S8 Ep6: Ace Your Interview! Unleash AI to Land Your Dream Job

Here’s a link to Lani’s CustomGPT CV tool:

Returning to interviews after a career break or a long stretch in the same job can feel daunting. In this episode, Lani Bass joins Heather Black, Lyn Constantine, and Kelly-Jace Halls to reveal how AI can level the playing field for mums and anyone seeking more confidence when job hunting. Lani Bass, who recently navigated a five-stage interview process, recounts her journey using ChatGPT not just as a tool, but as a personal career coach and motivator.

Learning to Advocate for Yourself

The conversation begins with a candid admission: self-promotion is rarely second nature, especially for women balancing caregiving and career ambitions. Lani Bass reflects how preparing for interviews often means shifting the mindset away from modesty toward celebrating achievements. By feeding her whole career story into ChatGPT, she was able to see her skills mapped out clearly, opening the door to stronger self-advocacy. The AI could then generate tailored questions, evaluate her answers, and help refine language until she felt ready to transform every interview from an inquisition to a genuine conversation.

Practical Confidence Boosts

Rehearsal is a recurring theme throughout the episode. Heather Black likens interview prep to stepping on stage, where practice makes genuine confidence possible. Here, AI becomes the rehearsal partner many wish they had. Lani Bass describes how iterating on answers with ChatGPT—even on the morning of her interview—removed much of the guesswork and anxiety. This digital coach was available at any hour, helping her rehearse responses, adjust phrasing, and embrace an achievement-focused mindset. The result was a more natural, poised interview experience, where even unfamiliar questions could be handled with composure.

Customisation and the Power of Prompts

The episode dives into the details of prompt engineering, showing that anyone can succeed with AI by focusing on context. Lani Bass explains how giving ChatGPT specific job descriptions and her resume led to better, targeted advice. She shares that her early attempts were broad but became sharper with trial and error—adding more detail, asking for critique, and not shying away from rewriting both prompts and answers. Kelly-Jace Halls and Lyn Constantine voice similar experiences, making it clear that you do not need perfect prompts to get started. Sometimes, even a brain dump or rough ideas are enough for AI to guide you to clarity.

Navigating Automated Screening and Staying Authentic

With recruiters increasingly using automated tracking systems, AI’s role in resume tailoring is front and centre. Lani Bass summarises how she used ChatGPT to optimise her CV for specific roles but cautions against blindly accepting whatever the tool outputs. Human oversight is critical—she often caught the AI “hallucinating” or over-embellishing. By keeping the process collaborative and iterative, she ensured that her application remained in her own authentic voice and spotlighted the right achievements for each employer.

Building Your Own Support Ecosystem

The episode wraps with actionable optimism. Alongside custom interview agents and resume prompts, the hosts discuss how creating personal “clones” can deepen AI’s understanding of your style, humour, and values. Just as Lani Bass used technology to rehearse, research companies, and produce shareable presentations, listeners are encouraged to invest in their own digital toolkit—personal agents, tailored decks, and knowledge bases that reflect their individuality.

Together, these insights demystify the interview process and show that with a bit of digital ingenuity, practice, and authenticity, anyone can shine. For mums, career returners, and curious professionals alike, this episode makes it clear that leveraging AI is less about replacing human connection and more about amplifying your confidence, voice, and impact as you step into your next chapter.