AI-pplicant

Front Page of UI For AI-pplicant
Initial Start of Mock Interview
Example of Feedback After Answering

Project Story: AI-pplicant

About the Project

AI-pplicant was born out of frustration and determination. As a team, we’ve applied to well over 500 jobs between us, facing endless rejections and tough interviews. Early on, we struggled—not due to lack of talent or drive, but because we had little access to practical, personalized interview prep tools. Most available resources felt generic, outdated, or locked behind paywalls. We knew there had to be a better way.

So we built one.

What Inspired Us

The idea came after yet another interview that didn’t go as planned. We realized that despite all our efforts, we weren’t actually getting better at interviewing. We needed something more interactive and realistic—something that mimicked the pressure and unpredictability of a real conversation. That’s when we thought: what if AI could help?

How We Built It

We combined the power of OpenAI for generating dynamic, role-specific interview questions with ElevenLabs for realistic voice interaction. Users can now speak and listen in real-time, just like a real interview. We designed a clean interface, added customization for job roles, and implemented feedback loops for self-improvement. AI-pplicant can adjust tone, difficulty, and even follow up based on user responses.

Challenges We Faced

Integrating natural voice interactions was more complex than expected. Tuning the AI to avoid overly robotic or irrelevant responses took a lot of trial and error. Balancing realism and helpfulness was another big hurdle—we wanted the AI to challenge users, but not discourage them.

What We Learned

We learned that empathy can drive innovation. Our shared struggles shaped every design choice. More than anything, we learned how powerful technology can be when it’s built to solve real, personal problems. AI-pplicant isn’t just a project—it’s the resource we wish we had when we needed it most.

What's Next

We’re just getting started. Next, we plan to implement automatic resume tailoring based on specific job descriptions, making it easier for users to stand out with targeted applications. We also want to expand personalization within the AI-pplicant bot, so it can adapt to users' goals, past experiences, and feedback over time—becoming more of a true interview coach, not just a simulator.