As I'm sure many of you can relate, I'm currently on the hunt for a new job. And while I'm excited about the opportunity to find a new role that aligns with my goals and passions, I have to admit that the thought of interviewing can be a little intimidating.
And that’s because it’s hard to know exactly what an employer is looking for and it's even harder to practice for those tough, unexpected questions. That's where ChatGPT comes in. It’s like having an experienced mock interviewer on call to help you practice, give you feedback on your answers and identify areas for you to work on.
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Here's how it works:
- Determine your objective for the mock interview.
- Provide a specific prompt for ChatGPT to ask you
- Practice, practice, practice
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DETERMINE YOUR OBJECTIVE
Before you begin using chatGPT, it's important to have a clear understanding of what you're trying to accomplish with your interview preparation. Are you trying to assess your communication skills, your problem-solving abilities, or your technical expertise?
Having a clear objective will help you craft more targeted and relevant prompts for chatGPT to work with - getting this right will make or break your interview experience.
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PROVIDE A SPECIFIC PROMPT
- Start with context: ChatGPT is most effective when given specific prompts to work with so try to give it as many details as possible so that it’s able to curate an interview setting that’s most applicable to you. Include specifics about your industry, the types of companies you plan to interview with, interview styles, or even the types of questions you expect to be asked.
- Give specifics about the role: This extra info helps ChatGPT better understand which themes will most likely be covered in the interview and ensure the questions that are being asked are best suited to that specific role.
- Set up the interaction: You can structure the interview in a variety of different ways depending on what you’re looking for: list out all the interview questions at once, get questions and sample answers at the same time, or have it mock interview you one question and answer at a time. I prefer the latter because it feels the most natural and helps keep me on my toes!
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You can try ordering this information differently, but the following formula has worked best for me:
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PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
Because ChatGPT uses AI, no two questions (or the responses/feedback) will look exactly the same, meaning you can continue the exercise as many times as you want, without it feeling too repetitive. The more you practice, the more opportunities you’ll have to refine your responses - helping you feel more comfortable and confident when you’re in the actual interview.
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FEEDBACK & IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH
At the end of the mock interview, you can ask ChatGPT to give you feedback on your responses and help you identify areas for improvement.
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FULL EXAMPLES
Full disclosure: my answers aren’t perfect, but I know with continued practice they’ll get stronger. Happy interviewing!
