Academy / Capstone: new business, new problem
Teach-back + talent gate · 18 min
Talent gate honesty — completion is not a job
In this lesson
- State that finishing the capstone is evidence, not an offer
- Name what must never appear in a teach-back or portfolio (live clients, leftover Northfield files)
What this gate is
The talent gate is optional. Completing the academy, passing quizzes, and shipping the Cedar & Stone plan does not guarantee a job at Legible Marketing. It does not start payroll. It does not mean someone is reviewing you this week. If you later opt in on the careers page, you are offering evidence (the plan + the teach-back), not collecting a promise. Teaching is evidence. Asking for a job in the first sentence of the teach-back is not.
What you will not ship
No live Legible client names, inboxes, phone numbers, or exported rows. No leftover Northfield Motors files presented as HVAC work. No fabricated “I already work with your accounts.” No claim that a passing score is a hire. If a reviewer cannot tell your example is fictional, you failed isolation.
A hire-relevant packet is: a Cedar & Stone plan that could not be find-replaced from Dana, plus a teach-back another junior can run Monday. That packet is still not an offer.
Exercise
Write the honesty line
Add one sentence to the top of your teach-back: this is a fictional HVAC example, not a live client, and completing the course is not a job application unless you later opt in on careers. Then submit the full lesson.
Deliverable: Honesty line + full teach-back (written lesson or timed outline + checklist).
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Teach-back + talent-gate check
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