Welcome to the fourth and final in a series of guides written by Memcom’s Director Julian Smith, who has more than 25 years’ experience in recruitment.
The guides focus on using AI to help you with your job hunting and in the first blog Julian established that there’s probably an app to help you with all of your job hunting needs, whilst in the second and third blogs he looked at creating good CVs and writing compelling cover letters. This, his final guide looks at some of the ways AI can help you prepare for a job interview…
Once more, as an experienced recruiter, I’m going to caveat this blog by saying that AI doesn’t hold all the answers, and is by no means infallible. Please check or cross reference any data that AI bots might give you, and don’t assume that everything you read is real – but having said that, AI can do a lot of the ground work for you, and help you prepare for an interview in a number of different ways, as follows:
Researching the organisation:
Use AI-powered search engines and tools to gather information about the organisation, its culture and the sector or industry in which it operates. Remember some tools like ChatGPT are powered on dated information but might still be useful to list similar or competitor organisations, and you probably already use tools like Google for news stories and LinkedIn which can provide up-to-date insights into the organisation and its employees.
Practice interview questions:
AI-driven tools can help you in several ways, suggesting potential interview questions around a specific topic or job role. Typing “what sort of questions could I expect for an interview for a finance manager within the membership sector” into an engine such as ChatGPT seems quite specific, but could provide you with a ready-made practice and an insight into what the interviewers are really looking for.
Another tip is to take the questions it suggests and throw them back into the search engine with the question “how would I best answer the following questions?” so that you can see how your answers stack up against AI…
Mock interviews:
There seem to be plenty of AI-powered interview coaching platforms out there, but experiences vary, and what might prove useful for some is a waste of time for others. If you’re interested, why not check out Robolink which can help you practice answering common interview questions, provide feedback and suggestions to improve your responses.
Platforms like InterviewBuddy or AI chatbots like ChatGPT can also simulate mock interviews, allowing you to practice your interview skills. These tools can also provide instant feedback on your answers and offer suggestions for improvement.
Specific interview styles:
Need assistance with the STAR technique? Why not ask your friendly AI-powered bot? Similarly, if there are components of interviews that you’ve never come across such as values-based interviews, or you need help with assessment centres, there are plenty of ways to practice your answers with AI.
Video analysis:
This is not an area with which any of the Memcom Recruitment team are personally familiar, but we’ve heard of AI tools that can analyse your recorded interview practice sessions to assess your body language, tone and speaking speed, providing feedback on areas that may need improvement.
In conclusion…
The (virtual) reality is, there’s a whole world of AI-based technology out there for you to explore, and why shouldn’t it be used to help you find the job of your dreams?
It's important to remember, however, that while AI can provide valuable support, it's not a replacement for human skills and preparation. AI can help you practice and improve your interview performance, but your loved ones, friends or colleagues might be better at judging the content, authenticity, and your ability to connect with the interviewer.
As always, AI tools can form part of the solution, which when combined with your own research can make your interview preparation more complete, and potentially give you an edge in your job interviews.
If you’ve enjoyed Julian’s series of “How to” guides, why not check out some of Memcom’s other blogs – and if you have an idea for a future blog, please feel free to contact Julian directly on Julian@memcom.org.uk
