txt`
Low-credibility source	`_low-credibility-{source}.md`	`_low-credibility-random-blog.md`

Rules: 1. Round number prefix for interview-specific files (transcripts) 2. Use lowercase kebab-case for all filenames 3. Prefix with underscore for low-credibility sources 4. No company name in filename (folder already provides context)

Example:

artifacts/
├── jd.md                            # Job description (verbatim)
├── resume.pdf                       # Resume submitted
├── official-candidate-guide.pdf     # General prep guide from company
├── R0-transcript.txt                # Clean, round-prefixed
├── R1-transcript-otter.txt          # Source as suffix
├── R2-official-pair-programming.pdf # Round-specific guide from company
└── _low-credibility-random-blog.md  # Flagged source

Artifacts vs Prep¶

Question	Answer
Is it static input that doesn't change?	→ `artifacts/`
Is it study material you'll review/update?	→ `prep/`
Is it low-quality/unverified external content?	→ `artifacts/` with `_low-credibility-` prefix