Mercor and micro1 send applicants to an AI interviewer before anyone reads the application. Mercor's run about 20 minutes, micro1's 20 to 40, the questions are built for the role, and the session is recorded. Below: what each interview checks, the setup to fix the day before, the rules that end applications, how to answer a model, and how to spend retakes.
What the AI interview actually is
Mercor and micro1 hire domain experts, engineers and analysts, often to train and grade AI models. Neither puts a person on your first call. Mercor says its AI interview is the only way it screens: no human, chat or phone version exists. micro1's AI recruiter, Zara, runs the same step and gives you a result on the spot.
The interviewer asks questions built for the role and follows up on what you say. Both platforms record the session on camera, so how you come across counts, but the reasoning only counts if you say it. A thought you keep in your head never reaches the transcript.
The two platforms side by side, from their own help pages:
| Topic | Mercor | micro1 |
|---|---|---|
| Who interviews you | An AI interviewer. It is the only screening step: no human, chat or phone alternative. | Zara, micro1's AI recruiter. You see a result right away, and recruiters review the recording to match you to roles. |
| Length | About 20 minutes for most interviews. | 20 to 40 minutes, about 7 minutes per skill assessed. |
| Questions | Built for the role. Some dig into past work, others test language or reasoning. Some add a whiteboard. | Open technical and scenario questions on one skill you pick. A coding task for technical roles. |
| Practice | Free practice interview, unlimited, never shared with companies. | Free Interview Prep: an 18-minute practice for the role you pick, with feedback. |
| Retakes | Up to 3 per interview, shared across every application using it. Hiring managers see the count. | No published limit. |
| AI tools | Grammar checks are fine. Using an LLM to write answers, rate outputs or review code is banned. | Recorded and proctored. Answers must be your own work, with no outside help. |
- Who interviews you
Mercor. An AI interviewer. It is the only screening step: no human, chat or phone alternative.
micro1. Zara, micro1's AI recruiter. You see a result right away, and recruiters review the recording to match you to roles.
- Length
Mercor. About 20 minutes for most interviews.
micro1. 20 to 40 minutes, about 7 minutes per skill assessed.
- Questions
Mercor. Built for the role. Some dig into past work, others test language or reasoning. Some add a whiteboard.
micro1. Open technical and scenario questions on one skill you pick. A coding task for technical roles.
- Practice
Mercor. Free practice interview, unlimited, never shared with companies.
micro1. Free Interview Prep: an 18-minute practice for the role you pick, with feedback.
- Retakes
Mercor. Up to 3 per interview, shared across every application using it. Hiring managers see the count.
micro1. No published limit.
- AI tools
Mercor. Grammar checks are fine. Using an LLM to write answers, rate outputs or review code is banned.
micro1. Recorded and proctored. Answers must be your own work, with no outside help.
The setup check, the day before
A dropped mic or a frozen browser can cost a retake you can't get back. Sort these before you press Start:
Laptop or desktop, in Chrome. Mercor recommends Chrome, supports Edge and Safari, and doesn't run in Firefox. Some interviews refuse to start on a phone.
Mic first, then camera. Mercor's Start button stays off until the mic works, plus screen share on interviews that need it. Face fully in frame, light in front of you.
Headphones, quiet room, VPN off. Mercor recommends headphones and an external mic. A VPN is on its list of things to switch off when the interviewer stops responding.
One tab, no extensions. Close everything else and pause extensions. micro1 records your platform interactions to detect cheating.
Pen, paper, calculator. Mercor suggests all three. Useful for numeric roles and for jotting down a long question before you answer it.
Resume updated before you start. Mercor attaches your latest resume to the application and you can't edit it once submitted.
A clean screen to share. Some Mercor interviews need screen sharing, and only the entire screen works. Hide notifications and anything private.
Rules that end applications
- No AI writing your answers. Mercor allows grammar and wording checks, nothing more: using an LLM to write responses, rate model outputs, write rationales or review code is against its policy. micro1's terms say your answers are your own work with no outside help, the session is recorded to detect cheating, and violations can be reported to employers. These companies pay for human judgment, so a model's answer in your voice is exactly what they screen out.
- No posting the questions. Mercor is fine with you talking about the experience in general. Sharing specific questions, screenshots or anything about clients and projects is not.
- Say if you've seen the questions before. micro1's terms ask you to tell them if you've already come across the interview content.
If it breaks mid-interview
Mercor's own steps: if the interviewer stops responding, wait 30 to 60 seconds, then refresh and rejoin. Still stuck, switch to Chrome, clear cache and cookies, try an incognito window, turn off the VPN and extensions. If audio fails, leave and retake from your dashboard, picking the reason that matches. Then email [email protected] with your operating system, browser, the interview and application names, and a screenshot.
Other AI-training marketplaces
Plenty of other AI-training marketplaces screen with an AI interview or a timed skills test. Their rules differ and change often, and this guide hasn't checked each one. Before a first attempt anywhere, find three answers on their help pages: how many retakes you get, whether practice runs are shared with clients, and which AI tools are allowed. The answering habits on this page carry over everywhere.
How to answer when the interviewer is a model
- Answer first, then one example. One sentence that answers the question, then one real case: what you did, the number that moved, what you'd do differently. Ninety seconds with one concrete story beats four minutes of everything you've ever touched.
- Say the reasoning out loud. micro1 says Zara scores how you think, solve problems and communicate. On a technical or scenario question, name the options, why you picked one, and what would make you switch.
- Fill silence on purpose. Mercor warns that long silences can make the interviewer cut in. Say "give me ten seconds to think about that", then think.
- Take the floor back. If it cuts in while you were pausing, tell it you weren't finished and carry on. Asking it to repeat or clarify a question is fine too.
- Lead with the project you know cold. Some Mercor interviews go deep on past work. Pick the one where you can survive three follow-ups: why that design, what broke, how you knew it worked.
- Use your field's exact words. Many of these roles pay experts to judge model output in law, medicine, finance or code. Precise terms and spotting the answer that's almost right are the job, so show both.
Rehearse on the free rounds first
Mercor's practice interview is free, isn't tied to any application, never reaches a company and can be run as many times as you like. Take it in the same room, with the same headphones and browser you'll use for the real one. micro1's Interview Prep is a free 18-minute practice for the role you pick, with feedback after. Its guide also lets you write custom questions in advance to show what you know, so use them for the work you're proudest of.
Then rehearse three stories out loud, timed: a project you led, a hard problem you solved, and a time a teammate disagreed with you. micro1 lists disagreements, decisions under uncertainty and a project where communication broke down among its soft-skill questions, and they come up everywhere else too.
Spend retakes like they're scarce
Mercor gives three retakes per interview, shared across every application that uses it. A retake resets the application's progress, hiring managers see how many you used, and the waiting room asks you to keep them for technical problems. An interview that ends far too early shows "Interview too short", doesn't count, and still uses one up.
The upside: a finished Mercor interview carries over to every later application that uses the same interview, so one strong attempt goes a long way.
micro1 doesn't publish a retake limit, so treat the first attempt as the one that counts.
Getting to the interview in the first place
Clera matches you with Mercor and micro1 roles alongside startup roles, filtered on what you told us you want: function, experience level, location, contract or full-time. Say you're interested in a Mercor or micro1 match and Clera hands you the application link right away.
Before you start, run your resume through the free resume review, or start on Clera and see which roles fit.
Clera
Mercor, micro1 and startup roles matched to what you want. Say yes and the application link is yours.
Find roles that fitQuestions people ask
Mercor says most interviews take about 20 minutes, some shorter, some longer. You don't have to start it the moment you apply, so pick a time when the room is quiet.
Up to three times per interview, and the three are shared across every application that uses that interview. A retake resets the application's progress and hiring managers can see how many you used. The practice interview doesn't count and is unlimited.
No. Mercor allows grammar and wording checks only, and bans using an LLM to write answers, rate model outputs, write rationales or review code. micro1's terms require your own work with no outside help, and violations can be reported to employers.
For technical roles, yes: micro1 lists a coding task next to open technical and scenario questions. Annotation roles get a data exercise instead.
At Mercor the AI interview is the whole screening step. Recordings and transcripts are kept to evaluate you and recommend your profile to employers. At micro1, Zara scores you, you see the result right away, and you can ask for feedback if you don't get certified. micro1's recruiters also review the recording to match you to roles.
Mercor says it doesn't sell interview data or use it to train AI models. micro1's interview guide doesn't say either way.
Sources
Every rule above comes from the platforms' own pages, checked 14 November 2026. They change; the pages win if they disagree with this guide.