The Memo: New AI tool aims to prep training contract applicants for video interviews

Video Interview. Two words that strike fear into the heart of any job applicant. There’s something quite unnatural about sitting down in front of a computer to speak to a webcam and record answers to preset questions.That’s why Jaysen Sutton, founder of The Corporate Law Academy, decided to develop the company’s new Video Interview Coach, an AI-powered tool designed to help training contract applicants practice their answers ahead of those scary video interviews. 

The arrival of AI has been a key consideration for employers and jobseekers alike, and Sutton saw it as an opportunity to build a tool for training contract applicants. “I don’t have a technical background, but you can now use AI to code and build things,” Sutton explains, “You just have to be good at prompting and patient when things break.” 

So, how does the coach work? The tool has a bank of mock law firm interview questions, so applicants can select one, start a 30-120-second timer, answer their chosen question, and then receive automated feedback. “The AI system will immediately create a transcript of what you’ve said and analyses it against our metrics,” explains Sutton, “It will tell you what you did well and what you need to improve.” Feedback covers elements such as the content and structure of the answer and eye contact with the camera. 

Of course, no training contract interview is complete without firm-specific questions and, interestingly enough, the AI coach covers this, too. For example, “if someone answered, ‘I’m interested in real estate’ and the firm has nothing to do with real estate, we would be able to say that isn’t a good answer,” Sutton informs us, “But one of its current downsides is that it will sometimes mess up and misunderstand what you say.” However, “this is the very first version. As more people use it, it’ll make the AI better.”  

As its capabilities continue to improve, Sutton sees AI potentially taking on a larger role in the legal recruitment business. He predicts that it will be used to carry out a lot of the “lower-level” elements of the process in the not-too-distant future, potentially leading to a faster recruitment process.  

Another area where AI is changing the game is the applications themselves. “On one side, it means firms will receive more generic applications,” says Sutton, as prospective trainees inevitably start using AI to churn out multiple applications in a relatively short timeframe. “On the other hand, it means applicants who use AI might learn how to talk about financial markets, for example, really well because they know how to ask the right questions. It depends on how you use this stuff,” he adds. 

Next on the agenda for Sutton and The Corporate Law Academy is “building AI tools to help with the critical thinking and Watson Glaser tests students often get,” he says. TCLA is also looking at how to put AI to further use for interview preparation.