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Stop freezing mid-interview. Start getting a copilot.

You know your experience. You just can't always articulate it under pressure. Live sessions put a copilot on a second screen during your actual interview — detecting questions, surfacing your own STAR stories, and showing research cards you can glance at without breaking eye contact.

This isn't an autopilot. You're still the one answering. The AI just makes sure you're never scrambling for the right example while the interviewer waits.

What a live session does​

Before the interview:

  • Generates a Prep panel with likely questions, talking points, and company research
  • Matches your STAR stories to expected question themes
  • Loads research cards from whatever context you upload

During the interview:

  • Transcribes the conversation in real time
  • Detects when the interviewer asks a question
  • Surfaces relevant coaching tips and STAR stories
  • Shows research cards (company facts, role details, interviewer background)
  • Suggests thoughtful questions for when it's your turn to ask

After the interview:

  • Generates a Debrief with transcript, AI insights, and action items
  • Breaks down each question in an Insights panel with scoring
  • Feeds your analytics so you can track performance across real rounds

Free plan: limited sessions. Pro: unlimited. See free vs Pro.

Create a session​

Go to Interview → Sessions → New Session, or jump to https://lightninghire.com/sessions/new.

If the interview is for a role in your pipeline, link the session to that application. This pulls in the job description, company intel, and any previous rounds you've logged — the AI starts with full context instead of blank.

Upload context documents​

The more the AI knows, the sharper the coaching. Upload any of:

  • Job description
  • Company "About" or careers page
  • Interviewer's LinkedIn profile
  • Team page or engineering blog posts
  • Product docs or recent announcements
  • Your resume (if you haven't already uploaded it)
Add the interviewer's LinkedIn

This is the highest-leverage upload. The AI uses it to suggest questions that reference shared background, call out relevant experience to highlight, and prep you for the interviewer's likely style.

The Prep panel​

Before the interview starts, Prep gives you:

  • Key talking points tailored to the role and company
  • Likely questions based on role, seniority, and interview type
  • Company research highlights you can weave into answers
  • Your relevant STAR stories pre-matched to expected themes

Spend 5 minutes reading this while you wait for the call. It's not a script — it's a cheat sheet you glance at.

During the interview​

Set up the session on a second screen (or split your screen if you only have one). Keep LightningHire visible; keep your video call visible. Don't read off the screen — glance.

Real-time transcription​

The AI transcribes what you and the interviewer say. You'll see the conversation scroll by in real time.

Privacy

Speech-to-text processing happens during the session and is used solely to provide coaching. See the Privacy Policy for full details on how we handle audio and transcripts.

Question detection​

When the interviewer asks a question, the AI identifies it and surfaces:

  • Coaching tips specific to that question type
  • The most relevant STAR story from your library
  • Research cards with facts you could reference

STAR story matching​

Interviewer: "Tell me about a time you disagreed with a manager."

Your conflict story appears on screen — title, the structured Situation/Task/Action/Result you already wrote. You anchor on it, deliver it naturally. No scrambling.

This is why the STAR library matters. If you have three stories, matching works okay. If you have eight, it's uncanny.

Research cards​

Context-relevant cards surface based on the conversation. Interviewer mentions a recent product launch → a card with the launch date, what it does, and how it was received appears. You can reference it without pretending you memorized their press releases.

Suggested questions for the interviewer​

When they say "any questions for us?", the AI suggests 3-5 thoughtful options based on what was discussed. These aren't generic ("what's the culture like?") — they're tailored to what came up in the conversation.

Speech analytics​

LightningHire tracks your speech patterns during the session. After, you can review:

  • Speaking pace (too fast? too slow?)
  • Filler word usage ("um," "like," "you know")
  • Response length (rambling vs too terse)
  • Pause patterns

Use this to spot patterns across multiple real interviews — not to obsess over a single round.

After the interview — the Debrief panel​

When the call ends, open Debrief:

  • Full transcript — read back through the whole conversation
  • AI insights — strengths, weaknesses, missed opportunities
  • Action items — send a thank-you email by Friday, prep for the system design round, follow up on salary by next Wednesday
  • Self-rating — how you felt it went, for your own records over time
Do the debrief immediately

Insights are freshest right after. If there's a next round coming, you'll have 48-72 hours to fix the issues the debrief surfaces. Don't wait a week.

The Insights panel​

Insights goes deeper than Debrief:

  • Question-by-question breakdown with individual scoring
  • Communication style observations (were you collaborative? assertive? hedging?)
  • Recommendations for future rounds with this company
  • Comparison to your mock interview scores — are you performing as well in real rounds?

Setup tips​

Before the call (5-minute checklist)​

  1. Session created and linked to pipeline entry
  2. Job description + interviewer LinkedIn uploaded
  3. Prep panel reviewed
  4. Mic and audio permissions granted in browser
  5. LightningHire visible on your second screen

During the call​

  • Don't read off the screen. Glance. If you read, you sound like a robot.
  • Trust your STAR stories. The AI surfaces the right one most of the time. If it doesn't, use the one you planned.
  • Pause when you need to think. Silence isn't bad. Filler is.
  • Keep the tab focused. Browser tab-switching can interrupt real-time coaching on some platforms.

Common setup issues​

Microphone permission blocked

If coaching doesn't start, check browser and macOS microphone permissions. Allow access, refresh the page, restart the session.

Only one screen?

Split your screen — video call on one side, LightningHire on the other. Keep LightningHire narrow so your camera still shows your face in the center of the frame.

What live sessions are NOT​

Let's be clear about this — the product is a copilot, not autopilot.

  • It does NOT auto-answer for you
  • It does NOT read your screen for the interviewer
  • It does NOT guarantee you get the job
  • It does NOT replace preparation — it rewards preparation

You still do the interview. The AI just makes sure you don't freeze when the "describe a conflict" question lands and your best conflict story is buried somewhere in your head.

Where to go next​

Create a live session for your next real interview. Not a practice round — a real one. That's where this tool earns its keep.