Master the Hot Seat: The Ultimate Guide to the Virtual Interview Coach Wizard

The sweaty palms. The racing heart. The mind going blank when asked, “Tell me about a time you failed.” We have all been there. The difference between a candidate who freezes and a candidate who gets the offer isn’t just talent—it’s preparation.

But practicing in the mirror is awkward, and pestering your friends for mock interviews gets old fast. Enter the Virtual Interview Coach Wizard. This tool transforms your favorite AI (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) into a world-class hiring manager tailored exactly to your industry, seniority, and target role.

This guide walks you through every single toggle in the Wizard, explaining exactly how to craft a simulation so realistic you might forget you’re talking to a computer.

Phase 1: Setting the Stage (Steps 1-3)

In this phase, we define the “Where,” “Who,” and “What” of the interview. General advice doesn’t work; we need specific context.

Step 1: What type of interview is this?

Why it matters: The pacing and content of an interview change drastically depending on the stage. A phone screen is about “checking boxes,” while a final round is about “culture add” and strategy.

• Initial Phone Screen: Select this if you want the AI to check your basic qualifications, salary expectations, and timeline.
• Hiring Manager Round: The most common selection. Focuses on day-to-day responsibilities and team dynamics.
• Panel Interview Simulation: The AI will simulate multiple perspectives (e.g., a peer, a boss, and a cross-functional partner) in one persona.

Step 2: What is the seniority level?

Why it matters: An entry-level answer to “How do you handle conflict?” focuses on following rules. An executive answer to the same question focuses on preserving business relationships and strategic alignment.

• Junior/Entry: Select this to practice demonstrating eagerness, learnability, and hard skills.
• Senior/Lead: Focuses on mentorship, autonomy, and decision-making without supervision.
• VP/C-Suite: The AI will stop asking “how” you do things and start asking “why” you do things. Expect questions on ROI, vision, and organizational health.

Step 3: Target Industry

Why it matters: Every industry has its own dialect. The AI needs to know if it should speak “Tech” (Agile, ship dates, ARR) or “Healthcare” (Patient compliance, HIPAA, care standards).

• Technology / SaaS: Prepares the AI to care about speed, scalability, and metrics.
• Finance / Banking: Shifts the tone to risk management, compliance, and accuracy.
• Creative / Marketing: Encourages questions about brand voice, campaign analytics, and portfolio reviews.

Phase 2: The Strategy & Persona (Steps 4-7)

Now that the context is set, we engineer the difficulty level and the rules of engagement. This is where you separate a generic chat from a targeted training session.

Step 4: Interviewer Personality

Why it matters: Not every interviewer is nice. Practicing against a difficult persona builds resilience so you don’t crumble when you meet a tough stakeholder in real life.

• Friendly & Encouraging: Best for your first practice run to build confidence.
• Skeptical & Probing: The “Stress Test.” The AI will challenge your answers and ask “But why?” repeatedly. Use this to find holes in your stories.
• Busy & Impatient: Teaches you to get to the point (BLUF) immediately.

Step 5: What question types to drill?

Why it matters: You can’t practice everything at once. Focusing on one category allows deep work.

• Situational (What would you do if…): Tests your judgment and hypothetical reasoning.
• Behavioral (Tell me a time when…): Tests your history. This forces the AI to prompt you for specific examples from your resume.
• Weaknesses & Failures: The hardest questions to answer. Select this to specifically drill the “turn a negative into a positive” mechanic.

Step 6: Skills you want to highlight

Why it matters: You might be great at ten things, but the job description only cares about three. This tells the AI to ignore your extraneous skills and drill down on what actually gets you hired.

• Leadership: Checks if you say “I” or “We” too much.
• Adaptability: Triggers questions about changing deadlines, pivot points, and crisis management.

Step 7: Desired Response Framework

Why it matters: Rambling is the #1 interview killer. Forcing a framework ensures your answers are concise and structured.

• STAR Method: The Gold Standard. Situation, Task, Action, Result. The AI will scold you if you forget the Result!
• Bottom-Line Up Front (BLUF): Great for executive interviews. Answer the question in the first sentence, then explain context.

Phase 3: Simulation & Context (Steps 8-10)

Here is where you define how you want to interact with the AI and feed it the raw data it needs to be accurate.

Step 8: Simulation Mode

Why it matters: Sometimes you want to chat, and sometimes you just want an editor to fix your writing.

• Full Back-and-Forth Conversation: The most immersive experience. It feels like a real Zoom call via text.
• One Question at a time with Critique: The educational mode. You answer, the AI pauses to grade you, then moves on.
• Fix My Answers: You paste your draft answers, and the AI rewrites them to sound more professional.

Step 9: Feedback Style

Why it matters: How thick is your skin today?

• Constructive & Gentle: “Good job, but maybe try this…”
• Brutally Honest: “This answer was vague and unconvincing. You failed to mention…” Use this when you really need to sharpen up.
• Score 1-10: Gamifies your prep. Don’t stop until you get an 8/10 or higher.

Step 10: Context & Details

Why it matters: This is the fuel for the engine. Without this, the AI is just guessing.

• The Job Description (JD): Paste the full text. The AI will extract keywords and requirements to test you on.
• Your Resume: Paste your experience summaries. The AI will use this to ask, “I see here you worked at X Company, tell me about that…”

Platform Guide: How to Use Your Prompt

Once you generate your Super-Prompt, here is how different AI models handle the interview simulation:

• ChatGPT (Plus/4o): The best all-rounder. Its “Voice Mode” is incredible with this prompt—you can actually talk out loud to it for a real mock interview experience.
• Claude (3.5 Sonnet): Excellent at nuance and tone. Use Claude if you selected “Behavioral” questions, as it provides very human-like feedback on empathy and soft skills.
• Gemini: Great for technical roles. It can access real-time info, so it might ask you about recent trends in your industry during the interview.
• Microsoft CoPilot: ideal if you want to reference specific corporate structures or standard enterprise interview formats.
• Perplexity: Use this if you want to research *actual* interview questions asked by the specific company you are applying to, then feed those back into the simulation.

Power User Tool: NotebookLM Integration

Want to take your prep to the PhD level? Don’t just chat—study.

1. Create a Notebook: Name it “Interview Prep – [Company Name]”.
2. Upload Sources: Upload your Resume, the Job Description, the Company’s Annual Report (PDF), and their “Values/Culture” web page.
3. The Strategy: Use the Wizard to generate a “Generate Example Answers” prompt. Paste that output into NotebookLM.
4. The Result: NotebookLM will generate answers that are not only good—they will explicitly reference the company’s financial goals and cultural values found in the documents you uploaded.

🔮 MiraclePrompts Miracles: The Insider’s Playbook

Here are four creative ways to use the Virtual Interview Coach that most people miss:

• The “Red Flag” Detector:
  Select “Identify Red Flags” in Step 9 and paste your current resume. The AI will act as a cynical recruiter and tell you exactly why they would throw your resume in the trash. It hurts, but it helps.
• The “Salary Poker” Game:
  Select “Salary Negotiation” in Step 1, “VP/Executive” in Step 2, and “Strict” in Step 4. Practice asking for $20k more than their offer. If you can win against the AI, you can win in real life.
• The “STAR” Polisher:
  Select “Fix My Answers” in Step 8 and “STAR Method” in Step 7. Paste a messy, rambling story about a project you worked on. The AI will restructure it into a perfect 4-part bulleted narrative you can memorize.
• The Imposter Syndrome Cure:
  Select “Pre-Interview Pep Talk” in Step 8 and “Friendly” in Step 4. Paste your resume and the JD. The AI will list 5 reasons why you are actually overqualified for the role, giving you a massive confidence boost before you walk in.