Interview me: let Claude get to know you properly

Use this first. It builds the raw material for everything else in this pack.

I want you to interview me so you can build a detailed, accurate profile of who I am. I will reuse this profile in future chats, so you understand me without me explaining myself every time. How to run the interview: 1. Ask me one question at a time. Wait for my answer before you ask the next one. 2. Cover these areas in this order: what I do now, my goals for the next 12 months, my skills and what people come to me for, my story so far, how I like to work and learn, my constraints (time, money, health, family, location), what I find hard, and what I care about. 3. After each answer, ask one follow up question if my answer was vague or interesting. Ask for a real example or a number when it would help. 4. Keep your questions short and use plain words. Save any advice until the interview is over, because I want to get everything out first. 5. Every 8 questions, give me a two line summary of what you have learned so far and ask if it is right. 6. Stop after about 25 questions, or sooner if I type "done". When the interview ends, write my profile under these headings: Who I am, What I am working towards, Skills and strengths, My story in brief, How I work best, Constraints, What I find hard, What I value. Use my own words where you can. Mark anything you are unsure about with "(check)". Start with your first question now.

Tips

• If a question feels too personal, type "skip" and Claude will move on.
• Specific answers make a better profile. "I run a small bakery" beats "I work in food".
• Read the profile at the end and correct anything marked "(check)".

Use this when you want a useful profile fast and can come back for depth later.

Interview me in about 10 minutes so you can write a short profile of me. Ask me 8 questions, one at a time, and wait for each answer. Pick the 8 questions that would tell you the most about me, covering my work, my goals, my skills, my constraints and how I like to be helped. If an answer is vague, ask me for one concrete example before moving on. That follow up does not count towards the 8. Then write a profile of 150 to 200 words in the first person, as me talking ("I am..."), so I can paste it into other chats. End with a list of 3 things you still do not know about me that would help most.

Tip

• Run prompt 3 later to fill in the 3 gaps Claude lists.

Use this after the interview when one part of your profile feels thin.

Go deeper on one part of my profile: [AREA, FOR EXAMPLE MY GOALS, MY SKILLS OR MY STORY]. Ask me up to 8 more questions about this area, one at a time. Build each question on my last answer. Look for the reasons behind what I said, real examples, and anything that contradicts what I told you earlier. When you finish, rewrite that section of my profile with what you learned. Show me only the new version of that section.

Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.

Tip

• Goals and skills are usually the sections that gain most from a second pass.

Use this once the profile exists, to check it holds together.

Read back through everything I have told you in this chat. List: 1. Any places where two of my answers seem to contradict each other. Quote both answers. 2. Any goal that does not seem to fit my constraints, such as the time or money I said I have. 3. Anything important you would expect to know about someone like me that I have not mentioned. Be direct. Do not soften this to be polite. For each item, ask me one question that would settle it. Ask them one at a time and update my profile as I answer.

Tip

• Take your time on these answers. They often change the profile more than the first interview did.

Use this to make every future chat with Claude start already knowing you.

Turn my profile into a short block I can paste into Claude's settings, so every future chat starts with this context. Rules: 1. Write it in the first person, as me talking to Claude, for example "I am a..." and "When you help me...". 2. Keep it under 200 words. 3. Include only what changes how you should help me: my work, my current goals, my skill level in the areas I ask about most, my constraints, and how I like answers (length, tone, level of detail). 4. Leave out private details that would not change your answers. 5. End with 2 or 3 clear preferences, such as "Tell me when an idea is weak" or "Explain technical terms the first time you use them". Show me the block in a single plain text box so it is easy to copy.

Tips

• To save it: click your initials in the lower left of claude.ai, choose Settings, and paste it under "Instructions for Claude".
• Those instructions apply to all your chats. Update them when your goals change.

Use this if you use Claude Code, the version of Claude that works on files on your computer.

Turn my profile into a personal CLAUDE.md file for Claude Code. CLAUDE.md is a plain text file that Claude Code reads at the start of every session. Write it in Markdown with these sections: 1. About me: two or three sentences on who I am and what I am building. 2. My experience: how much I know about code, terminals and tools. Be honest about where I am a beginner. 3. How to work with me: how much to explain, when to ask before acting, and how to report back. 4. My goals right now: the 2 or 3 things I am working towards. Keep the whole file under 40 lines. Keep it short and specific, because Claude can lose track of rules in a long file. Use plain, direct instructions such as "Explain each command before you run it". Show the file in one code block so I can copy it.

Tips

• Claude Code reads a personal file from ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md on your computer. The ~ means your home folder.
• Ask Claude Code itself: "Save this as my personal CLAUDE.md in ~/.claude/". By default it asks before it writes the file.

Use this when you need a bio for social media, a website, a talk or a job application.

Using my profile, write my bio in four lengths: 1. One line, under 12 words, for a social media profile. 2. Short, 2 or 3 sentences, for a website or newsletter. 3. Medium, about 80 words, for a talk introduction or a LinkedIn summary. 4. Long, about 200 words, in the first person, telling my story. Rules: plain English, short sentences, and only facts I gave you. Do not invent results, numbers or titles. Avoid buzzwords such as "passionate", "visionary" or "driven". If a version needs a fact you do not have, put [ADD FACT] in its place. The bio is for [WHERE IT WILL BE USED] and the reader is [WHO WILL READ IT].

Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.

Tips

• Read each one aloud. Change any line you would not say to a friend.
• Ask for "three different versions of the one liner" if the first does not feel like you.

Use this when you need to explain how you got here, in an interview, a pitch or a post.

Look at the story I told you in the interview. Find the thread that connects the parts. Give me: 1. The three moments that matter most, in order, and why each one matters. 2. The single sentence that explains why I do what I do now. 3. A 60 second version of my story I could say out loud, about 150 words. Use only what I told you. If there is a gap that a listener would notice, ask me about it before you write the 60 second version.

Tip

• Say the 60 second version out loud with a timer. Cut anything you stumble on.

Use this when you have one big goal and want a space in Claude just for it.

I want to create a Claude Project for one goal: [YOUR GOAL]. Using my profile, write the project instructions. Include: 1. The goal in one sentence and what done looks like. 2. The parts of my profile that matter for this goal, and nothing else. 3. How Claude should help in this project: what to push me on, what to check, and how to format answers. 4. Three starter prompts I can use inside the project. Keep the instructions under 250 words.

Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.

Tips

• Go to claude.ai/projects and click "+ New Project". Inside the project, click "Set project instructions", paste them in and click "Save instructions".
• Free accounts can create up to five projects.

Use this every month or after a big change, so your profile stays true.

Here is my current profile: <profile> [PASTE YOUR PROFILE] </profile> Interview me to update it. Ask one question at a time, up to 10 questions. Focus on what has changed: new goals, finished goals, new skills, new constraints and anything that no longer fits. Then give me the updated profile and a short list of what changed, so I can update my About Me block too.

Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.

Tip

• Put a monthly reminder in your calendar to run this one.