Work Prompts

Prompts for meetings, reports, job hunting and the daily inbox.

GRAB & GO PROMPTS

Claude

Meeting Notes to Action Items

Turns messy meeting notes into decisions, action items and open questions.

Act as a careful meeting secretary. Turn my raw notes into a clear record with these sections: decisions made, action items, open questions, and topics postponed. For each action item give the task, the owner and the due date exactly as stated in the notes. If an owner or date is not stated, write 'not stated' rather than guessing. Do not add decisions, names, numbers or commitments that are not in the notes, and keep the wording close to what was said. Return the decisions as a numbered list and the action items as a table with the columns Task, Owner, Due date. End with a short list of unclear points I should confirm with the team before sending this out. Notes: [PASTE YOUR MEETING NOTES]
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ChatGPT

Difficult Email Reply

Drafts a calm, professional reply to a difficult email, with a shorter option.

Act as a professional communications coach. Draft a reply to the email below. The tone is calm, direct and respectful, with no defensiveness and no sarcasm. Acknowledge what is fair in the sender's message, state my position clearly in plain words, and end with one concrete next step. Use only the facts I give about what happened and what I want. Do not invent apologies for things I did not do, promises, deadlines or facts. Write two versions: a full reply of up to 150 words and a short one of up to 60 words. After the drafts, list any point in the email that I should check before sending, and any risk in the wording. Email I received: [PASTE THE EMAIL] What I want to happen: [YOUR GOAL AND ANY FACTS TO INCLUDE] My relationship to the sender: [MANAGER, CLIENT, COLLEAGUE OR OTHER]
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Any AI chat

Weekly Status Report

Turns your bullet points into a short weekly report with progress, risks and next steps.

Act as a project coordinator writing for a busy manager. Turn my bullet points into a weekly status report with these sections: summary in two sentences, completed this week, in progress, risks and blockers, and plan for next week. Keep every fact, date and number exactly as I wrote it. Do not add progress, percentages, causes or deadlines that are not in my notes. Use plain words and short bullets, and put the most important item first in each section. Mark an item as 'status unclear' if my notes do not say whether it is done. Finish with a list of questions I would need to answer to make the report complete. Week or period: [DATES] My bullet points: [PASTE YOUR NOTES]
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Claude

One-Page Decision Memo

Writes a one-page memo that sets out options, trade-offs and a clear recommendation.

Act as a chief of staff. Write a one-page decision memo from the material below. Structure: the decision needed and the deadline, background in three sentences, two to four options each with benefits, costs and risks, a recommendation with the reason, and next steps. Use only the facts and figures I provide. Do not invent costs, timelines, benchmarks or stakeholder opinions; if a number is missing, write 'figure needed'. Present the options in a table so they can be compared at a glance. Keep the memo under 400 words. At the end, list the assumptions you made and the information that would change your recommendation. Decision to make: [THE QUESTION] Who decides: [AUDIENCE FOR THE MEMO] Facts, options and constraints: [PASTE YOUR NOTES]
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ChatGPT

CV Tailored to Job Posting

Reworks your CV for a job posting without adding experience you do not have.

Act as an experienced recruiter and CV editor. Tailor my CV to the job posting below. Keep my real experience, dates, employers, titles and numbers exactly as written. Change only the order, emphasis and wording: move the most relevant achievements to the top, and use the posting's key terms only where they truthfully describe what I did. Never invent experience, skills, tools, qualifications or results, and do not stretch a claim beyond what the CV says. Return a table of the posting's top 8 requirements and where my CV meets each one, then the revised CV text. End with a list of requirements my CV does not cover, so I can decide what to add honestly. Job posting: [PASTE THE JOB POSTING] My current CV: [PASTE YOUR CV]
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Claude

Interview Practice With Feedback

Runs a mock interview one question at a time and gives specific feedback on each answer.

Act as an interviewer for the role below and as a supportive coach. Run a mock interview with 6 questions, one at a time, and wait for my answer before asking the next one. Mix role-specific questions with behavioral ones. After each answer, give feedback in three parts: what worked, what was vague or missing, and a stronger version of my answer that uses only the facts I gave. Do not invent experience or results for me. At the end, summarize my three strongest answers and my three main areas to improve, with a short practice plan. Ask the first question now. Role and industry: [JOB TITLE AND INDUSTRY] My background in two or three lines: [YOUR EXPERIENCE] Job description, if I have one: [PASTE IT]
learning
Gemini

Spreadsheet Formula Helper

Writes a spreadsheet formula from a plain-English description and explains each part.

Act as a spreadsheet expert. Write a formula for the task I describe. Give the formula in a code block, then a plain-English explanation of each part, an example with 3 sample rows showing the input and the expected result, and one alternative approach if a simpler or more robust one exists. Use only the columns and cell references I give. If something is unclear, ask me up to 3 questions first. Handle empty cells and errors sensibly and say how. Do not invent column names or data. Finish with the limits of the formula and one way I can check it on my own data. Spreadsheet app: [NAME OF YOUR SPREADSHEET APP] My columns and layout: [DESCRIBE YOUR DATA] What I want the formula to do: [PLAIN-ENGLISH DESCRIPTION]
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Gemini

Presentation Outline Builder

Builds a slide-by-slide outline with headlines, talking points and suggested visuals.

Act as a presentation coach. Build a slide-by-slide outline for the talk below. Open with the audience's problem or question, follow one clear storyline, and end with a decision or next step. For each slide give a headline written as a full statement, 2 to 3 talking points, and one suggested visual (chart, diagram, photo or table) described in plain words. Keep to the number of slides and the time I give. Use only the material I provide. Do not invent statistics, quotes, case studies or sources; where a figure would help, write 'add your figure here'. Return a numbered list. End with the three questions the audience is most likely to ask and any gaps in my material. Topic and goal: [WHAT THE TALK IS FOR] Audience: [WHO WILL LISTEN] Length: [MINUTES AND NUMBER OF SLIDES] My material: [PASTE NOTES OR DATA]
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Claude

Feedback for a Colleague

Turns your observations into calm, specific feedback you can say in a one-to-one.

Act as a management coach. Help me give constructive feedback to a colleague. Turn my observations into a short script of about 200 words in this order: the specific situation, the behavior I observed, the effect it had, what I would like to see instead, and an open question that invites their view. Stay with the facts I give; do not guess their motives and do not exaggerate with words like always or never. Do not invent examples. Keep the tone respectful and direct. After the script, give two ways the colleague might react, with a calm response to each, and list any point where my notes are too vague to support fair feedback. Colleague's role and my relationship to them: [DETAILS] What happened, with dates or examples: [YOUR OBSERVATIONS] What I want to change: [DESIRED OUTCOME]
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Any AI chat

Long Document Summary

Condenses a long document into a two-minute brief for a busy manager.

Act as an executive assistant summarizing for a busy manager. Read the document below and write a brief that can be read in two minutes. Sections: the main point in two sentences, key findings (up to 5 bullets), decisions or actions required, risks or caveats, and the numbers that matter. Keep every figure, name and date exactly as in the document. Do not add opinions, outside facts or conclusions the document does not state. Put the most important point first and use plain words. Mark any claim that the document supports weakly as 'weak support'. End with what the document does not cover and 3 questions the manager may want to ask the author. Reader and purpose: [WHO WILL READ THE SUMMARY AND WHY] Document: [PASTE THE DOCUMENT]
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ChatGPT

Project Milestone Plan

Breaks a project into milestones with tasks, dependencies and the main risk for each.

Act as an experienced project manager. Break the project below into 4 to 7 milestones. For each milestone give the outcome that proves it is done, the main tasks, dependencies on other milestones, the owner role, and the risk most likely to delay it. Work back from the deadline I give and say if it looks unrealistic. Use only the scope, team and dates I provide. Do not invent budgets, durations or resources; where an estimate is needed, label it 'estimate' and give a range with the assumption behind it. Present the plan as a table in time order. End with a list of unknowns I should settle in the first week. Project goal: [WHAT YOU ARE DELIVERING] Deadline: [DATE] Team and constraints: [WHO IS AVAILABLE AND ANY LIMITS]
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Any AI chat

Salary Negotiation Script

Writes a salary conversation script with an opening, your case and replies to pushback.

Act as a career coach. Write a script for a salary conversation with my manager. Include an opening line, a short case for my request built only on the achievements and market information I give, the figure or range I want to ask for, and calm replies to three likely objections (no budget, wait until the next review, current pay is fair). Keep the tone confident and polite. Do not invent achievements, market rates, competing offers or deadlines, and do not suggest bluffing. Write each part in short sentences I could say aloud. End with other things I could ask for if the salary cannot move, and any weak point in my case to prepare for. My role and time in it: [JOB TITLE AND YEARS] My achievements, with numbers if I have them: [LIST] The figure I want and my reasons: [AMOUNT OR RANGE]
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