AI Could Help You Ace Your Job Interview. But There’s a Cost [CNET]

Final Round AI wants to support your interview process in a highly competitive professional world — as long as you can pay a huge subscription fee upfront.

Researching a company’s background, prepping potential interview questions and believing in your skillset is part of a good interview strategy — but sometimes, the preparation for an interview versus the reality doesn’t equate.

The jittery, anxious feeling before an interview is all too familiar. In turn, you begin to dissociate from the overwhelm of the conversation, and you lack a feeling of connection to the person you’re speaking to (and the company). Imposter syndrome has knocked on your door — and knocked you down — all in a matter of seconds. 

Yes, you can find ways to release energy and cope with anxiety through things like meditation. Yes, you can always continue refining your interview preparation practice. But it would be nice to have support during the call to keep your confidence up and focus intact while pitching yourself to someone who has (likely) never met you in person. 

Enter: Final Round AI, an artificial intelligence tool that helps you prepare for your interview and polish your skills. The suite of AI-powered tools offers real-time “on-the-fly” interview transcription and support, mock interviews and resume building across 100-plus roles in consulting, marketing, finance, software, product, data science and devops.   

It also offers resources like a blog with tips and commonly asked questions, plus guides that provide visual and written how-tos for common tech-related issues. 

Final Round AI is a new tool that joins the ever-growing number of AI-powered companies and platforms for job seeking — founders Michael Guan and Jay Ma launched it in late August 2023. 

While still in its infancy, Final Round AI is designed to offer many ways to support your career-related needs. If you’re looking for an all-in-one job seeker-support system, this could be it — or, at least, a worthwhile attempt to navigate your professional journey (and inner turmoil). 

But after attempting to navigate the platform, my stance on it changed. 

How to use Final Round AI 

Final Round AI’s Interview Copilot allows you to create various types of interviews across multiple fields, and can access analytical reports for each one. Here’s how to try it out:

1. Log into the free version for Final Round AI with a Google, LinkedIn or Twitter account, or sign up with your email.
2. Once you’re on the platform, select Mock Interview. Here you will be prompted to upload your resume and select from the optional drop-down Role and Specialization menus. 
3. You will be asked to connect your credit card, even while on the free trial experience. This is when you’ll learn that to access all aspects of Interview Copilot, you need a paid Premium account. 

Premium plans start at a steep $112 per month, but the company has a $10 million scholarship program to support job applicants. This provides those who secure job offers with the help of Final Round AI’s Interview Copilot to receive a “scholarship” that waives 100% off subscription fees. 

This feels misleading and untrustworthy, considering how the platform advertises itself. It seems that when you subscribe to Final Round’s “God Mode” plan (really?), you will be given six months of its cheapest subscription for “free” — though you’re required to pay $672 upfront. 

If you land a job utilizing its AI-powered software, you can claim a 100% scholarship, which will refund up to $672 (scholarship amount undetermined) four to six weeks after submission. Terms and conditions for reimbursement include a copy of your job offer with details including position title, start date and salary.

At the time of writing, Final Round AI is also offering 10% off any subscription for students, veterans, first responders and medical professionals, as well as anyone recently laid off. This can’t be used for the God Mode scholarship offer, or your scholarship will be disqualified. 

The actual free aspects of Final Round AI include access to potential interview questions, where you can enter a keyword concerning a company, job position and technical or general topic; an AI Resume Generator, which can provide Applicant Tracking System optimization (and is currently in beta mode); a ChatGPT-style AI Career Coach; and Guides, where it shows you how to launch a live or mock interview alongside a step-by-step visual example. While robust in quantity, I can’t say these features offer anything incredibly innovative or new from other AI platforms.  

So… should you use Final Round AI?

I don’t think a virtual interview can truly gauge if you’re the right fit for a company — particularly when you’re not in person. So while some may see aspects of Final Round AI’s platform as a copout for knowledge and expertise, or a potential mishap (if the AI-generated text is incorrect), I see it as a real-time note-taking system with feedback. 

I have vivid memories of performing poorly in interviews because I was trying to do just that — perform to the best of my abilities rather than have a conversation with another human. This has made me a staunch advocate for anything that can alleviate overwhelming feelings attached to the unknown. Final Round AI attempts to do just that. 

However, my two issues with Final Round AI are… significant.

The “bright and shiny” aspect of a new company that is innovative, yet potentially problematic. With the number of lawsuits that have circulated in response to other areas of AI like voice impersonations and copyright infringement, I am wary of the safety concerns that may arise when it comes to the company’s Interview Copilot — an AI-powered tool that you can use on your end during your real interviews that gives you live tips on how to answer.

For instance, if an interviewer isn’t aware that artificial intelligence is listening and responding to their voice, where’s the line between what’s supportive and what’s legal? And in the case of illegal use, who is liable — companies like Final Round AI or the interviewee? 

Secondly, its free versus paid membership service is misleading. Final Round AI advertises itself for its Interview Copilot, with a button referencing the ability to “Get Started [for] Free.” Yet, as soon as you navigate to this part of the platform, you’re unable to do more than upload a resume before being prompted to “upgrade your membership.” I respect transparency. As someone excited to trial this portion of the platform, this turned me off as a potential customer. 

With its platform barely a year old, time will likely answer these questions and hopefully rectify its other challenges. (Final Round AI didn’t respond to my request for comment by the time of publication.) 

Until then, I wish anyone job seeking well. May your resumes be immaculate and your interviews be handled with confidence and ease… with Final Round AI’s help or not. (Remember: Meditation is, actually, free.)

For more ways you can use AI (for free) to help with your job-hunting journey, check out CNET’s pieces on how to use AI as a career coach, create a resume using ChatGPT, use Figma AI to design a resume, find the job of your dreams using ChatGPT, use AI to write a cover letter and negotiate a starting salary using AI.