Mock Mate

Mock Mate is a peer-to-peer mock interview platform where users can book slots, get matched with peers, and practice both behavioral and software engineering interviews. It offers an interactive, real-time interview experience with features such as video conferencing, peer feedback, and a comprehensive review of past interviews. The platform is designed to help users prepare for technical and behavioral interviews, enhancing their confidence and readiness for real-world interviews.

🔗Github: Backend API, Backend WebSocket Svc, Frontend Next.js 

Technologies Used: Spring Boot, PostgreSQL, Docker, AWS (ECS), React(Redux)+Next.JS

Features

Authentication

  • Login: Secure user login with email and password.
  • Registration: Simple registration process to onboard new users.
  • Forgot Password?: Password recovery functionality for users who forget their credentials.

Slot Booking

  • Users can book slots for mock interviews.
  • Options for interview type:
  • Behavioral Interview
  • Software Engineering Interview
  • Select difficulty level:
  • Easy
  • Medium
  • Hard

Peer Matching

  • Users can join a waiting room for a specific slot.
  • A cron job periodically pairs users in the waiting room based on the Peer Matching Algorithm (explained below).

Video Interview Integration

  • Short Polling: Ensures real-time updates for peer matching.
  • 3rd Party Video Toolkit Integration: Zego UI Toolkit used to support smooth video conferencing between matched peers.

Interactive Interview Experience

  • Question Distribution: Once peers are matched, both users receive an interview question to ask each other. Questions are tailored to the user’s difficulty choice.
  • Real-time Video Call: Users can discuss the question and interview each other in real time.
  • Post-Interview Feedback: After the session, users can provide feedback on their peer’s performance.

Past Interview Review

  • Users can access a history of their past interviews.
  • View feedback received from past peers to track improvement over time.

Architecture

The platform follows a microservices-based architecture with the following key components:

  • Authentication Service: Manages user login, registration, and password recovery.
  • Peer Matching Service: Handles the waiting room, peer matching, and cron job logic.
  • Interview Service: Manages the interview process, video call integration, and question distribution.
  • Frontend UI: Built using Next.js to provide an interactive user experience.

  • Database: PostgreSQL database for persisting user information, bookings, and feedback.

                  ┌──────────────┐
               │  User (UI)   │
               └──────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
          ┌─────────────────────┐
          │  Next.js Frontend    │
          └─────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
     ┌────────────────────────────┐
     │  Backend API (Spring Boot)  │
     └────────────────────────────┘
         │       │          │
         ▼       ▼          ▼
  Authentication   Interview    Peer Matching
       Service       Service       Service
                     │
                     ▼
                PostgreSQL DB

Peer Matching Algorithm

The Peer Matching Algorithm aims to create interview pairs from users in the same room with minimal waiting time.

Matching Criteria

  1. Difficulty Preference: Users are grouped into Easy (E), Medium (M), and Hard (H) based on the difficulty of the interview.
  2. Pairing Logic:
  • Users with the same difficulty are paired together.
  • If no user with the same difficulty is available, the next best option is chosen, as demonstrated below.

Example

If the interview room has:

E1, E2, E3, M1, M2, H3

Where:

  • E = Easy difficulty users
  • M = Medium difficulty users
  • H = Hard difficulty users

The pairs are created as:

  • Pair 1: {E1, E2} (Easy with Easy)
  • Pair 2: {E3, M1} (Easy with Medium)
  • Pair 3: {M2, H3} (Medium with Hard)

If there are no available users to pair, the user waits until the next cron job cycle to be paired.

Motivation

Motivated by the lack of collaborative interview preparation platforms, Mock Mate aims to provide an interactive, peer-driven experience for both behavioral and technical interviews.

Usage

  1. Register as a new user or login to your existing account.
  2. Book a Slot for your interview by selecting the date, time, interview type, and difficulty.
  3. Join the Waiting Room at the selected slot time.
  4. Get Matched with a peer based on your preferences.
  5. Start the Interview using the video interview functionality.
  6. Review Feedback from your peer and access a history of past interviews.

Future Scope

  1. WebSockets for Real-Time Updates
  • Replace short polling with WebSocket connections for real-time updates, significantly improving performance and responsiveness.
  1. Custom Interview Questions
  • Allow users to select the company they are preparing for (like Google, Amazon, etc.), and generate interview questions related to that company.
  1. Collaborative Code Editor
  • Add a collaborative editor where users can write, compile, and debug code together during technical interviews.
  • Plan to use a 3rd party API for collaborative editing.
  1. In-App Notifications
  • Notify users about interview slot availability, peer matching status, and feedback reminders.
  1. Feedback Analytics
  • Show analytics to users based on past feedback and interview performance.