Blend-in overlay
- Press Ctrl+Shift+Space to open the overlay and choose Blend as the visual mode at the top.
- Use the eye button or Ctrl+Shift+, to make the text as faint as you can still read.
- Keep the window narrow and just below your webcam.
Start your first interview in 3 steps
That's all you need the first time. Leave everything else on its defaults.
- Add your resume
Click Resume & notes at the top and upload your latest resume. Add the job description if you have one.
- Pick a mode, click Start
Call on this computer: Video interview. Call on a phone or speaker: Speaker mode. Tests: Online test.
- Press F1 when the question ends
You get an answer you can say right away.
Before the real thing: run Practice run under Settings → Interview prep (about 1 minute). Press ? in the app anytime to see every shortcut.
Shortcuts
Learn these 4 first. Look the rest up when you need them.
F1Get an answer
Press when the interviewer finishes. Also for follow-ups on your code.
F3Fix a question
Correct a misheard word, or type a question directly.
F5Test question capture
Multiple-choice, true/false, fill-in and short answer.
F4Coding capture
Approach, code and complexity. Press again to revise.
When an answer misses
- F2
- Answer what you just said: if the question wasn't picked up, repeat it aloud and press this
- Ctrl+F1
- Try another: re-answer the same question a different way Mac: Option+W
- Ctrl+F4
- Spoken coding: get code when the problem is only read aloud Mac: Option+C
- Alt+S
- Queue screenshots for a multi-page question, then press F5 or F4
- F8
- Reset context: only when the topic changes completely
Overlay
- Ctrl+Shift+Space
- Open / close the overlay
- Ctrl+`
- Hide CalmRound instantly; press again to bring it back (hides the main window when no overlay is open)
- Ctrl+Shift+G
- Toggle mouse click-through
- F6 / F7
- Move / scroll with the arrow keys; Esc to exit
- Ctrl+Shift+,
- Fainter text (Ctrl+Shift+. for stronger)
App, phone and script
- Alt+1 to Alt+4
- Scroll answers on your phone up, down, left, right
- Ctrl+Shift+7
- Show / hide your script Mac: Cmd+Shift+7
- Ctrl+Shift+8
- Script page up (Ctrl+Shift+9 for page down)
These are the defaults. Change any key under Settings → Shortcuts; the app always shows your current keys. On a laptop, if F1 does nothing, try Fn+F1.
Pick the right mode
Choose by where the interviewer's voice comes from.
Video interview
Zoom, Teams, Meet or any call running on this computer. CalmRound hears the call audio and your mic; headphones recommended. Prefer no key presses? Switch to Auto answer in Settings → AI answer settings.
Speaker mode
The call plays from a phone or speaker near your computer's mic, at medium volume. Press F1. For auto answer, first record about 20 seconds under Settings → My voice.
Mock interview
An AI interviewer asks questions and you answer as you would for real. Press F1 when you want a suggested answer.
Online test
F5 for regular questions, F4 for coding. For a question spanning several screens, press Alt+S on each, then F5. Turn on Read test answers aloud automatically before you start if you want to listen with headphones.
Live coding
Problem on screen: F4. Problem only read aloud: Ctrl+F4 (Mac: Option+C). Asked why you wrote it that way: F1. Requirements changed: press the same key again. Don't press F8 mid-question.
Keep answers off a second camera
Pick one setup, then film 10 seconds from the second camera's angle to check.
Answers on your phone
- On the main screen, expand View answers on phone and scan the code. No shared Wi-Fi needed.
- When the computer shows Phone connected, ask a test question to confirm it syncs.
- Mute the phone and fix it in place. On the computer, Ctrl+` hides the overlay and Alt+1 to Alt+4 scroll the phone.
Second camera in an online test: listen with headphones
- Choose Online test, turn on Read test answers aloud automatically, and click Preview to check your headphones.
- Click Start test. The main window tucks away and only the test page stays on screen.
- Press F5 on each question. You hear the question number and answer; code and explanations stay as text in the overlay.
Always film a test run. From the interviewer's angle you should see your face and hands but not the answer text. What you can read isn't what the camera can read.
If you're asked to install proctoring software that inspects your computer, use Option B and keep only the test page open on the computer.
Overlay and privacy
Press Ctrl+Shift+Space to open or close it. For a normal video call, change nothing.
Kept out of shares (on by default)
The main window, overlay and answers are designed to stay out of screen shares, recordings and screenshots on Windows and macOS. After a system update, run Settings → Capture self-check again.
Focus stays put (Windows)
Clicking or dragging the overlay doesn't pull focus from your call, test page or IDE.
Overlay gone? Press Ctrl+` in case it's hidden. Can't click it? Press Ctrl+Shift+G. Wrong size or place? Restore the recommended size under Settings → General → Overlay.
Your materials and settings
Materials go into three tabs by purpose. Settings can stay on defaults the first time.
Background notes
Resume, job description, project details. The AI builds each answer from them.
Prepared answers
Ready-made Q&A such as your intro or why you're leaving. Used close to word for word when asked.
Script
A full talk or presentation. Ctrl+Shift+7 brings it up to read from; no AI involved.
AI answer settings: when to change them
- Don't want to press a key: set Auto answer; if the interviewer pauses a lot, raise the wait to 2–3 seconds. Speaker mode needs My voice recorded first.
- Want keywords only: switch the answer format to Talking points.
- Prepared answers get reworded: set Using materials to Use my answers.
- Tests: Thinking depth Fast for easy questions, Deep for hard ones.
Interview language
Set it under Settings → General. One language the whole way: pick English, Chinese or Japanese. The interviewer switches between Chinese and English (or Japanese): pick the mixed option and you also get a translation. Start a new session after changing it. Code language for F4 and F5 is set separately in AI answer settings.
Using the script prompter
Add or paste your text under Resume & notes → Script and save. During the interview press Ctrl+Shift+7 (Mac: Cmd+Shift+7) to show or hide it, Ctrl+Shift+8 / 9 to turn pages, A- / A+ for text size. It reopens where you left off and uses no minutes.
File types and keywords
PDF, DOCX, TXT and MD are supported; run text recognition on scanned PDFs first. If company, project or tech names keep getting misheard, add them under Settings → Role & keywords; they apply from your next session.
Troubleshooting
Search a symptom or key, such as "audio", "F1" or "overlay".
F1 does nothing
On a laptop try Fn+F1. Still nothing: switch to a key combination under Settings → Shortcuts.
No interviewer audio or no transcript
Check the mode: call on this computer is Video interview, call on a phone or speaker is Speaker mode. On a Mac, allow Microphone, Screen Recording and System Audio Recording under System Settings → Privacy & Security, then quit and reopen CalmRound.
The answer is for the wrong question
Misheard words: press F3, fix them, and the answer is regenerated. Question not picked up: repeat it aloud and press F2. Whole new topic: press F8.
I want a different answer
Press Ctrl+F1 (Mac: Option+W) to try another. The same question is answered a different way and the original stays in history.
Auto answer fires too early or not at all
Too early: raise the wait to 2–3 seconds. Not at all: check that AI answer settings is on Auto answer; Speaker mode needs about 20 seconds of My voice first; tests don't use auto answer.
F3 doesn't open
F3 works once a video, speaker or mock interview has started. It's not available during a practice run or an online test.
Follow-up questions on my code
Press F1 and the answer explains the code you just got: approach, complexity, trade-offs. New requirements: press F4 again (Ctrl+F4 for a spoken problem). Don't press F8 in between.
Overlay can't be clicked or has disappeared
Press Ctrl+` in case it's hidden, Ctrl+Shift+G to make it clickable, and restore the recommended size under Settings → General → Overlay.
Phone doesn't sync
The default secure connection doesn't need shared Wi-Fi. If it still fails, choose Local network backup, put both devices on the same Wi-Fi and scan again.
The overlay closed when my phone connected
That's expected in online tests: answers move to the phone. Press Ctrl+` to bring the overlay back briefly; it returns when the phone disconnects. In interviews the overlay stays; hide it with Ctrl+`.
No sound in my headphones during a test
Check that your system output is the headphones, then click Preview in the test controls. Answers are still shown as text in the overlay.
Nothing matches. Try another word.
Still stuck? Go to Settings → About & Updates and send diagnostics to support, or email [email protected] with your operating system.