To run an AI mock interview from your résumé and job description, paste both into the Mock Interview mode of CoPilot Interview's free desktop app, choose your level, the number of questions (3, 5 or 8), the mix of behavioral, technical, system design and coding questions, your coding language and an optional focus, then answer each question out loud. The AI plans a question set that names your actual projects and the stack in the posting, reads each question aloud, scores every spoken answer out of 10 with what to fix and a model answer, and ends with a report card. Setup takes a few minutes.
We make CoPilot Interview, so this is a walkthrough of our own tool. It covers what to prepare, each setup step, which settings fit which round, how to give the AI better material, how to read the feedback and how to plan the next round. If you only want to try a single question first, the browser AI mock interview needs no install.
What you need before you start
- The desktop app. CoPilot Interview runs on Windows 10+ and macOS 12+. Download, unzip and run it; no signup is needed to start. Mock Interview mode is in version 1.3.11 and later.
- The full job description. Copy the whole posting: responsibilities, required and preferred qualifications, and the team blurb. Those sections carry the signal.
- Your current résumé as text. The version you actually sent to this employer, so the questions match what the interviewer will see.
- A headset or a quiet room. In Mock Interview mode only your microphone is captured; the interviewer's voice is played by the app and is never graded as your answer.
- 15 minutes. The free plan gives you 15 free minutes every day, in sessions of up to 15 minutes, with all four modes including Mock Interview. No credit card.
Step-by-step: set up a mock interview from your résumé and job description
- Open Mock Interview mode. Pick it from the app's four modes.
- Paste the job description. Remove only the obvious boilerplate, such as benefits lists and legal footers. Keep every technology, responsibility and seniority signal.
- Paste your résumé. You can leave out your phone number and home address; the interviewer needs your experience, not your contact details.
- Choose the level. The range runs from junior to staff. Pick the level of the role you applied for, not the level you feel ready for.
- Choose how many questions: 3, 5 or 8. Three fits a free 15-minute session with time to read the feedback. Eight spoken answers of about two minutes each already run past 15 minutes, so save longer rounds for when you have a longer session.
- Set the mix. Combine behavioral, technical, system design and coding to match the round you're preparing for (see the next section).
- Pick your coding language if the mix includes coding. Use the language you'll write in on the day.
- Add an optional focus. One topic you want more questions on, such as “Kubernetes” or “leadership.” Leave it empty on your first round so you get an honest baseline.
Then start the round. The first question is read aloud and the mic opens.
Pick settings for the round you're preparing for
The same two documents can produce very different practice depending on the settings. These are our suggested starting points; adjust the focus to what the posting stresses.
| Your next round | Questions | Mix | Focus example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recruiter or hiring manager screen | 3 | Behavioral only | Empty, or “why this role” |
| Technical phone screen | 3 | Coding plus one technical | The main language or framework in the posting |
| Behavioral or values round | 5 | Behavioral only | “leadership” or “conflict” |
| System design round | 3 | System design plus one technical | The posting's domain, such as “payments” or “streaming” |
| Full onsite loop rehearsal | 8 | All four types | Empty |
| Career switch into tech | 5 | Behavioral plus technical | The skill your résumé shows least |
| Senior or staff role | 5 | Behavioral plus system design | “mentoring” or “cross-team influence” |
Keep the level and question count the same for a few rounds in a row. You can only compare report cards fairly when the settings match.
How the questions come from both documents
The interviewer works from what you paste: the job description says what the role needs, and your résumé says what you claim to have done. The question set names your actual projects and the stack in the posting, so the quality of the inputs sets the quality of the practice.
| Document | What it gives the interviewer | How to prepare it |
|---|---|---|
| Job description | The level, the stack, the responsibilities and the problems the team owns | Paste the whole posting; don't summarize it into keywords |
| Résumé | Your projects, your role in them and your results | Use specific bullets with real numbers; a vague bullet can only produce a vague question |
| Focus field | One topic to weight more heavily | Use it for the requirement your résumé covers least |
Before your first round, spend five minutes on a gap check. List the posting's main requirements and mark which ones your résumé backs up with a project. Unmarked requirements are where a real interviewer may dig, so they're your best candidates for the focus field.
Here is an illustration we wrote, not actual app output. Say the posting asks for event streaming, on-call ownership and mentoring, and your résumé lists a rebuilt checkout service. Expect questions in the spirit of “how did you handle retries in the checkout rebuild?”, “walk me through an incident you owned” and “tell me about a time you helped a newer engineer ramp up.” If your résumé never mentions mentoring, that third question is the one to rehearse.
Answering: how the round works
- Each question is read aloud, then the mic opens. Answer as you would on a real call.
- Pause to submit. Stop talking for a few seconds and the answer submits itself, or click Done. Say “let me think for a moment” before a long pause, as you would with a person.
- Coding questions work differently. They come with a function signature, examples and constraints, plus a code box. Type a solution or talk through the approach. Coding questions never auto-submit, so you can think in silence.
- System design answers are spoken. State requirements and scale first, then the high-level design, then one deep dive and a trade-off. The free system design cheat sheet has a capacity calculator for the estimates.
How to read the report card
After each answer you get a score out of 10, what worked, what to improve, the rubric points you missed, a model answer (working code for coding questions) and the follow-up a real interviewer would ask. After the last question, the report card shows your average, the top three things to work on and what to repeat next round.
| Feedback item | What it tells you | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Rubric points you missed | The specific gap, such as no measurable result or no complexity stated | Add exactly that to your next answer on the topic |
| The follow-up question | Where a real interviewer would push next | Answer it out loud before reading the model answer |
| Model answer | One strong shape for the answer | Copy the structure, never the wording or the experience |
| What worked | Habits worth keeping | Repeat them deliberately |
| Score out of 10 | A summary of one answer | Read it last; the trend across rounds matters more |
| Top three things to work on | Your patterns across the round | Pick one as the goal for the next round |
For more on what a single number can and can't tell you, read what a score out of 10 means. Any AI can be wrong on specifics, so double-check technical claims in a model answer before you repeat them.
How to iterate from round to round
- Log the round. Settings, average and the one fix you chose. A notes file is enough.
- Put the fix in the focus field. If “no measurable result” keeps coming up, set a behavioral round with the topic you score lowest on.
- Trust the fresh questions. A new round never repeats a question, so a fix that holds there carries over to questions you haven't seen.
- Raise the difficulty once the fix holds. Move up one level, add the question type you score lowest on, or go from 3 to 5 questions.
- Swap in a second job description. If you have interviews at two companies, alternate postings. The overlap shows which stories travel and which need a company-specific angle.
- Update your résumé when a round exposes a gap. If a strong project keeps coming up in your answers but isn't on the page, add it. The AI resume builder drafts a tailored résumé from a job URL and your résumé. Only add work you actually did.
For a day-by-day routine built on these rounds, follow our 7-day AI interview practice plan. To sharpen behavioral stories between rounds, draft them in the free STAR story builder and compare them against our behavioral STAR examples.
Desktop Mock Interview vs the browser mock
| Desktop Mock Interview mode | Browser AI mock interview | |
|---|---|---|
| Install | Windows 10+ or macOS 12+ app | Nothing to install |
| Questions | Built from your résumé and the job description | 113 real questions across 9 tracks |
| Tracks or mix | Behavioral, technical, system design and coding, at the level you choose | Behavioral, system design, coding, data science/ML, frontend, DevOps, SQL, product and security |
| Answering | Spoken, with a code box for coding questions | Type or talk, and attach a screenshot |
| Feedback | Score out of 10 per answer, then a report card | A score, specific feedback and the likely follow-up |
| Best for | Rehearsing for one specific job | A quick single-question drill |
Session files stay in your own Documents folder; the security page explains how audio and text are handled. To see how this kind of practice compares with other free options, see our roundup of the best free mock interview websites.
Turn your next job description into a mock interview
Paste the posting and your résumé, pick the level, the number of questions and the mix, and answer out loud. Every answer gets a score out of 10 with what to fix and a model answer. Free for 15 minutes a day on Windows and macOS, no credit card.
Download CoPilot Interview freeFAQ
Can an AI mock interview use my résumé and the job description?
Yes. CoPilot Interview’s Mock Interview mode builds the interview from both: you paste the job description and your résumé, and the question set names your actual projects and the stack in the posting. It then reads each question aloud and scores your spoken answers.
Is the résumé-based mock interview free?
Yes. Mock Interview is included in the free plan, which gives you 15 free minutes every day in sessions of up to 15 minutes, with no credit card and no signup needed to start. Paid plans add longer sessions and stronger models.
How many questions should I choose?
Choose 3 for a free 15-minute session with time to read the feedback, 5 for a focused behavioral or system design round, and 8 for a full loop rehearsal when you have a longer session.
What does the optional focus field do?
It weights the round toward one topic you name, such as Kubernetes or leadership. Leave it empty for a baseline round, then use it for the requirement your résumé covers least or the fix that keeps appearing on your report card.
Will the mock interview repeat questions?
No. A new round never repeats a question, which tests whether your fixes carry over to questions you have not seen. To retry an old topic, set it as the focus for the next round.
Do I need to install anything?
The résumé and job description version runs in the desktop app for Windows 10+ and macOS 12+. If you cannot install software, the browser AI mock interview offers 113 real questions across 9 tracks with nothing to install, though it is not tailored to your documents.