1. What is the primary reason functional résumé formats underperform compared to chronological formats?
Correct. Functional formats fail at both stages: ATS parsers struggle with non-chronological structures, and human recruiters — whose scan targets current title, current employer, and dates — cannot quickly extract the information they need.
Functional résumés underperform at both the ATS stage (parsers expect chronological structure) and the human stage (recruiters scan for current role, employer, and dates — information functional formats bury or eliminate).
2. The Journal of Applied Psychology research on structured behavioural interviews found they have approximately what advantage over unstructured conversations in terms of predictive validity?
Correct.
Structured behavioural interviews have roughly twice the predictive validity of unstructured conversations.
3. According to Carta's published 2022–2023 benchmark data, what was the median equity grant for a VP of Engineering at a Series B company?
Correct. Carta's benchmark was 0.25% of outstanding shares for this level and stage.
Carta's benchmark was 0.25% of outstanding shares for a VP of Engineering at Series B.
4. Cultivated Culture's data found what percentage higher response rate when following up with a named individual versus a generic company inbox?
Correct. 31% higher response rate for named-contact follow-ups, even when the contact was identified via LinkedIn rather than listed in the posting.
Cultivated Culture (Austin Belcak 2023) found a 31% higher response rate for named-contact follow-ups.
5. Levels.fyi is most useful for researching which type of compensation data?
Correct. Levels.fyi specializes in verified TC data — base, bonus, and equity — for tech roles at named employers.
Levels.fyi is the go-to source for verified total compensation at named tech companies.
6. A 2023 Workable survey found that what percentage of hiring managers said they could identify AI-generated cover letters "most of the time"?
Correct. Workable's 2023 data showed 74% of hiring managers could identify AI-generated letters most of the time.
The figure was 74% — higher than most people assume.
7. Which geographic unit does the BLS use for its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) data?
Correct. The BLS collects at the MSA level — which is why specifying MSA in your salary research produces far more useful results than specifying state.
The BLS OEWS uses Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) as the primary geographic unit.
8. Which salary data source is described as best suited to non-technology roles and requires Premium access for full data?
Correct.
LinkedIn Salary Insights covers non-tech roles well but requires Premium access — which universities or libraries may provide.
9. What did the Glassdoor economic research team find about candidates with competing offers in 2023?
Correct. 18.6% higher total comp — the single biggest leverage factor in any negotiation is a genuine competing offer.
Glassdoor's data showed 18.6% higher total compensation on average for candidates with competing offers.
10. The three stages of an application intelligence pipeline, as defined in Lesson 2, are:
The pipeline stages are Source, Filter, and Deliver — with AI operating primarily at Filter.
11. The iCIMS 2023 study found referred candidates are hired at what rate relative to job board applicants?
Correct.
The iCIMS 2023 study found a 4× hire rate for referred candidates.
12. What did Google's Tech Dev Guide research reveal was the strongest predictor of engineering interview success?
Correct.
Structured mock interview practice volume was the most predictive variable — outperforming GPA and equivalent skills.
13. Why is a signing bonus often easier to negotiate than an equivalent increase in base salary?
Correct.
The one-time cost structure makes signing bonuses less threatening to compensation bands than a recurring base salary increase.
14. Lily Zhang's documented pattern showed that AI cover letter quality was primarily determined by:
Correct. Zhang's "garbage in, garbage out" finding: input quality determines output quality, regardless of which model is used.
Zhang's documented finding was that input quality — not the AI tool or job description length — was the key variable.
15. According to a 2022 LinkedIn study, what percentage of resumes are rejected by ATS before human review?
Correct. 75% of resumes are filtered out by ATS before a recruiter reads them — making ATS optimization essential.
The 2022 LinkedIn study found 75% of resumes are rejected by ATS before any human review.
16. A company's 10-K is more candid than its press releases primarily because:
Correct. SEC filings carry legal liability for material misstatements — which forces a level of candor about risks and challenges that press releases, written purely for marketing, do not contain.
Not quite. The legal liability for material misstatements in SEC filings is what forces candor, particularly in the Risk Factors section.
17. Research by I/O psychologists including Ann Marie Ryan found that interview practice effects plateau at approximately how many quality repetitions?
Correct.
Practice effects plateau around 15–20 repetitions — beyond that, over-rehearsal creates a new negative signal.
18. In the documented Stripe negotiation case from 2022, what was the outcome of providing a market-referenced email counter?
Correct. The candidate asked for $220K citing Levels.fyi data; Stripe countered at $210K — a $15,000 annual gain from an eleven-minute email.
Stripe countered at $210,000, giving the candidate $15,000 more per year than the original $195,000 offer.
19. The module describes AI's limitation regarding real-time signals. Which statement is accurate?
Correct.
Standard AI lacks real-time access. The division of labor: you find the signal, AI helps you exploit it through pattern analysis and synthesis.
20. When analyzing LinkedIn posts to build an executive profile, the recommended AI prompt asks for:
Correct. The recommended LinkedIn analysis prompt specifically asks: "What themes does this person emphasize most? What do they seem frustrated by?" — extracting values and pain points.
Not quite. The prompt for LinkedIn posts asks AI to identify themes the person emphasizes most and what they seem frustrated by — the core signals for interview preparation.