Set up a session
Each interview gets its own session with the company, role, job description and resume, so answers are tailored to that exact job. It takes about two minutes.
Sign in
Go to interviewsidekick.com/homepage. A Log in or sign up window appears: choose Continue with Google, or type your email and hit Continue with Email to get a sign-in link.
In the desktop app it's the same account. Google opens in your browser and sends you back to the app; with email, the app asks for a 6-digit code instead of a link.
Continue with GoogleTell it about the job
From your dashboard click Start test session (free) or Start interview session. Fill in Company, Role and First Name, then Next.
Interviewing in another language? Pick it under Interview Language. 31 languages are supported.
Paste the job description
Copy the whole posting (responsibilities, requirements, nice-to-haves) into Give Us The Job Details. Up to 8,000 characters.
This is what makes answers sound specific to the role, so don't skip it unless you have to (Skip Job Details is there if you do).
Add your resume
Drop in a PDF (up to 5 MB) or paste the text (up to 8,000 characters). Reading a PDF can take up to 30 seconds.
Already added one in an earlier session? You'll be asked “want to reuse it?”. Click Use it. Without a resume, answers are generic.
Add extra context, then launch
Optional: tick up to 5 documents from your Context Library (20,000 characters in total), then click Launch Real-Time Interview Sidekick 🚀.
The Context Library is where you save notes and PDFs once and reuse them. Tag each one as Background Info (projects, metrics, stories) or Instructions / Rules (“use STAR”, “keep it under 90 seconds”).
Live interview help
Interview Sidekick listens to your interviewer and puts suggested answers on your screen. How it hears them depends on where your interview happens.
| Desktop app | Chrome | Phone call | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hears your interviewer | Automatically, through your computer's audio | When you share the meeting tab with audio | Through your laptop mic, phone on speaker |
| Works with | Any meeting app | Meetings that run in a Chrome tab | Any phone call |
| Stealth Mode (hidden on screen share) | Yes | No | Not needed |
| Screenshots of coding questions | Yes | Of the shared tab | No |
Recommended
Desktop app for Mac and Windows
Download and install
Open the download page. It picks the right build for you (Apple Silicon Mac, Intel Mac or Windows).
Mac: open the downloaded file and drag Interview Sidekick into Applications. Windows: run the installer; if SmartScreen appears, click More info → Run anyway.
The app updates itself in the background, so you only install once.
Turn on the Mac permissions
On first launch a Quick Setup window lists Microphone, System Audio and Screen Recording. Click Enable on each.
In System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording, the app is listed as SystemAgent. Turn it on in the top list, then scroll down to the separate System Audio Recording Only list and turn it on there too. That second switch is the one people miss.
Join your call, then hit Record
Join your interview the way you normally would: Zoom app, Teams app, Webex, Meet in any browser. There's nothing to share or connect.
Start a session (above). When it opens, the app shows a small always-on-top compact overlay; click Record and the Interviewer bar starts moving as soon as they speak.
No install needed
Chrome
Share your meeting tab, with audio
Open the meeting in one tab and your Interview Sidekick session in another. The session asks Where is your interview?. Choose In a Chrome tab, then Let's get started.
Chrome's picker opens. Pick the Chrome Tab with your meeting (on a Mac, a tab, not a window), tick Also share tab audio, and click Share. Then hit Record.
Recruiter screens, HR calls
Phone interviews
Tell it the interview is on your phone
In the browser: when asked Where is your interview?, choose On a phone call, allow microphone access, and click Let's get started.
In the desktop app: open Settings and set Where is your interview? to On My Phone.
Put the phone on speaker. While you answer, tap Mute next to Record (or press ⌘⇧M / Ctrl+Shift+M) so the AI focuses on the interviewer's questions.
During the interview
The same controls work in the compact overlay (desktop app) and the full window.
Record, then Gen
Click Record before the interviewer starts. When they ask a question, click Gen (or ⌘↵ / Ctrl+Enter) and a tailored answer appears in a couple of seconds.
Want it hands-free? Turn on Auto-Generate Answer in Settings and answers appear when the interviewer stops talking.
You can also type into Add context or ask... to steer the answer or ask your own question.
Hide it from screen share
In the compact overlay, click the eye icon and switch on Stealth Mode (or press ⌘⇧S / Ctrl+Shift+S). The overlay stays on your screen but doesn't appear when you share your screen, and it leaves the dock.
Turn it on before you join the call. Stealth Mode is a desktop-app feature; in Chrome, keep Interview Sidekick in a tab you don't share.
Coding questions and screenshots
Switch Code on for coding rounds: answers come back as working code with complexity notes. The language pill defaults to Auto.
Click the camera (or ⌘⇧A / Ctrl+Shift+A) to screenshot a written or coding question and get a solution. On the free plan you need to be recording to use screenshots.
Keyboard shortcuts
Desktop app, while the compact overlay is open. Use ⌘ on Mac and Ctrl on Windows.
- Start / pause recording
- ⌘/Ctrl + Shift + R
- Generate an answer
- ⌘/Ctrl + Enter
- Stealth Mode on / off
- ⌘/Ctrl + Shift + S
- Take a screenshot
- ⌘/Ctrl + Shift + A
- Code Mode on / off
- ⌘/Ctrl + Shift + C
- Jump to the text box
- ⌘/Ctrl + Shift + I
- Hide / show the overlay
- ⌘/Ctrl + Shift + H
- Collapse / expand the overlay
- ⌘/Ctrl + Shift + M
- Scroll the answer
- ⌘/Ctrl + Shift + ↑ / ↓
- Snap the overlay to a corner
- ⌘/Ctrl + Alt + arrow keys
Switch between the overlay and the full window with Switch to Expanded View (overlay Settings tab) and Switch to Compact View (bottom of the full window).
Answer settings
Open the gear icon (Response Settings) to shape how answers come back.
Length, format and tone
Answer Length: Brief (about 60 to 90 seconds spoken), Balanced (about 2 minutes, the default) or Thorough (about 3 minutes). Answer Format: Bullet Points or STAR Format. Tone: Professional, Conversational or Direct.
Auto-Generate Answer is off by default. Turn it on and pick a Trigger sensitivity: Snappy, Balanced (recommended) or Cautious. It needs Transcription Speed set to Fast and an English interview.
For your own style rules, use Custom Format Prompt (up to 2,000 characters). For facts about you, use the Context Library.
Mock interviews
Practice with an AI interviewer before the real thing. Open Mock Interview Practice from your dashboard (it's included in paid plans).
Practice for a specific role
Choose Practice for a specific role (about 3 minutes to set up). Pick the company and role, then how long: Quick Practice (3 questions), Standard Session (5) or Comprehensive Prep (8).
Set your interviewer's role (HR Screening, Hiring Manager, Technical Lead, Executive, Peer) and personality, then Start Interview.
Short on time? Quick Practice lets you answer one question at a time by topic: behavioral, leadership, negotiation and more.
Get your feedback
Depending on your plan, you either talk with a live AI voice interviewer or record each answer (Start Recording (Max 3 min) → Get Feedback, with Re-record if you want another go). Premium includes 10 live voice sessions a day, then switches to recording.
Every answer gets a score out of 100 across Clarity, Structure, Specificity and Impact, plus what to keep and what to fix. Voice sessions also show your pace, talk-listen ratio and filler words.
Questions from your job description
Get the questions you're most likely to be asked, built from the actual posting.
Open Mock Interview Practice
Choose Practice for a specific role, then the card Have a Job Description?
Paste the job description
At least 50 characters. Add the company name if you like, and pick Quick, Standard or Comprehensive.
Generate and practice
Click Generate Interview Questions, choose your interviewer, and practice the exact questions it wrote.
Question Bank
Browse real interview questions
Open the Question Bank to browse 10,000+ real interview questions, each tagged with the company and job type.
On a paid plan you can search and filter by Companies and Job Types to see exactly what a company asks for your role. Then practice those questions in a mock interview.
Zoom, Meet, Teams and Webex
With the desktop app, just join your call normally in any app. These steps are only for the Chrome setup, where the meeting has to run in a browser tab.
Zoom
- 1.Open your Zoom link and don't open the Zoom app when asked.
- 2.Click Join from Your Browser. Not showing? Click Launch Meeting and cancel the app prompt until it appears.
- 3.Share that tab with Also share tab audio ticked.
Google Meet
- 1.Meet already runs in your browser. Open your link in Chrome.
- 2.Share that tab with Also share tab audio ticked.
Microsoft Teams
- 1.Open your Teams link and choose Continue on this browser.
- 2.Share that tab with Also share tab audio ticked.
Webex
- 1.Open your Webex link and cancel the prompt to open the app.
- 2.Choose to join from your browser.
- 3.Share that tab with Also share tab audio ticked.
Skype was shut down by Microsoft in 2025 and calls moved to Teams, so follow the Teams steps. Lark/Feishu, Amazon Chime and other apps work best with the desktop app.
If something's not working
Run a 30-second test first
Start a session, play any interview video on YouTube, and watch the Interviewer bar. If it moves, you're set.
The Interviewer bar isn't moving
Mac: turn on SystemAgent under System Audio Recording Only (a separate list below Screen Recording). Windows: play the call through your default output device. Chrome: re-share the tab with Also share tab audio ticked.
Speakers or headphones?
Either works. The desktop app records your computer's audio directly, so you don't need to change how you listen.
The free session stopped
Free test sessions last 2 minutes and Gen and screenshots need recording to be on. Upgrade for unlimited sessions.
Answers feel generic
Add the full job description and your resume when you set up the session, and save your stories in the Context Library.
More audio fixes: Audio troubleshooting. Still stuck? Email ben@interviewsidekick.com.
Ready to try it?
Run a free 2-minute test session with a YouTube interview before your real one.