generate-prep-doc-wdyd

- references/prep-doc-structure.md Generate a comprehensive, personalized prep document for a specific upcoming interaction with a company. Unlike `/prep-for-wdyd` which builds a general preparation plan, this skill creates a targeted document for a specific conversation -- incorporating the contact person, the backstory of how the interaction started, the user's arsenal evidence mapped to the company's values, concrete talking points, and questions to ask. Output is a markdown file saved to `~/.things/what-did-you-do/prep-docs/`. Load Configuration

<load-config>
  <action>Resolve the user's home directory.</action>
  <command language="bash" output="home" tool="Bash">echo $HOME</command>
  <constraint>Never pass `~` to the Read tool.</constraint>

  <read path="<home>/.things/config.json" output="config" />
  <if condition="config-missing">Tell the user: "Run `/things:setup-things` first." Then stop.</if>

  <read path="<home>/.things/shared/professional-profile.json" output="profile" />

  <read path="<home>/.things/what-did-you-do/preferences.json" output="preferences" />
  <if condition="preferences-missing">Tell the user: "Run `/setup-wdyd` first." Then stop.</if>

  <command language="bash" tool="Bash">mkdir -p <home>/.things/what-did-you-do/prep-docs</command>
</load-config>

Load Company Profile

<if condition="company-provided">
  <read path="<home>/.things/shared/companies/<company>.yaml" output="company-profile" />
</if>

<if condition="no-company-specified">
  <action>List available company profiles from `<home>/.things/shared/companies/`.</action>
  <ask-user>
  Which company is this interaction with?

  <options>
  - <dynamically list available company profiles>
  - Custom -- I'll provide details
  </options>
  </ask-user>
</if>

<if condition="company-profile-missing">
  <action>Search the web for the company's engineering culture, values, and interview process. Build an ad-hoc profile. Offer to save it to `<home>/.things/shared/companies/<company>.yaml` for future use.</action>
</if>

Gather Interaction Context

<if condition="contact-not-provided">
  <ask-user>
  Who are you meeting with? Include their name, title, and how they reached out if relevant.
  (Free text -- e.g., "Tan Doan, Staff Software Engineer, reached out on LinkedIn after seeing my Bivvy post")
  </ask-user>
</if>

<if condition="type-not-provided">
  <ask-user>
  What type of interaction is this?

  <options>
  - Coffee chat -- informal, exploratory conversation
  - Phone screen -- recruiter or hiring manager initial screen
  - Technical -- coding or system design focused
  - Onsite -- formal interview round
  - Bar raiser -- cross-functional deep dive
  </options>
  </ask-user>
</if>

<ask-user>
Is there any backstory I should know? Paste any relevant context -- LinkedIn messages, email threads, job listings, referral details, etc.
(Free text -- or "no additional context")
</ask-user>

<if condition="role-not-provided-and-not-in-context">
  <ask-user>
  What role is this for?
  (Free text -- e.g., "Mid-Senior Infra/Platform Engineer")
  </ask-user>
</if>

<action>Extract from the backstory context:
- How the interaction originated (inbound vs outbound, referral, organic)
- What the contact already knows about the user
- Any concerns or gaps already surfaced
- Any shared interests or connection points
- The user's leverage and position in the process
</action>

Load Arsenal and Session History

<action>Read all arsenal files from `<home>/.things/i-did-a-thing/arsenal/`.</action>
<action>Read any existing session history from `<home>/.things/what-did-you-do/sessions/`.</action>
<action>Check for an existing prep plan for this company: `<home>/.things/what-did-you-do/<company>-prep-plan.md`.</action>

Analyze the User's Position

<action>Based on the backstory and context, determine:</action>

<substep name="leverage-assessment">
  <description>Assess the user's leverage in this interaction.</description>
  <rubric>
  - **Strong**: Contact reached out to them, their work is already validated, they have a champion inside
  - **Neutral**: Mutual connection, referral, or applied and got a callback
  - **Building**: Cold application, no prior relationship
  </rubric>
</substep>

<substep name="known-concerns">
  <description>Identify any concerns or gaps already surfaced in prior communication.</description>
  <action>For each concern, prepare a concrete framing strategy using arsenal evidence and the company's values.</action>
</substep>

<substep name="shared-ground">
  <description>Identify shared interests, tools, problems, or experiences between the user and the contact.</description>
</substep>

Map Arsenal to Company Values and Role

<for-each item="value" source="company-values">
  <substep name="find-evidence">
    <description>Search arsenal for entries that demonstrate this value's interview signals.</description>
  </substep>
  <substep name="classify">
    <description>Classify coverage as Strong, Partial, or Gap.</description>
  </substep>
</for-each>

<action>Select the top 3-4 arsenal stories most relevant to this specific interaction, considering:
- The contact's role and what they'd care about
- The interaction type (casual vs formal)
- Any concerns already raised
- Shared interests identified in the backstory
</action>

<constraint>When matching, consider which evidence types are most relevant:
- Values about learning, adaptability, resilience -> `lesson` entries
- Values about technical depth, expertise -> `expertise` entries
- Values about judgment, ownership -> `decision` entries
- Values about influence, leadership, mentorship -> `influence` entries
- Values about vision, innovation, curiosity -> `insight` entries
- Values about delivery, results, bias for action -> `accomplishment` entries
</constraint>

Build the Prep Document

<action>Construct the full prep document following the structure in `references/prep-doc-structure.md`.</action>

<constraint>The tone and depth should match the interaction type:
- **Coffee chat**: Conversational, peer-to-peer framing. Emphasize shared interests, natural conversation flow, and mutual evaluation. No STAR-format drilling.
- **Phone screen**: Concise talking points, elevator pitch ready, motivational framing. Why this company, why this role.
- **Technical**: Arsenal stories focused on system design tradeoffs, architecture decisions, technical depth. Include concrete technical details.
- **Onsite**: Full behavioral prep with value mapping, multiple stories per value, anti-pattern awareness.
- **Bar raiser**: Cross-functional depth, judgment under ambiguity, long-term thinking emphasis.
</constraint>

<constraint>Every section must be actionable. No filler. The user should be able to read this 30 minutes before the interaction and feel prepared.</constraint>

<constraint>Questions to ask should be specific to this interaction -- not generic interview questions. They should reflect the backstory, the contact's role, and what the user genuinely needs to learn to evaluate fit.</constraint>

Write Prep Document

<write path="<home>/.things/what-did-you-do/prep-docs/<date>-<company>-<type>-prep.md">
  <schema name="prep-doc-frontmatter">
  ```yaml
  ---
  type: <interaction type>
  company: "<company>"
  date: <today>
  scheduled: "<date and time if known>"
  contact: "<name> (<title>)"
  role: "<target role>"
  source: "<how the interaction originated>"
  status: prep
  ---
  ```
  </schema>

  <action>Write the full prep document body below the frontmatter.</action>
</write>

Handle Git Workflow

<git-workflow>
  <command language="bash" tool="Bash">git -C <home>/.things pull --rebase 2>/dev/null || true</command>

  <action>Based on the `git_workflow` setting (from config.json):</action>

  <if condition="workflow-auto">
    <action>Automatically `git add` the prep doc, `git commit -m "prep-doc: <company> <type>"`, and `git push`.</action>
  </if>
  <if condition="workflow-ask">
    <ask-user>Use AskUserQuestion -- "Would you like to commit and push this prep doc?"</ask-user>
  </if>
  <if condition="workflow-manual">
    <action>Tell the user the prep doc has been saved and they can commit when ready.</action>
  </if>
</git-workflow>

Confirm and Offer Next Steps

<template name="confirmation">

> Your prep doc is ready: `<home>/.things/what-did-you-do/prep-docs/<filename>`
>
> To create a printable version: `/print-prep <filename>`
> To practice with a relevant persona: `/practice-wdyd --persona <suggested persona>`
> To run a mock for this stage: `/mock-wdyd <company> --stage <stage>`

</template>

<ask-user>
What would you like to do next?

<options>
- Create a printable version (`/print-prep`)
- Practice with a relevant persona
- I'm good -- I'll review the doc
</options>
</ask-user>