Now Hiring: Smart AI Interns

Requirements: Must love context and follow instructions

How I went from "this is useless" to "this is doing most of the work for me"

Asking ChatGPT questions and getting instant, smart, human-like responses felt revolutionary, quite magical. Then reality hit: average responses, average advice, and the constant feeling that I could've done it faster myself.

I was spending too much time fiddling with AI and not getting what I needed. Or worse, getting something so generic I'd end up rewriting it completely. Which made me wonder: "Why should I spend time fixing ChatGPT’s answers when I can do much better work myself?"

Was it my resistance to change? Yes. Was I giving up too quickly because I wasn't seeing immediate results? Definitely.

But there was a moment when I truly understood that my input was garbage, and of course, LLM’s response was garbage average. And this pushed me to develop a new mental model.

Welcome, The Smart Intern mental model

That's when it clicked. I was treating Claude and ChatGPT like mind-readers when I should have been treating them like Smart Interns: brilliant people who need proper context and clear instructions to deliver expert-level output.

Think about it: if you hire the most intelligent intern but fail to onboard them properly, whose fault is it when they deliver low-quality work? The intern's, or yours, for not setting them up for success?

Note: I’m writing this post because I’ve seen fellow product people struggling with the same issues. I shared this new mental model with a few of them, and months later, they continue to send me WhatsApp messages telling me how it has improved their work.

What changed everything: Projects

The day I discovered Projects in Claude (thank you, Tal Raviv) was the day I started getting real value. It's when Claude started feeling like it was doing most of the work for me.

So, what is a project? It’s a workspace with its own chat history and knowledge base. In here, I can add custom instructions, upload relevant documents, text, or other files so Claude better understands the context and background for our conversations. And in this way, instead of getting average internet knowledge, I'm getting a tailored answer for my specific situation.

My Claude Projects - we'll use the Product Courses as an example

Note: For simplicity's sake, I’ll walk you through my Claude’s Project setup. ChatGPT Projects are built on the same principles.

How I set up my projects now

When I start a new project, I imagine I have a new teammate who needs to understand what I’m working on. As I would with a person, I invest time upfront in providing context. Loads of context: why this is important, information about myself, what my expectations are, strategy documents, meeting notes, org charts, customer research, examples of what good looks like… Anything I'd find relevant if I were new to this piece of work.

My project instructions process

I write comprehensive project instructions that explain my role, the context, my preferred communication style, and any specific frameworks I want Claude to use consistently.

Product Courses Project Instructions

And here are the Project Instructions I have for the Product Courses:

#CONTEXT
I'm Ady, a product leader with 20+ years of experience who is building a business teaching product management skills. I create practical, immediately applicable courses that help product professionals advance their careers.

#YOUR DUAL EXPERTISE

##Product Education Expert
You are my strategic product course advisor with 20+ years of experience designing transformational learning experiences. Your expertise includes:

- Translating complex product concepts into immediately actionable frameworks
- Identifying common career roadblocks product managers face and providing practical solutions
- Designing courses that bridge theory with real-world application
- Understanding what separates good product managers from exceptional ones

##Marketing & Sales Strategist
You are my experienced marketing partner specializing in product education sales. Your expertise includes:

- Positioning product courses to resonate with target audiences
- Creating compelling marketing messages that convert prospects to customers
- Understanding the product management learning market and competitive landscape
- Developing scalable marketing systems for course creators

#YOUR APPROACH

##Strategic Partnership Style

- *Challenge my assumptions* with thoughtful counterpoints and alternative perspectives
- *Push toward action* rather than endless planning - help me ship and iterate
- *Show your reasoning* - explain the "why" behind your recommendations
- *Anticipate obstacles* - identify potential roadblocks before I encounter them
- *Balance support with stretch* - acknowledge my strengths while pushing growth

##Learning Design Framework

Ensure all course recommendations follow Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle:

- *Concrete Experience:* Real scenarios, case studies, or hands-on activities
- *Reflective Observation:* Structured reflection and peer discussion opportunities
- *Abstract Conceptualization:* Clear frameworks and mental models to organize learning
- *Active Experimentation:* Immediate application opportunities in learners' actual work

Every course element should connect to this cycle to maximize practical impact.

#WHAT I NEED FROM YOU

##Course Development Support

- Brainstorm course topics, structures, and delivery methods
- Create practical exercises and real-world applications
- Design assessment methods that reinforce learning
- Suggest ways to make complex concepts immediately actionable

##Marketing & Business Strategy

- Develop positioning and messaging that resonates with product professionals
- Create content strategies that build authority and drive enrollment
- Identify market opportunities and competitive advantages
- Design pricing and packaging strategies

##Coaching & Accountability

- Challenge me when I'm overthinking or avoiding action
- Provide specific next steps that move projects forward
- Help me balance perfectionist tendencies with shipping mentality
- Keep me focused on what will actually impact my business goals

#HOW TO USE CONTEXT

I'll share detailed information including:

- Customer research and feedback
- Course outlines and materials
- Marketing strategies and results
- Business goals and challenges
- Examples of what good looks like

Use this context to provide informed, relevant guidance that builds on my existing work rather than generic advice.

#SUCCESS METRICS
Your recommendations should help me create courses that:

- Generate immediate, measurable improvements in learners' product careers
- Build my reputation as a trusted product education authority
- Scale my business sustainably while maintaining quality
- Apply proven learning principles for maximum retention and application

Note: I've learned to iterate these instructions. When the chats within a project don’t perform the way I need them to, I revisit and refine the instructions rather than getting frustrated with Claude. And at the end, after I’ve added my tweaks to make sure that they are clearly written for LLMs, I’m asking Claude to re-write them using this prompt:

You are an AI assistant tasked with providing expert advice on writing project instructions for Claude.ai. Your goal is to help improve a drafted set of project instructions to make them as effective as possible.

Here is the draft of the project instructions:

{{Insert Project Instructions}}

How I curate my project knowledge files

I've learned that quality trumps quantity. I upload only the most relevant, high-quality documents that directly support my project goals. Ten relevant documents outperform one hundred “kind of” related ones.

For one client, I was dealing with massive documents where only 5-10% of the information was relevant to my work. Instead of adding those huge files, I created a document summarising the relevant points, and in this way, I avoided the noise.

Product Courses Project Knowledge files

File naming convention

I use descriptive filenames that help both me and Claude understand what we're working with. For example: 2025-04-27-course-outline.pdf. If it is easy for me to understand what this file is about, Claude will get it too. And I’m prepending dates so I’ll know when this file was last uploaded.

Note: Claude Projects integrate with Google Drive for automatic syncing. ChatGPT requires manual file uploads, so I maintain a simple folder structure and re-upload updated documents when needed.

What I've learned to avoid

Dumping irrelevant documents: I've learned the hard way that irrelevant information confuses Claude and leads to lower-quality responses. The project isn't a dumping ground for everything I have.

Creating overly broad project scope/instructions: I keep my projects focused with specific purposes. They outperform my attempts at know-it-all workspaces. If I'm working on user onboarding and pricing strategy simultaneously, I create separate projects to keep the context clean and focused.

Assuming Claude understands context: I never assume Claude will intuitively understand industry jargon, internal processes, or company politics. For all my client projects, I create documents that include org charts and information about individuals, as well as relevant abbreviations and other practical details that I consider valuable for myself.

Setting and forgetting: When I notice a project isn't performing the way I need, I tinker with project instructions. As my needs evolve and I learn what works better, I keep refining the approach.

Where I am now

What used to take me 5-6 hours of work now takes about 2 hours. The Smart Intern, aka Claude, handles approximately 60-80% of the heavy lifting, while I focus on crafting effective prompts, evaluating results, and refining the output.

The transformation wasn't about finding the "right" AI tool; it was about changing how I approached AI collaboration. Whether I’m using Claude or ChatGPT’s Projects, the principle remains the same: I invest in context upfront, and this "rewards” me with exponentially better results.

Last year, I was experimenting with AI but getting little in return. Now I have AI teammates who feel like they know me, specialised consultants who understand my context and deliver work that fits my needs. And that's motivated me to keep tinkering every day, breaking things and keeping what works.

Let’s tinker. Together.

Ady,

Head of AI Interns, Tinker w/ AI