interview-preplisted

# Interview Prep > Language: `shared/references/language-decision.md` · Market terms: `shared/references/de-market.md` ## Step 0: Which language will the interview be in? Read `language.md`. **This is the first thing to establish**, and the answer changes the whole session. If the application went out in German, expect at least part of the interview in German — and if a level gap was flagged during the application, **say so now, directly**: the phone screen is where an overstated CEFR level surfaces. Better to rehearse in German and be ready than to be surprised. Offer to run the practice in German, in English, or mixed — recommending whichever matches `language.md`. ## Step 1: Load context `posting.md`, `evaluation.md`, `profile.md`, the tailored CV and letter. Block H of the evaluation already contains the strategy if the score was 4.0+. ## Step 2: What a German interview actually contains Different from a US loop in ways worth preparing for: | Element | Notes | |---|---| | **Selbstpräsentation** | Almost always opens with „Erzählen Sie etwas über sich" — expect to talk for 2–3 minutes, structured, chronological. Germans expect a career narrative, not a highlight reel. Rehearse this one properly; it sets the tone. | | **Formal register** | `Sie` unless the company clearly runs on `du`. Titles used (`Herr Dr.`). | | **Punctuality** | Being 5–10 minutes early is expected, not optional. Late is close to disqualifying. | | **Lückenlose Chronologie** | Expect direct qu