About

Why we built it

In March 2025, I interviewed for a CEO role. It's been a while since I had interviewed for a job and I thought surely there's a way that AI can help. At the time I decided to upload my CV, cover letter, job description, interview guide and anything I could find about the organisation (financial statements, annual reports, strategy documents). I ended up loading 34 documents.

Then, I got NotebookLM to pretend to be the interviewer, using the following prompt:

“I have uploaded a lot of detailed PDFs about the strategies and plans of [Employer X]. They are hiring a new [role]. I have uploaded the position description. I have attached my CV and cover letter as I am applying for the role. I want you to generate at least 10 behavioural interview questions, one at a time. I will answer the question then you’ll either ask a follow-up, clarifying question or move onto the next 1 of the 10.”

Though I didn't get the job, it worked really well as a way to prepare me for the interview.

Then I got to thinking… if this process was helpful for me, maybe it would be helpful for others?

Two things are true at the same time right now. The job market is tighter than it's been in years: more candidates, fewer openings, and interviews that feel higher stakes than ever. And, for the first time, AI is actually good enough to be a credible practice partner. It can analyse the employer and the job seeker, generate smart questions, probe weak answers, and give structured feedback at a level that wasn't possible even two years ago.

And so, Electric Interview was born.

Who is this Trent guy?

Electric Interview is built by Trent Mankelow, a two-time startup founder and product leader based in Wellington, New Zealand.

Trent co-founded Optimal Experience (Australasia's leading user experience consultancy, acquired by PwC) and Optimal Workshop, a SaaS platform for UX research that was partially acquired by Pioneer Capital and still operates today. He's held Chief Product Officer roles at Trade Me(New Zealand's largest online marketplace) and Vend (a globally-scaling retail SaaS), and has spent the last few years as an angel investor and mentor to early-stage founders.

Trent hired his first employee in 2003, and over the course of his career has hired hundreds of people across a wide range of roles.

Proudly Made in Wellington

Electric Interview is built in Wellington, New Zealand, a small city that has produced a surprising number of globally successful software products.