Mercor screens people with an AI interview, and often a written assessment on top. Its talent docs explain the process in more detail than most platforms, including retakes. This guide pulls that together with how to prepare and where people go wrong.
What the Mercor interview actually is
The AI interview
- Who runs it: an AI interviewer. It asks questions about the role, makes a transcript of your answers and scores how you did for the listing.
- Length: Mercor says most interviews take about 20 minutes, though some are shorter or longer.
- Format: camera and mic on, full face visible, speaking your answers. Interviews are in English unless the listing says otherwise. Captions are on by default.
- Content varies by role. Some interviews dig deep into past experience. Others test language or reasoning. Some include a whiteboard, which saves automatically.
- Screen sharing: sometimes required, and only full-screen sharing works. Seeing your screen repeat inside itself is normal.
- Browser: latest Chrome is recommended. Edge and Safari work. Firefox and mobile browsers don't.
- Reuse: you only do each interview once. If another application uses the same interview, your result carries over.
Practice and retakes
- Practice interview: free, not linked to any application, and doesn't affect your chances. Take it as often as you like.
- Retakes: you can retake an official interview up to three times, across every application that uses it. You reset it yourself from the Assessments tab on your dashboard.
- If all your attempts are used and a technical fault broke one, you can ask support for one more, with a screenshot or recording. Approval isn't guaranteed.
Assessments
Many listings add a written or multiple-choice assessment. Mercor's docs say:
- Most allow only one submission, with no retakes.
- Some turn off copy and paste.
- Most have no strict time limit, but autosave isn't guaranteed.
- One assessment can count for several roles.
Other checks
- Fit check: when you start an application, Mercor compares your profile to the listing. It may let you through, warn you, or block that one application. There's no manual override.
- ID verification: a one-time check through Persona, with a government ID and a short selfie video. It's needed before you can join a project.
- Work trials: some roles add a paid trial task before a contract. Mercor says a typical one takes four to six hours, and you're paid for only one trial in total.
How to prepare
Setup checklist
- Do the practice interview first, at least once.
- Laptop or desktop with a working camera and mic. Headphones and an external mic are recommended.
- Latest Chrome, camera and mic set to Allow for work.mercor.com.
- VPN, ad blockers and privacy extensions off. Mercor says they can break the live interview, and a VPN can also break ID verification.
- Quiet room, face fully in frame, stable connection.
- Pen and paper, plus a calculator if the role is numeric.
- Your profile filled in properly before you apply. The fit check reads it.
How to answer
- Speak in full, clear answers. Long silences can make the AI cut in. If it interrupts while you're thinking, tell it you weren't finished.
- Ask it to repeat or clarify. Mercor's docs suggest this.
- Give reasoning, not just conclusions. Say what you'd check, in what order, and why.
- Use real examples from your own work. "I audited month-end reconciliations for a retailer. The errors were almost always timing differences, so I checked those first." Specific and true beats impressive and vague.
- For written assessments, read the instructions twice. Some include training material. Read it all before you answer, because you probably can't resubmit.
What AI use is allowed
Mercor's LLM policy lets you use AI to check grammar and wording only. It bans using AI to judge model answers, write explanations or predict what code does. Its assessment rules also ban copying from other sources and sharing answers. Work that looks AI-written gets flagged.
Common reasons people fail
- Rushing an assessment that only allows one submission.
- Skipping the practice interview and losing a real attempt to nerves or tech.
- A thin profile, which can get an application blocked before you even reach the interview.
- Firefox, a phone or a VPN. Easy to avoid, and common.
- AI-written answers. Mercor says it can usually tell.
- Short or rambling answers. Aim for the middle: a direct answer, then one example.
What happens after
Mercor says it usually takes two to four weeks to hear whether you've moved on, because of volume. It suggests applying to other open roles meanwhile.
- Track every application on your dashboard. Completed steps carry over to new applications.
- Keep your profile and résumé current. Mercor says complete profiles get reviewed sooner and shown more.
- Strong assessment results can lead straight to offers, sometimes without a new application.
- If you get a work trial, start it fast. Spots are limited and deadlines are strict.
If you've passed and nothing has come, read passed the interview but no projects.
The catch
The interview is short, and you get three tries, but the assessments around it are usually one-shot. Passing puts you in a pool, not on a project. You also hand over video, voice and ID. Mercor says it doesn't sell interview data, but in March 2026 it was widely reported to have suffered a breach that exposed contractor data. Go in knowing that.
For more on the company itself, see our Mercor page. For roles that are hiring now, see the job list.
Some Apply links are referral links: we get a bonus if you're hired, it costs you nothing and the application is the same.