mock interviews with friends always turned into small talk. so i built something that wouldn't let that happen.

i was prepping for a senior eng role last year and asked three different friends to mock interview me. all three sessions devolved into "so how's work been?" within 10 minutes.

the problem wasn't them being bad friends — it's just awkward to grill someone you know. they'd soften the question, i'd give a half-answer, and we'd both be relieved to move on. zero pressure, zero honesty, zero useful feedback.

i needed reps that actually felt like the real thing. something that wouldn't go easy on me or let me ramble without pushback. couldn't find it, so i started building it myself.

that's how nxtinterview came together. it's a tool that runs mock interviews — asks real questions, follows up when your answer's vague, gives you structured feedback on what you missed. you can practice based on your resume or prep for specific roles. the goal was just consistency: same difficulty every time, no social buffer.

i'm still working on it solo (full disclosure: i'm the founder, vamshi). it's not perfect but it does the thing i needed — makes you sit through the uncomfortable part of interview prep without someone going "eh, good enough" when it wasn't.

if you've had the same issue with mock interviews feeling too soft or turning into catch-up calls, might be worth trying. it's at nxtinterview.com. happy to answer questions if anyone's curious about how it works or what i'm still fixing.

if you've had the same issue with mock interviews feeling too soft or turning into catch-up calls, might be worth trying. it's at nxtinterview.com.