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Capstone: Mock Loop & Self-Exam1 / 2

1 min lesson

Build the gap plan

Walk through "Build the gap plan" in order, then name the proof that tells you it worked.

Step 1 of 2

Build the gap plan

  1. 1Sort by impact, not by comfort. Take your two lowest stage ratings and two lowest domain ratings; ignore the rest for now.
  2. 2Make each fix concrete and checkable. Not “study RL” but “re-derive GRPO advantage and unit-test it,” or “re-record the deep-dive until I volunteer the weakest part unprompted.”
  3. 3Cap the list. Three to five items. A gap plan you'll actually finish beats a complete one you won't.
  4. 4Set the go/no-go. Pick the threshold that means ready - for example, every stage at 4+ and no domain below 3 - and don't schedule the loop until you clear it.
Honest scoring is the whole point

This is a truth-seeking exercise on yourself. Inflating a rating to feel ready just moves the failure from your bedroom to the real loop, where it costs you the offer. Rate the round you'd have today, cold, not the one you imagine after more prep.

Interview move

If one area is genuinely strong, lean into it as your spike rather than sanding every edge to the same level. A flat team values a person who is deep in graders or in online RL and honest about the rest over a uniformly adequate generalist. Fix the loop-ending gaps, then let your strongest domain be the reason they remember you.

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Optional practice

Practice: Build the gap plan

QYour self-ratings come back: strong on RL, weak on graders/evals and on the deep-dive. With limited prep time, what do you do?