| name | tech-presentation-interview |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| description | Prepares for "reverse system design" rounds where you present YOUR past technical work. Use for project selection, narrative arc structuring, whiteboard diagrams, depth calibration, and hostile Q&A handling. Activate on "tech presentation", "present your work", "reverse system design", "project deep dive". NOT for designing hypothetical systems, resume writing, or career narrative extraction. |
| allowed-tools | Read,Write,Edit |
| metadata | {"gated":true,"category":"Career & Interview","pairs-with":[{"skill":"interview-loop-strategist","reason":"Upstream orchestrator that routes to this skill for presentation rounds"},{"skill":"ml-system-design-interview","reason":"Complementary -- this presents real systems, that designs hypothetical ones"},{"skill":"hiring-manager-deep-dive","reason":"Similar depth-testing but conversational rather than presentational"},{"skill":"career-biographer","reason":"Upstream -- extracts the raw project narratives this skill structures"},{"skill":"interview-simulator","reason":"Runs timed mock presentations with realistic Q&A scoring"}],"tags":["interview","presentation","system-design","storytelling"]} |
| category | Career & Interview |
| tags | ["presentations","interviews","public-speaking","technical-talks","preparation"] |
Tech Presentation Interview
The tech presentation round is a reverse system design: instead of designing a hypothetical system on a whiteboard, you present a real system YOU built. This tests three things no other round can: genuine depth of understanding, ability to communicate complex ideas under pressure, and authentic ownership versus inherited knowledge.
When to Use
Use for:
- Selecting which project to present from your career
- Structuring a 25-45 minute technical presentation with narrative arc
- Calibrating depth -- which components to go deep on, which to skim
- Preparing whiteboard/virtual-board diagrams with progressive disclosure
- Rehearsing answers to hostile follow-up questions
- Adapting presentation to different audience compositions (researchers, engineers, managers)
NOT for:
- Designing a system you haven't built (use
ml-system-design-interview)
- Writing your resume or extracting career stories (use
cv-creator or career-biographer)
- Coordinating across multiple interview rounds (use
interview-loop-strategist)
- Practicing coding problems or behavioral STAR stories
- Conference talk preparation (different format, different evaluation criteria)
Project Selection
The most common failure mode is choosing the wrong project. Use this decision tree:
flowchart TD
A[List your top 5 projects] --> B{Did YOU make key<br/>technical decisions?}
B -->|No, I inherited it| SKIP[Skip this project]
B -->|Yes| C{Can you explain<br/>alternatives you rejected?}
C -->|No, I just used<br/>what was standard| SKIP
C -->|Yes, I evaluated<br/>tradeoffs| D{Are there interesting<br/>failure modes or<br/>unexpected challenges?}
D -->|It went smoothly| WEAK[Weak choice --<br/>no drama = no depth]
D -->|Yes, things broke<br/>or surprised us| E{Can you fill 30+ min<br/>of technical depth<br/>on 2-3 components?}
E -->|No, it was<br/>straightforward| WEAK
E -->|Yes| F{Is it relevant to<br/>the target role?}
F -->|Not really| BACKUP[Keep as backup --<br/>use if nothing<br/>better qualifies]
F -->|Yes, strong match| PICK[Strong candidate --<br/>select this project]
Selection Criteria Scorecard
Rate each candidate project 1-5:
| Criterion | Weight | What to evaluate |
|---|
| Personal ownership |
