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Show HN: I built a Chrome extension to make interviews less daunting

acedit.ai
3 pointsebloom191 comment
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Hey HN community!

As a software engineer who took an unconventional path (bootcamp graduate in late 2021), I've spent the last 3 years in the 9-5 grind, constantly dreaming of building something meaningful. After watching my brother struggle with interview anxiety, I built Acedit: an AI interview coach.

What it does:

- Provides real-time, personalised prompts during online interviews

- Parses job listings for targeted practice questions and answers (from popular job listing websites LinkedIn, indeed, etc…)

- Offers mock interview simulations

Tech stack: NX Monorepo, Express, React, Playwright (e2e testing), Supabase (auth/DB)

What sets it apart:

- Chrome extension format (less intrusive than a PWA)

- Ability to seamlessly parse info from the users active tab (allowing for quick and easy extraction of listing information)

- Free tier with unlimited live interviews (uses gpt-4o mini)

Biggest challenges:

- Balancing helpfulness with ethical use (it's a coach, not a cheat sheet)

- Optimising AI response time for real-time use

- Building accurate "Question Detection" using NLP

I'd love your feedback on:

- Ethical considerations - how to ensure proper use?

- Performance optimisation ideas

- Potential expansions (e.g., LinkedIn lead generation, more in-depth practice modes)

Thanks HN! Excited to hear your thoughts and answer any questions.

Comments

Hey HN, Ethan here. Thanks for checking out Acedit!

Quick backstory: I jumped from odd jobs (lifeguard, travel agent, tax officer) to software engineering via bootcamp. Acedit was born when I watched my brother, a seasoned PR professional, freeze up during mock interviews for a career change. It really drove home how universal interview anxiety is, regardless of experience.

Building this while working full-time has been a wild ride. Lots of late nights, but totally worth it.

Happy to dive into tech details, startup struggles, or anything else. Fire away!

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