Calibrate Interview

Calibrate Interview: Communication & Presence

You’ve completed your full assessment portfolio. Now it’s time to speak to your work, and how you think, explain, and carry yourself as an XP. This is a live 1:1 Zoom interview with a recruiter. You’ll talk through three artifacts, explain your reasoning, and demonstrate clear, confident communication.

You’ll be scored on how clearly, fluently, and intentionally you communicate, just like in real XP life.

Instructions

Your Calibrate Interview will cover three submissions from your portfolio:

You choose one portfolio activity submission that you believe best represents your XP readiness
Your interviewer will choose two more from your submitted work
- These may be tasks you didn’t prepare to present
- Be ready to speak confidently about your decisions across your full portfolio

For each portfolio activity, you’ll be asked

Describe your portfolio activity and what helped you prepare it
Explain your decisions (what you did and why)
Reflect on what worked and what you’d improve (ex. I would fix the format to make it more clear and scannable)

You’ll also answer 2–3 follow-up questions about:

How you made decisions
How you communicate under pressure
How you reflect on and apply feedback

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Speak naturally. You’re being scored on clarity, structure, vocabulary, and professional presence.

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No written submission required. Your trainer will guide the interview where you can talk though your portfolio live.

Rubric: Calibrate Interview : Communication Skills (Total: 18 points)

Criteria	1 – Not Yet	2 – Developing	3 – Elevate Ready
Comprehensibility
Can others understand you easily?	I had 2 or more moments where I wasn’t clear, my listener had to ask or guess what I meant.	I was mostly clear, but there was 1 part where I wasn’t fully understood.	I explained myself clearly from start to finish. No clarification needed.
Structure & Flow
Did your answer have a clear beginning, middle, and end?	My thoughts were scattered or jumped around with no clear order.	My answer had some structure, but parts didn’t flow well or felt awkward.	I guided the listener smoothly through my response with clear structure and transitions.
Word Choice (Lexical Control)
Did you use the right words for what you meant?	I used vague or repetitive words more than once (like “stuff” or “thing”), or chose words that didn’t quite fit.	My vocabulary mostly worked, but I used a few simple or off words.	My language was specific, professional, and varied, I chose words that helped me communicate clearly.
Fluency
Did you speak with steady pace and confidence?	I had 5 or more fillers, long pauses, or self-corrections that disrupted my flow.	I had 2–4 small hesitations or filler words, but I mostly kept going.	I spoke steadily and confidently with at most 1 small pause or filler.
Executive Presence
How did you carry yourself while speaking?	I sounded nervous, flat, or overly rehearsed. I didn’t seem grounded.	I was polite and respectful, but didn’t always sound confident or calm.	I sounded like someone who belongs in the room, confident, thoughtful, and self-assured.
Interaction
How did you respond to questions in real time?	I gave short or unclear answers, or didn’t really engage with the follow-up questions.	I answered clearly but didn’t add much or connect ideas together.	I responded with insight, expanded on my thoughts, and kept the conversation flowing naturally.