It was a job interview like any other; I was sitting in front of my laptop, nerves rolling while I waited for my interviewer to ask me the first question. I reminded myself to take a breath and stop tapping my fingers on the counter. Except, I wasn't dressed up, I didn't care what random kitchen appliances or laundry were visible in my camera background and, most importantly, my interviewer was AI.
AI interview prep is a new generative AI feature from LinkedIn that uses existing LinkedIn job postings to create a short, personalized mock interview. The AI can understand the job description, create questions based on the role and give you feedback after the interview is complete.
I got an early look at the new feature before its launch, and it was a surprisingly realistic interview experience, for better or worse.
"As somebody who has interviewed a lot before, it sucks," Sharon Gao, product lead at LinkedIn, said with a laugh in an interview. "Before, you would have to take a course or pay for a coach." Now, with the AI interview tool, you can practice with a "tool that's personalized to the job that you want to apply to."
LinkedIn's new AI interview prep tool is rolling out soon in English to all premium subscribers. You'll be able to use the new tool for job postings LinkedIn deems you would be a medium to high match for -- if you're not likely to be a good fit for the role, it won't let you do a mock interview. Here's how my testing went, including the one piece of AI-generated feedback that was the most useful.
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Practice an interview is available for LinkedIn job postings for which you're a medium-to-high match. Screenshot by Katelyn Chedraoui/CNET
Interviewing with AI
To begin, I went to LinkedIn's job tab and selected a posting for a senior writer. LinkedIn flagged that it would be a good match for me based on the experience and skills I already have on my LinkedIn profile, so I scrolled down and clicked "Practice an interview." I was then sent to a Zoom-like meeting room (no cameras, just audio).
My AI interviewer began by explaining the process and reminding me that nothing I said in the mock interview would be shared with any company. It then asked me five questions related to the role. Those questions were very obviously pulled from the job description, sometimes word for word. But it was nice not to have to come up with suitable interview questions by myself.
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