How to use ChatGPT to prepare for an interview: tips and 8 example prompts

After the initial excitement of landing an interview, you might start to feel a little panic or even fear. What do you do next? How can you prepare for the interview so that you’re ready to knock it out of the park? Fortunately, there are helpful AI tools you can use to polish your interview skills and calm your nerves.

ChatGPT is one resource that can help you prepare and practice, giving your confidence a major boost before the big day. In this article, we’ll show you everything you need to know about how to use ChatGPT to prepare for an interview.

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by OpenAI. When you enter a question or prompt into ChatGPT, the model responds in a conversational way, as though you’re talking to another person.

This is a great AI tool that you can use throughout your entire job search process. With ChatGPT, you can write a resume, polish a cover letter, and even prepare for job interviews.

Why use ChatGPT to prepare for job interviews?

Preparing for an interview is one of the best ways to build your confidence and set yourself up for success, and ChatGPT can help you do that. 

This powerful AI tool can help you:

• Predict potential questions. ChatGPT can give you some common questions to expect at an interview, so that you can prepare ahead of time.

• Practice your responses. Don’t have anyone to do a mock interview with you? Use ChatGPT to practice answering questions and get feedback on your responses.

• Summarize key information. When you input a job description into ChatGPT, the tool can summarize key information you need to know, like required skills and relevant work experience.

• Boost your confidence. More than anything, ChatGPT is one more tool that you can use to prepare for an interview, making you feel more confident when it’s time for the real thing.

While ChatGPT can help in many ways, it can’t do everything. It can understand natural language, but it’s unable to interpret context. The data it uses may also be outdated or inaccurate, so it’s essential to double check the information it gives you.

Similarly, the information that ChatGPT provides can often be rather broad or generic. You’ll want to use more specific prompts to get the most helpful responses.

How to use ChatGPT to prepare for an interview

Even if you’ve never used ChatGPT before, it’s fairly simple to start. Follow these interview tips to learn how to use ChatGPT to prepare for an interview:

1. Research the company

Good preparation starts with research. You need to know all about the company so that you can explain how your skills and experience make you a good fit. 

Ask ChatGPT to help you research the company in areas like these:

• Culture and environment

• Core values and mission

• Products and/or services

• Recent projects

• News articles about the company

2. Analyze the job description

Along with company information, ChatGPT can provide useful insights into the job you’re applying for. Paste the job description into the chatbot and ask it to analyze the must-have skills and qualifications. With this information, you can target your answers to the employer’s needs.

In your prompt, make sure to include the following:

• The company name and job title

• The full job description

• A request for a summary of important skills and qualifications

3. Create a list of potential questions

It’s hard to prepare for an interview if you don’t know what questions to expect. ChatGPT can give you a list of common interview questions that hiring managers typically ask. It can even generate questions specifically targeted to the job or industry.

Include these elements in a prompt asking for interview questions:

• The job title and industry

• The job description, including its responsibilities and requirements

• The types of questions you want to practice (such as performance-based or behavioral questions)

4. Plan your responses

Once you have a list of potential interview questions, you can also prepare your answers using ChatGPT. Ask the chatbot to give you some tips for answering specific questions. You can even ask for example responses that you can tailor to your own experiences.

Your prompt should have these elements:

• The job title and job description

• The question(s) you want to answer

• A request for tips or sample answers to the question

5. Do a mock interview

Take your preparation one step further with a mock interview. Using ChatGPT’s voice mode, you can have the chatbot ask you questions verbally. Respond with your answers, just like in a real interview. You can also ask ChatGPT to give you follow-up questions based on your responses.

Make your prompt as specific as possible by including the following:

• Your name and experience level

• The job title and company name

• The number of questions you want to answer

• How you want the chatbot to ask you questions (such as one at a time)

6. Improve your answers

After your mock interview, ask ChatGPT to provide feedback on the responses you gave. Additionally, it can offer suggestions to polish your responses and ensure that you’re putting your best foot forward in an interview.

You can also ask ChatGPT for feedback on question responses you gave in a real interview. If you feel that you can do better in future interviews, input your actual responses (as much as you can remember) into the chatbot and ask for recommendations.

This prompt should have:

• Which question(s) you want to improve

• Your original response(s)

• A request for specific tips or suggestions

7. Come up with questions for the interviewer

Your responses are a big part of the interview, but that’s not the only area where you need to focus your interview preparation. An interview is a two-way conversation, so you should be ready to ask the interviewer your own questions about the company and role. ChatGPT can help you brainstorm potential questions to ask at your next interview.

In your prompt, include the following:

• The job title and company name

• The title of the person interviewing you

• The job description

• A request for some questions to ask the interviewer

Get more ideas in our article on the best questions to ask in an interview.

8. Get interview tips

Want to make sure that you present yourself professionally? Curious about common mistakes that some interviewees make? Ask ChatGPT for some general interview tips that you can use to make a positive impression. It’s also a great resource if there’s a specific part of the interview that has you nervous, such as your elevator pitch.

When asking for interview tips, include this information in your prompt:

• The job title and company name

• The type of interview you’ll be doing (such as in-person or virtual)

• Specific questions or concerns that you have about the interview

• A request for general interview advice

ChatGPT isn’t the only AI tool you can use to prepare for an interview. Check out our advanced Interview Prep tool to practice targeted questions, get personalized feedback, and crush your next interview!

Key takeaways

1. It can be very beneficial to know how to use ChatGPT to prepare for an interview. This AI tool can help you anticipate questions, prepare and practice responses, and improve your answers.

2. You can get the most out of this tool by providing detailed prompts about the areas where you want help, such as sounding confident and professional.

3. The AI chatbot can also be helpful for researching a company, analyzing a job description, generating questions for you to ask, and providing general interview advice.