Reference · 45 terms
Glossary
Every short form used across the series. Inside a lesson, hover or tap any dotted term to see the same entry in place.
Behavioral basics
- behavioral questionBehavioral question
- A question about how you acted in a real past situation, such as a conflict or a deadline.Lesson 0 →
- follow-up questionFollow-up question
- A deeper question about your story, used to check whether it is real and what you personally did.Lesson 0 →
- reflectionReflection
- The closing part of a story where you say what you learned or would do differently.Lesson 0 →
- signalSignal (interview)
- The thing an interviewer is trying to learn about you from an answer, such as ownership or coachability.Lesson 0 →
- STARSTAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result)
- A story shape for behavioral answers, with an optional last step for reflection.Lesson 0 →
- story bankStory bank
- A short list of five or six true work stories, each tagged with the signals it can show.Lesson 0 →
Common questions
- elevator pitchElevator pitch
- A very short summary of who you are, short enough to say during a lift ride.Lesson 1 →
- present, past, futurePresent, past, future
- A three-part shape for tell me about yourself: what you do now, how you got here, what you want next.Lesson 1 →
- pull reasonPull reason and push reason
- A pull reason is something good you move towards; a push reason is something bad you move away from.Lesson 1 →
Failure and conflict
- blamelessBlameless
- Looking at what in the system or process failed, rather than who to punish.Lesson 2 →
- disagree and commitDisagree and commit
- Say your concern clearly once, then support the final decision fully.Lesson 2 →
- safeguardSafeguard
- A check or rule you add so the same mistake cannot easily happen again.Lesson 2 →
- shared goalShared goal
- The thing both sides of a disagreement want, such as a reliable release.Lesson 2 →
Leadership and impact
- baselineBaseline
- The before number you compare your result against, such as a load time before a fix.Lesson 3 →
- influence without authorityInfluence without authority
- Getting people to act when you are not their manager, usually by making it easy and showing real examples.Lesson 3 →
- ownershipOwnership
- Treating a problem as yours until it is solved, even if nobody assigned it to you.Lesson 3 →
- proxy metricProxy metric
- A number that stands in for something you cannot measure directly, such as support tickets for user confusion.Lesson 3 →
- reversible decisionReversible decision
- A choice that is cheap to undo, so you can decide quickly with less information.Lesson 3 →
Tricky questions
- reframeReframe
- Describing the same true fact in a more useful way, without lying.Lesson 4 →
- resume gapResume gap
- A period between jobs with no work listed, best explained in one plain sentence plus what you did.Lesson 4 →
- transferable skillTransferable skill
- A skill that carries over to a new setting, such as debugging or explaining things clearly.Lesson 4 →
Asking questions
- attritionAttrition
- How many people leave a team or company in a year.Lesson 5 →
- red flagRed flag
- A warning sign in an interview or company that is a reason to ask one more question.Lesson 5 →
- skip-levelSkip-level
- The manager of your manager.Lesson 5 →
Salary and offers
- anchorAnchor
- The first number said in a negotiation, which pulls the rest of the talk toward it.Lesson 6 →
- base salaryBase salary
- The fixed yearly pay before tax and before bonus or equity.Lesson 6 →
- BATNABATNA
- Your best alternative if the deal fails, such as another offer or your current job.Lesson 6 →
- clawbackClawback
- A rule that makes you repay money, such as a sign-on bonus, if you leave too soon.Lesson 6 →
- cliffCliff
- The first waiting period in vesting, often 12 months, before any shares become yours.Lesson 6 →
- counter-offerCounter-offer
- Your reply to an offer that asks for a changed package.Lesson 6 →
- notice periodNotice period
- How long you must keep working after you resign before you leave.Lesson 6 →
- RSURestricted stock unit (RSU)
- A promise of company shares that arrive on a vesting schedule.Lesson 6 →
- sign-on bonusSign-on bonus
- A one-time payment when you join, often repaid if you leave early.Lesson 6 →
- stock optionsStock options
- The right to buy company shares at a fixed price, worth money only if the share price is higher.Lesson 6 →
- target bonusTarget bonus
- Extra yearly pay, often a percent of base, that depends on goals and may pay more or less than the target.Lesson 6 →
- total compensationTotal compensation
- Everything you get in a year added up: base, bonus, equity, benefits and one-time money.Lesson 6 →
- vestingVesting
- The step-by-step process by which promised shares become yours.Lesson 6 →
Remote work and managers
- asynchronous communicationAsynchronous communication
- Working so people do not need to be online at the same time: you write, they answer later.Lesson 7 →
- blockerBlocker
- Something that stops your work and that you cannot fix by yourself.Lesson 7 →
- disagree and commitDisagree and commit
- Say your honest view before a decision, then fully support the decision once it is made.Lesson 7 →
- managing upManaging up
- Making it easy for your manager to help you by giving clear status, options and asks.Lesson 7 →
- one-on-oneOne-on-one (1:1)
- A regular private meeting between you and your manager.Lesson 7 →
Mock interviews
- mock interviewMock interview
- A practice interview run like the real one, with someone who scores you afterwards.Lesson 8 →
- scorecardScorecard
- A sheet listing what is scored in an interview, with a number and evidence for each row.Lesson 8 →
- story bankStory bank
- A short list of real work stories that you can reshape to answer many behavioral questions.Lesson 8 →