Is AI the Real Villain Behind Your Tough Job Interview Experience?
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Let’s be real: job interviews can feel like a gauntlet of embarrassment. Who actually enjoys confessing their biggest weakness to a panel of strangers? Or tackling bizarre brainteasers like, “How many golf balls fit in a Boeing 747?” It’s no surprise that for those hunting for jobs, the process is rapidly spiraling out of control.
In the tech realm, the hurdles are piling up higher than ever. We’re not just talking about more interviews—oh no, we’re diving into a world of technical tests, take-home essays, and sometimes even entire days spent shadowing existing teams. One of my friends in the Bay Area navigated through all these rounds only to be asked to “entertain” the company’s leadership for her final challenge. Spoiler alert: she didn’t get the job.
Recruiters claim they’re not out to make life miserable for job seekers; they argue that it’s becoming increasingly tough to find the right talent. Believe it or not, they say the problem lies with applicants themselves. The explosion of online job postings has made it all too easy for candidates to send off applications willy-nilly. Just this year, a staggering 1.2 million applications were submitted in the UK for a mere 17,000 graduate positions, according to the Institute of Student Employers. Meanwhile, research from Workday reveals that the number of job applications is skyrocketing four times faster than available job openings.
This influx includes candidates who are resorting to AI tools like ChatGPT to craft applications using skills they might not even have. Some even go so far as to manipulate recruiting software—writing qualifications in white text so they’re invisible to human eyes but still detectable by screening algorithms.
From the employer’s viewpoint, increasing the challenges makes total sense. AI-assisted applications can mask candidates who falter during multiple interviews, while those charming smooth talkers might stumble during on-site tests or actual work trials.
And in some companies, just being good at your job isn’t enough. You must also resonate with the company’s culture. Amazon, for example, evaluates candidates based on its 16 leadership principles. Fail to showcase your “customer obsession” or your knack for “thinking big,” and you might find yourself back on the job market.
But here’s the kicker: these additional interviews and tests drain both candidates and interviewers, stealing precious time from what should be real work. To add insult to injury, they may not even be effective. Back in 2016, Google concluded that four interviews were plenty to gauge a candidate’s potential. Anything beyond that? Diminishing returns.
Yet, the barriers don’t stop there. Young job seekers often lament that their parents still think they can simply waltz in wearing a snazzy suit and hand over a resume. In reality, the process is much more convoluted, often including an online application, resume screenings, and assessments before even getting a shot at an interview. Applicant tracking software like Oracle’s Taleo filters out candidates before they ever speak to anyone—leaving many applicants ghosted.
As this cumbersome process expands, so does the time it takes to land a job. Research from industry expert Josh Bersin reveals that the average hiring timeline is now 45 days—and in tech, it can be much longer. Software engineer Rohit Verma shared that his journey to securing a position at Meta took a grueling four months from referral to job offer.
This would sting a little less if it weren’t for the tech sector’s recent trend of mass layoffs. After a hiring frenzy during the pandemic, approximately 264,000 workers were let go last year, per crowdsourced site Layoffs.fyi. This year alone, companies like TikTok and Snap have axed over 149,000 jobs, leaving many who endured the exhaustive interview processes in the lurch.
Where tech leads, other industries are sure to follow. Brace yourselves for a more torturous hiring process in your own field soon enough.
But amidst all this frustration, there’s a glimmer of hope. Sometimes, landing a job can be as easy as firing off a tweet. Remember the 28-year-old Brit who snagged a role leading Tesla’s social media after posting a pic of a giant ram with the caption, “Look at this absolute unit”? Well, even that unconventional route proved no more immune to the unpredictability of hiring—he left the role within a year.
