How to Use ChatGPT for Interview Preparation
If you’ve been laid off and are actively job hunting, you’re probably spending a lot of time preparing for interviews. After 20 years in IT and recently finding myself on the job market, I’ve been leveraging AI to make my interview prep more efficient and targeted. One of the best tools I’ve found? ChatGPT.
Generative AI like ChatGPT can serve as your personal career coach, helping you refine your responses, practice technical questions, and gain confidence before your big interview. Here’s how I use it—and how you can too.
Mock Interviews with Realistic Questions
Instead of sifting through endless online lists of interview questions, you can ask ChatGPT to generate a customized mock interview based on the role you’re applying for. For example:
> Pretend you’re a hiring manager for a Fortune 500 fintech company hiring an Application Security Manager. Ask me five technical and five behavioral interview questions.
You can then answer these questions and ask ChatGPT for feedback on your responses, helping you refine them for clarity and impact.
When I’m preparing for an interview, I’ll give ChatGPT the job posting, and ask ChatGPT for a list of questions the recruiter or hiring manager is likely to ask. Then, I’ll go back and forth with ChatGPT drafting and refining answers to each one.
Refining Your STAR Method Responses
Many companies, especially in tech and finance, rely on behavioral interviews that follow the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). I wrote a blog post about it you can read here. If you struggle with structuring your answers concisely, ChatGPT can help you refine them.
For instance, you can input a rough version of your answer:
> Tell me about a time you led a team through a major security incident.
And then ask ChatGPT:
> Can you rewrite this using the STAR method to make it more impactful?
AI can help trim unnecessary details, highlight key accomplishments, and ensure your responses are compelling.
Technical Question Drills
If your interview includes technical questions, ChatGPT can simulate real-world scenarios based on your field. Since my expertise is in Application Security, I might ask:
> Give me a complex web application security vulnerability scenario and ask me how I’d mitigate it.
You can then practice your response and even have a back-and-forth dialogue to simulate a real interview conversation.
Understanding the Company and Role
Before any interview, it’s critical to research the company and understand its products, industry trends, and challenges. ChatGPT can quickly summarize key information for you:
> Summarize the latest security challenges fintech companies are facing in 2024.
> What are the key responsibilities of a Bug Bounty Manager, based on recent job postings?
Having AI generate these insights helps you align your answers with industry trends and company pain points.
Improving Communication and Confidence
Sometimes it’s not just *what* you say, but *how* you say it. If you’re nervous about your delivery, use ChatGPT to rephrase answers to sound more confident and professional. For example:
> I kind of helped improve our vulnerability management process.
You can ask:
> How can I rephrase this to sound more confident?
ChatGPT might suggest:
> I led the initiative to enhance our vulnerability management process, improving detection and remediation times by 30%.
Small tweaks like this can make a big impact.
Post-Interview Reflection and Follow-Up
After your interview, ChatGPT can help you craft a polished follow-up email:
> Can you write a professional thank-you email for an interview for a Bug Bounty Manager role at Shopify?
It can also help analyze what went well and what you can improve:
> I struggled to answer a question about securing CI/CD pipelines. How can I improve next time?
ChatGPT can provide concise explanations, suggest additional reading, or generate sample responses for future interviews.
Final Thoughts
Interviewing is a skill, and like any skill, it gets better with practice. AI tools like ChatGPT aren’t a replacement for real-world experience, but they *are* an excellent resource for refining your responses, simulating real interviews, and boosting your confidence.
If you’re in the middle of a job search—whether you’re a laid-off IT manager like me or someone looking for a career change—give ChatGPT a try in your interview prep. It just might be the competitive edge you need.