Act as a practical career coach. Help me assess and plan my next move using only the evidence I provide. Do not invent achievements, qualifications, market demand, salary data, contacts, or certainty about what I should do. My background is [CAREER HISTORY], and I am considering or targeting [TARGET DIRECTION]. My priorities and constraints are [PRIORITIES AND CONSTRAINTS]. Here are the roles, organizations, or opportunities I am weighing: [OPTIONS]. My current concerns are [COACHING QUESTION]. Start by separating facts, assumptions, and missing information. Then produce: 1. A concise career narrative: the transferable strengths shown by my history, the evidence for each, and gaps that need proof rather than confidence. 2. A decision table for my options using criteria that fit my stated priorities: skill development, scope, manager quality, compensation or runway, work conditions, long-term signal, and downside risk. Do not score an option where evidence is absent; mark it unknown. 3. A recommended 30-day plan with no more than five actions. Each action must have a purpose, a concrete output, and a signal that would change my decision. 4. Three questions to ask in informational interviews or interviews that reveal day-to-day work, success measures, manager behavior, and growth path. 5. A candid risks section explaining what I may be overlooking. Do not tell me to “follow my passion” or make a binary recommendation without explaining the evidence and tradeoffs. If compensation, employment law, visa status, mental health, or a contractual restriction is central, identify what should be checked with a qualified professional. Self-check that every conclusion traces to my inputs and that actions are feasible within my constraints. Ask up to 3 clarifying questions only if a required input is missing.
Fill in
| Placeholder | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [CAREER HISTORY] | Summarize your roles, responsibilities, accomplishments, skills, and education using facts you can support. | Six years in B2B SaaS customer success; promoted from CSM to team lead; built onboarding playbooks that cut time-to-value from 45 to 31 days; BA in economics |
| [TARGET DIRECTION] | Enter the role, industry, change, or decision you want coaching on. | Move into product operations or stay on the customer success management track |
| [PRIORITIES AND CONSTRAINTS] | Enter what matters most and limits such as location, income, schedule, visa, caregiving, or risk tolerance. | Need at least $115,000 base; remote or Boston hybrid; want people management later but need less customer escalation work now |
| [OPTIONS] | Enter the specific paths, offers, or organizations you are considering. | Internal product ops opening, promotion to senior CS manager, or applying externally to implementation operations roles |
| [COACHING QUESTION] | Enter the main uncertainty you want the coaching to resolve. | Which path builds credible product experience without giving up too much income or management opportunity? |
How to use
- Paste evidence from your resume, performance notes, and real options, removing confidential details you do not want to share.
- Set priorities in order, including non-negotiables such as income, location, or family schedule.
- Challenge any conclusion marked as an assumption and add the missing evidence before acting on it.
- Send this follow-up: “Turn the 30-day plan into a weekly schedule with one outreach message draft and one evidence-building project I can complete at work.”
Variations
Career change plan
Use this when moving into a new field or role family.
Help me plan a transition from [CURRENT FIELD] to [TARGET FIELD]. My relevant evidence is [TRANSFERABLE EXPERIENCE], my limits are [CONSTRAINTS], and I have [TIME AND BUDGET] for preparation. Identify the target role’s likely proof requirements, map each to evidence I already have or need to build, and create a 90-day portfolio, learning, and outreach plan. Do not claim a credential guarantees a job. Flag gaps that require firsthand conversations or current job-posting research.
Offer comparison
Use this when choosing between job offers or a current role.
Compare [OPTION A], [OPTION B], and [CURRENT ROLE] against my priorities: [PRIORITIES]. For each, use only the facts I provide in [DETAILS]. Create a weighted decision worksheet with unknowns clearly marked, questions to ask before accepting, and one downside scenario for each option. Include total compensation components separately from base pay and note where legal, benefits, tax, or equity advice needs a professional. Do not make assumptions to fill gaps.
Interview coaching
Use this before interviews for a specific role.
Coach me for an interview for [ROLE] at [COMPANY OR TYPE]. The job requirements are [JOB POSTING], and my evidence is [MY EXPERIENCE]. Identify the five strongest requirement-to-example matches and the two gaps I should address honestly. Create concise STAR outlines, questions for the interviewer, and a 45-second introduction. Do not fabricate metrics or experience. Check that every story has a clear action, outcome, and relevance to the role.
Tips
- Base your story on recurring evidence across roles, not only on the title you want next.
- Ask prospective managers how success is measured in the first 90 days; the answer often reveals more than a polished job description.
- Separate a role’s learning potential from its brand name, because scope, feedback, and decision access are what build transferable evidence.
- For an offer, compare base pay, bonus terms, equity terms, benefits, commute, and workload separately instead of reducing everything to a single number.
FAQ
Can AI tell me which career path is right?
It can clarify tradeoffs and create an evidence-based plan, but it cannot know your values or verify an employer’s reality without current information.
What information should I share?
Share responsibilities, outcomes, preferences, constraints, and the exact decision. Remove confidential client, employer, and personal information you do not need to disclose.
Can AI help with a career gap?
Yes. It can help frame a truthful explanation and identify evidence-building steps, but it should not create a false narrative or credentials.