NotebookLM for Interview Research: Sri Lanka Guide

NotebookLM can help turn public employer information into an organised interview brief. For a Sri Lankan applicant, the useful starting point is a small set of reliable documents: the role notice, the employer's product information and any public material relevant to the team.

Google's NotebookLM overview describes source-grounded responses with inline citations. Citations make checking easier; they do not remove the need to read the underlying material.

Choose sources deliberately

Use documents that answer questions about the actual role. A company's annual report may provide context, while a current vacancy notice defines the application requirements.

Record the date and purpose of each source. Do not combine an old internship notice with a new graduate role and assume the conditions are identical.

Use only documents you are allowed to upload. Public employer material is usually a more appropriate starting point than private interview messages or confidential work records.

Create an evidence-based brief

Brief section	What to capture
Employer context	What the organisation publicly says it does
Role responsibilities	Duties stated in the current notice
Required evidence	Skills and qualifications explicitly requested
Questions	Points the sources do not resolve
Your examples	Relevant work you can honestly discuss

Keep your personal examples in a separate section so they are not confused with facts about the employer.

A short brief that you understand is more useful than a long generated report you have not checked.

Ask questions that expose uncertainty

An original prompt could be: “Using only these sources, list the responsibilities of the advertised role. Attach a citation to each point and identify anything the documents do not clarify.”

Follow with: “Suggest interview questions about the unresolved points. Do not infer salary, remote-work policy or training arrangements if the sources do not state them.”

This encourages a distinction between evidence and missing information. Review whether the output actually follows that instruction.

Check every important citation

Open the cited passage and read enough surrounding context to understand it. A statement about one department may not apply to the role you are interviewing for.

Check dates and document versions. If you update a source, confirm how the notebook handles the change using the product's current source-management guidance.

Do not assume that a citation supports every sentence in a paragraph. Split mixed statements into smaller claims when necessary.

Turn the brief into spoken preparation

Choose three relevant facts and connect them to your own experience. Practise explaining why each matters to the role.

For a fictional applicant to a support team, a useful question might concern how issues are handed from customer support to engineering. The question can arise from the role's duties without pretending you know the employer's internal process.

Keep the final interview notes short. You want prompts for a conversation, not a script to read aloud.

Can you upload the employer's confidential documents?

Only when you have the necessary permission and the tool is approved for that data. Public interview preparation rarely requires confidential material.

Are source-grounded answers always correct?

No. Check the cited text, its date and the scope of the claim.

Should you add every webpage about the company?

Choose relevant, reliable sources. More material can introduce outdated or unrelated information.

What if two documents disagree?

Record the conflict and look for the latest authoritative source. Ask the employer when the public information cannot resolve it.

What is the final output?

A brief containing verified facts, useful questions and your own relevant examples, with links back to the original material.

Related guides

• Interview Questions in Sri Lanka: STAR Answer Examples
• Google AI Mode for Job Research: A Sri Lanka Workflow
• How to Fact-Check AI Answers for Work in Sri Lanka

Browse the Sri Lanka work and technology guides for more practical application, AI and workplace projects.