Job interviews and AI are two key drivers of anxiety for today’s job seeker, but for very different reasons.
Interviews, of course, have and always will be nerve-wracking for most job candidates. According to a survey by the employment screening company JDP, 93% feel nervous before an interview, and only public speaking ranks higher than all fear-inducing scenarios.
Meanwhile, concerns about AI potentially harming future job prospects, its use in recruitment and being skilled enough to use it as a job search tool are further sources of consternation.
The good news for anyone being kept up at night over these concerns is that you can use one to help with the other by leveraging generative AI’s ability to prepare for your next job interview.
“There are a lot of ways that you can go about it, and there are some really simple ways,” Joel Levesque, an AI consultant and author of the “Job Search with AI” newsletter on Substack, told me. “It all sort of depends on who you are and what you're trying to get out of it.”
Whether you’re already comfortable telling your story or feel completely lost heading into your next job interview, here’s how you can use AI tools like ChatGPT to feel better prepared — and what to watch out for along the way.
Start With Simple Conversations
According to Levesque, an often underutilized yet easy–to-use feature of generative AI tools like ChatGPT is the audio chat function, which he says can be used by job seekers of any AI-skill level can tap into for effective interview prep.
“Most people who are either scared of using AI or are not massively experienced with AI can figure out the audio function,” Levesque said. “You’re not coding prompts — you’re just having a conversation.”
After uploading your resume and a job description, you can ask ChatGPT to play the role of an interviewer.
The audio feature in ChatGPT and other tools can make these interactions feel more natural than typing. With prompts such as “act like an expert interviewer and ask me questions about my motivations, about my work history,” Levesque says you can quickly start engaging in a helpful and realistic back and forth.
“It uses all the frameworks that that humans would use, expert coaches would use, because I asked it to,” Levesque says. “I don't need to know them. I just need to be able to say, ‘ act like a expert who's been doing this 20 years,’ or ‘act like a career coach who's like the best in the world, and I want you to interview me until I have clarity about about me and my strengths.’“
Go Deeper With Custom Job Interview Prompts
Once you’re comfortable with the basics, you can further personalize the AI to act more like a coach.
Options include asking it to use structured methods like STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result), which can allow job seekers can get sharper feedback and practice framing stronger responses. “That’s when it shifts from a practice buddy to a real coaching tool,” Levesque said.
AI can also mimic different interview formats, from friendly one-on-ones to adversarial panels. “You can tell it to act like an adversarial three person interview board, and to evaluate your responses based on the likelihood of being hired or other criteria,” Levesque said.
It’s also helpful for newer formats like asynchronous video interviews, where candidates record answers to pre-set questions. “AI can prepare you for that too, so you don’t get thrown off when you’re suddenly asked to respond on camera,” he noted.
The more you interact and customize your requests, the more useful AI becomes as a job interview coach. Levesque described feeding ChatGPT details about his career history, motivations, and strengths. “At the end of that process, it wasn’t just asking generic questions. It knew my background, so it could push me in ways that were genuinely useful,” he said.
Use AI Wisely: Privacy, Bias, And Cost
As with any use of AI, job seekers need to be mindful of privacy and other considerations. Levesque advised adjusting the settings of whichever platform you are using to prevent the sharing of your data, and as a general rule: “Never share personal details you wouldn’t want public,” he said. That means leaving out addresses, phone numbers, or sensitive information.
He also warns that AI systems — especially those used by employers — can carry hidden biases. “That’s why I see AI as great for preparation, but more complicated when used to evaluate candidates,” he noted.
When it comes to choosing a platform, there are many to consider. But Levesque said one advantage ChatGPT offers, especially for AI novices, is it’s built-in long-term memory capabilities.
“I can close chatGPT, come back tomorrow, and it still remembers everything I’ve said. I can ask about it in different contexts, and it’ll still remember that history,” he said.
As for cost, many of the basics — uploading a resume, generating questions, and practicing answers — can be done with the free version of ChatGPT. The paid version, however, offers features like long-term memory and extended audio sessions, which can help if you want the AI to act as a consistent coach.
Still, Levesque stressed that you don’t need a premium subscription to benefit. “You can get 60–70% of the way there with free tools,” he said. “For most people, that’s enough to feel much more confident going into an interview.”
A New Kind Of Pre-Interview Pep Talk
When used thoughtfully, Levesque believes AI can provide not just practice, but confidence. “Sometimes what you need before an interview isn’t memorizing lines — it’s getting into the right headspace,” he said. “AI can do that too. It can reframe your answers, give you encouragement, and help you walk in feeling prepared.”
The bottom line: you don’t need to be a tech expert to use AI as a job interview ally. By treating it like a practice partner — one that never gets tired of running mock interviews — you can enter your next conversation with clarity, confidence, and a much stronger story.