I’m currently in redundancy consultation. That’s a polite way of saying my role might disappear, and I’ll be interviewing for whatever positions emerge from the restructure.

It’s not a comfortable place to be. But it’s also not just me - colleagues across the department are in the same situation. We’re all facing the same question: how do we prepare for interviews when the ground is shifting beneath us?

Starting with a Prompt

My first instinct wasn’t to build a tool. It was to write a prompt.

I’ve been using Claude for interview prep anyway - working through STAR answers, stress-testing my examples, getting feedback on whether my stories actually land. So I figured I’d write a proper prompt that captured everything I’d learned about good STAR coaching and share it with colleagues.

The prompt focused on what I think matters:

• Coach the thinking, don’t generate the content
• Keep conversations short and focused (4-6 exchanges per competency)
• Push past vague answers (“we did X” → “what was YOUR contribution?”)
• Connect stories to what the specific role actually needs

I packaged it up as a markdown file people could add to Claude Projects. Upload your CV alongside a job description and get personalised coaching that draws on your real background.

From Prompt to Tool

But then I looked at Jironaut sitting in my portfolio - the ticket coaching tool I’d built a few weeks earlier. Same architecture: React frontend, Vercel serverless functions, Claude API, streaming responses.

The jump from “shareable prompt” to “shareable tool” wasn’t far. Fork the repo, swap the domain, rework the coaching logic.

The timeline tells the story:

Feb 7th evening:

• 22:23 - Forked from Jironaut, basic rebranding complete
• 22:29 - Core transformation to STAR interview coach

Feb 8th morning:

• 07:43 - JD analysis flow working: paste job description, extract competencies, guided coaching, session persistence
• 08:43 - File upload support: drag & drop Word, PDF, PowerPoint
• 08:50 - README and repo ready for GitHub
• 09:17 - Standalone prompt packaged for people who prefer their own AI setup

One evening, one morning. From “I should share this prompt” to “there’s a tool you can use”.

The Philosophy That Carried Over

STAR Coach fits the same mould as everything else in the portfolio: thoughtful coach, not AI-thinker.

The tool doesn’t write answers for you. It doesn’t generate fictional experiences. It coaches you through your own stories - pushing for specifics, asking about measurable impact, connecting your experience to what the role actually requires.

There’s a reason for this. Interview prep tools that generate content are teaching you to perform someone else’s script. That might get you through the interview, but it won’t help you once you’re in the role. The goal isn’t to game the process - it’s to surface and articulate what you’ve genuinely done.

What It Actually Does

The flow is straightforward:

1. Upload a job description - paste text or drag in a Word doc, PDF, or PowerPoint
2. Review extracted competencies - the AI identifies 4-8 things you’ll likely be assessed on
3. Work through each one - a focused conversation that builds your STAR answer as you talk
4. Export when ready - copy individual answers or grab them all at once

Session persistence means you can work through competencies over multiple sessions. The answers build in real-time in a side panel so you can see what’s taking shape.

The Dual Output

The tool exists at star-coach.curiouscoach.tools, but I also published the standalone prompt as STAR_COACH.md in the repo.

Some people prefer their own setup. They want to use Claude Projects with their CV already loaded, or they want to tweak the coaching style. The prompt gives them that option.

Others want something they can just open and use. The tool gives them that.

Both share the same philosophy. The medium is different, but the coaching approach is identical.

Building for People You Know

There’s something different about building a tool when you know exactly who needs it.

I wasn’t imagining a user persona or running market research. I was thinking about specific colleagues - people I’ve worked with, who are now prepping for the same uncertain process. People who’d benefit from structured interview prep but don’t have time to figure out the best approach from scratch.

That changes how you build. You don’t add features for hypothetical users. You build what’s actually needed, right now, for people you care about.

What’s Next

I’m using STAR Coach to prep for my own interviews over the coming weeks. That’s the real test - does it actually help when the stakes are personal?

I’ve shared it with colleagues who want it. Some will use the tool, some will grab the prompt, some won’t use either. That’s fine. The value isn’t in adoption metrics - it’s in being useful to people navigating the same uncertainty.

And if I end up in a new role, I’ll have a tool in the portfolio that came from a real moment, solving a real problem.

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STAR Coach is open source on GitHub. If you’re preparing for behavioural interviews, give it a try - or grab the standalone prompt if you prefer your own setup.