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Stop setting up. Start prepping.

You're not here to configure a tool. You're here because there's an interview on your calendar and you want to stop freezing on behavioral questions. This guide gets you from signup to your first AI-scored answer in under ten minutes.

LightningHire is an interview copilot — not autopilot. It gives you specific feedback, surfaces your own STAR stories when you need them, and keeps every application in one pipeline. No cheerleading. No generic career advice.

What you'll do on this page​

  1. Create your account (30 seconds, no credit card)
  2. Finish the four-step onboarding so the AI knows your goals
  3. Tour the Dashboard
  4. Pick your first move: mock interview, pipeline entry, or resume upload

Create your account​

Head to lightninghire.com and sign in with Google or GitHub. No separate password. No verification email to fish out of spam.

Free tier is real

You get 10 AI actions per day, 3 mock interviews per week, 20 pipeline applications, 3 resumes, and 5 STAR stories — forever, no credit card. We don't paywall core value on day one. See free vs Pro for the full breakdown.

Finish the four-step onboarding​

First login triggers onboarding. It takes about two minutes and everything you enter tunes the AI's recommendations across the whole app.

Step 1 — Welcome​

Your name, current role, and where you are in the search:

  • Actively looking
  • Casually browsing
  • Employed but open

Be honest here. "Actively looking" unlocks more aggressive prep nudges; "casually browsing" keeps things quieter.

Step 2 — Goals​

Target roles, dream companies, and timeline (ASAP → just exploring). If you're aiming at three specific companies, name them — company intel and mock interviews get sharper when the AI knows the target.

Step 3 — Salary​

Your minimum and target salary. This feeds the negotiation coach later. Nobody sees this but you.

You can edit this later

Onboarding is optional. Skip it if you're in a hurry and finish from Settings when you have five minutes.

Step 4 — Quick start​

Pick where you want to land: Dashboard, Pipeline, Mock Interview, or Resume Manager. For most people, Dashboard is the right answer.

Tour the Dashboard​

The Dashboard is your home base. Every time you log in, start here.

Quick Start​

Paste a job description, get three things in one click:

  • Instant interview prep (likely questions + talking points)
  • The role added to your pipeline
  • A mock interview configured for that exact role

Use this when a recruiter emails you about a new opening and you have 15 minutes before your next meeting.

Active Opportunity​

The banner at the top shows the role you're currently focused on. Set an Active Opportunity from the sidebar switcher and the Dashboard, sessions, and AI recommendations all narrow to that one role — targeted prep, not generic advice.

Upcoming Interviews​

A chronological list of your scheduled interviews with one-click ICS calendar downloads. Phone screen tomorrow at 2pm? It'll be at the top.

Onboarding Checklist​

Five milestones to complete in your first week:

  1. Finish onboarding
  2. Add an application
  3. Upload a resume
  4. Run a mock interview
  5. Start a live session

Knock out 1-4 in your first sitting. Save the live session for your next real interview.

AI Recommendations​

Suggestions based on your pipeline, practice history, and goals. These aren't generic — if you've done zero behavioral mocks and you have a behavioral round on Thursday, the recommendation will say exactly that.

Activity Streak​

A daily usage tracker. Not a guilt trip — a reminder that the people who get offers practice out loud, consistently.

The sidebar has three sections:

SectionWhat lives here
PrepareDashboard, Resumes, Question Bank
ApplyJob Search, Pipeline, Network
InterviewMock Interview, Live Sessions, Salary Negotiation

Analytics, Help & Guides, and Settings live at the bottom.

Your first five moves​

Do these in order. Each one takes under five minutes.

1. Set an Active Opportunity​

If you have an interview coming up, add that role to your pipeline first (Apply → Pipeline → New Application), then set it as Active from the sidebar switcher. Now every prep surface narrows to that role.

2. Upload your master resume​

Prepare → Resumes → Upload. Paste or upload a PDF. The AI indexes your experience so STAR stories, mock answers, and resume tailoring pull from real specifics — not placeholders.

3. Run a mock interview​

Interview → Mock Interview → New. Configure company, role, seniority, interview type. Answer five questions. Get scored.

This is the single highest-value thing you can do in your first session. Users who complete 3+ mocks are more likely to report receiving an offer. See mock interviews for a full walkthrough.

Quick link: https://lightninghire.com/mock/new

4. Build your first STAR story​

Interview → Story Builder. Aim for 5–8 stories covering leadership, teamwork, failure, and technical challenges. The AI matches them to live interview questions in real time. See STAR stories.

5. Create a live session for your next interview​

Interview → Sessions → New Session. Link it to the pipeline entry. Upload the job description and the interviewer's LinkedIn. When the real interview starts, you'll have real-time coaching, question detection, and your STAR stories surfacing automatically. See live sessions.

What counts as an AI action?​

You get 10 per day on the free plan. An AI action is anything that uses the AI engine:

  • Generating mock interview questions or scoring your answers
  • Tailoring a resume
  • Producing company intel
  • Drafting a counter-offer email
  • Real-time coaching during a live session

Browsing the app, adding pipeline entries manually, viewing analytics, reading the question bank — none of these count.

Common first-session mistakes​

Don't skip the resume upload

The AI can't generate specific feedback or tailored stories if it doesn't know your experience. Upload first, then run mocks.

Don't run the same mock twice

Vary the company, role, seniority, and interview type. Running five behavioral mocks at the same seniority gives you one data point, not five.

Don't save live sessions for "someday"

Create one for the next real interview on your calendar. Real-time coaching only matters if you actually use it when the stakes are real.

Where to go next​

Good luck. You've got this.