/assess-candidate

Pre-Screening Candidate Assessment

Produce a structured pre-screening assessment from a candidate's resume before any interview takes place.

Usage

/interview:assess-candidate <Candidate Name>
/interview:assess-candidate <Candidate Name> [--resume <path>] [--jd <path>]

Project Structure

<project-root>/
├── candidates/          # Resumes (PDF), matched by candidate name
├── questions/           # Output location for _assessment.md files
├── job-description/     # Job description PDF (auto-detected, first PDF found)
└── dnuckolls_intro.md   # Interviewer background and priorities

Step 1: Discover Files

If paths are not provided, locate them:

• Resume: search candidates/ for a PDF whose filename contains the candidate's name (case-insensitive, partial match)
• Job description: use the first PDF found in job-description/
• Interviewer context: read dnuckolls_intro.md if it exists — use it to ground the assessment in the interviewer's priorities and the team's current state

Report which files you found before proceeding.

Step 2: Read All Inputs

Read the job description, resume, and interviewer intro in full. Extract:

• Total years of experience and primary domain areas
• Specific skills and experiences that match the JD requirements
• Signals of enablement, training, or change management experience (if relevant to the role)
• Evidence of senior stakeholder engagement
• Notable gaps, missing keywords, or scope mismatches

Step 3: Produce the Assessment

Write a markdown assessment to questions/<CandidateLastName><CandidateFirstName>_assessment.md (no spaces, last name first).

Use exactly this structure:

---

Header

# Candidate Assessment: <First Last>

**Role:** <Role Title from JD>
**Experience:** <total years, key domains>

---

Initial Assessment

Strengths

Bullet list. For each item: name the specific signal, tie it to a JD requirement. Do not pad — only include real signals.

Gaps / Watch Points

Bullet list. For each item: name what is absent or uncertain, explain why it matters for this role. Distinguish "confirmed absent" from "not evidenced."

Overall Fit

One paragraph. Lead with a direct signal/risk statement — e.g., "Strong on X; significant uncertainty on Y." Name the central tension if one exists. Be honest about unknowns; don't oversell.

Top Two Interview Questions

Choose the two areas of highest uncertainty or highest importance from the gaps analysis. Write one targeted question per area.

1. <Area being probed>

> "<exact question — specific to this candidate's background, not generic>"

What to listen for: Two to four sentences. Name what a strong answer includes, and what a red flag looks like. Make the distinction concrete enough that a different interviewer could use it.

2. <Area being probed>

> "<exact question>"

What to listen for: Two to four sentences.

---

Writing Guidance

The assessment should read like a memo from a senior recruiter to the hiring manager — specific, honest, and useful as a preparation tool. Avoid praise inflation. A candidate with genuine strengths and real gaps should look exactly that way on paper.

The questions should be tailored to this candidate's resume — they should not work as generic interview questions. Reference the candidate's actual projects, companies, or stated experience when possible.

Step 4: Confirm Output

Report the path to the written assessment and give a one-sentence summary of the overall fit verdict.