AI Interview Prep System using Ollama and Google Sheets - n8n Workflow

• Recruiters and HR Professionals: Seeking to automate personalized candidate communication and preparation at scale.


• Educational Institutions: Managing campus placements and needing to provide tailored mock interview materials.


• Technical Automators: Looking for advanced n8n templates that combine local LLMs (Ollama), document generation, and core business operations.


• Organizations prioritizing data privacy by running AI models locally rather than relying on external cloud services.

Managing high-volume campus placements or recruitment drives requires speed and personalization. This advanced n8n workflow solves the tedious task of manually generating and sending preparation materials. The automation is initiated via an n8n trigger when a candidate CSV list is uploaded. The data is managed in Google Sheets, ensuring a clear record of processed candidates. Crucially, it leverages local AI models via the Ollama n8n node to generate two parallel outputs: a detailed interview preparation guide and a personalized introductory email prompt. These outputs are then merged, transformed into a professional PDF document, and automatically emailed to the candidate, closing the loop by updating the status in Google Sheets. This robust n8n workflow demonstrates the power of combining business logic with cutting-edge local AI solutions.

This comprehensive n8n workflow follows a six-stage automation process:

1. Trigger and Ingestion: The process starts with the 'Parse Uploaded CSV of Candidates' n8n trigger (a Form Trigger). An uploaded CSV is parsed, and the data is used to simultaneously create a new Google Sheet and populate it with candidate records.


2. Candidate Selection: The workflow reads the Google Sheet and uses the 'Select first row' Google Sheets n8n node to pull data for candidates who still need processing (e.g., those without a 'Sent' status).


3. Parallel AI Generation: The candidate data is split into two parallel LangChain agents:

1. Document Creation: The core preparation content is passed through a Code n8n node to ensure it is correctly formatted as Markdown. This structured data, combined with candidate details, is then fed into the 'Create PDF files' (API Template.io) n8n node, generating the final interview guide PDF.


2. Delivery: The generated PDF file is merged with the customized email prompt data. The 'Send Email with PDF' n8n node dispatches the personalized materials to the candidate.


3. Status Update: Finally, the 'Update the selected column to spreadsheet' Google Sheets n8n node marks the row for the processed candidate, preventing duplication in future runs of this powerful n8n workflow.

To install this n8n workflow and start automating:

1. Import: Copy the provided JSON data and import it into your n8n instance via the 'Workflows' section using the 'New' -> 'Import from JSON' option.


2. Credentials: You will need to configure credentials for the following services:

1. Setup Trigger: Activate the 'Parse Uploaded CSV of Candidates' n8n trigger by clicking the URL or setting up an appropriate form submission endpoint.


2. Customize: Review the prompts within the LangChain Agent n8n templates to ensure the AI output matches your specific interview preparation needs.

Parse Uploaded CSV of Candidates (Form Trigger): This critical n8n trigger initiates the entire process upon the upload of a CSV file containing candidate information.
Google Sheets (Multiple Nodes): Used extensively for creating a candidate tracking sheet, adding initial data, reading unprocessed rows, and finally updating the status column after the email is successfully sent. This provides robust data management for the n8n workflow.
Extract From File n8n node: Used immediately after the trigger to parse the raw CSV data into structured JSON objects for use in subsequent n8n nodes.
Ollama Chat Model n8n node: Configures the connection to your local Ollama server, providing the large language model backend necessary for the LangChain agents to generate preparation guides and email copy.
Job Interview Preparation Agent (LangChain Agent): The primary AI engine that uses the Ollama model and a Gemini Search Tool to generate comprehensive, context-aware interview preparation materials.
Email prompt Agent (LangChain Agent): Runs in parallel to generate the personalized email text, ensuring a smooth handoff for the final delivery step.
Code n8n node (change item name to markdown): A utility n8n node to format the AI-generated text output into the necessary Markdown structure required for PDF creation.
API Template.io (Create PDF files): Converts the formatted text output into a polished, professional PDF document.

• Send Email with PDF (Email Send n8n node): Merges the personalized email text and the generated PDF attachment before sending the final communication to the candidate.