‘Awkward and humiliating’: UK job hunters share frustration with AI interviews
Nearly half (47%) of UK job seekers have had an AI interview, research from the hiring platform Greenhouse has found.In its survey of 2,950 active job seekers, including 1,132 UK-based workers, with additional respondents from the US, Germany, Australia and Ireland, it found that 30% of UK candidates had walked away from a hiring process because it included an AI interview.We asked people about their experiences of AI interviews.The responses included those who found it “awkward” and “humiliating”.Others spoke of wanting a human element in the interviews, and said they were not sure if their interview had even been reviewed.
Here are some of the responses.Thomas*, 21, who is at university in the north of England, says he found the AI interview component of his job applications “frustrating”.He has applied for 15 jobs, and around 10 of them have involved AI interviews.In addition to these, they often have personality assessments and numerical and skills tests, all of which are completed online.Once he passed those, he was invited for an AI interview.
“Most companies do faceless interviews, where you are given a prerecorded video of someone asking a question, followed by up to two minutes to plan a response, followed by three minutes to give your answer,” he says,“These are the worst of the three tests, as it feels strange talking into a camera, and it can be difficult to speak naturally,You can’t see anyone other than yourself,“It doesn’t feel real, it’s like you’re looking into a mirror and speaking to yourself,There’s no human interaction.
If you had an in-person interview, you’d be able to see how someone’s reacting and that they’re acknowledging what you say.”Most of these interviews lasted about 10 minutes, but the longest one Thomas had was half an hour.He says that once he got through to the later rounds in the job application process, he would then have a face-to-face interview, which he described as “really good”.Thomas has secured a job and will start in September.In the meantime, he wishes companies could improve the AI interview experience.
Susannah*, 44, a scientist living in Cambridge, says she found her AI interview “awkward and humiliating”.After completing an online form last year for a “senior” scientific role, she sent off her CV and covering letter as requested and was then invited for an AI interview.Before the interview, she was asked for permission to let them use an AI interviewing system.Susannah says there “wasn’t any option not to accept, if I wanted to proceed with the application”.“The interview comprised five questions, and the whole thing lasted only 10 minutes or so,” she says.
“I found it awkward and the whole process humiliating.”The interview took the form of a series of questions displayed on her computer screen, each of which she had to answer within three minutes.She would hit the record button when she began to speak, and a countdown clock would start on the screen.She says the “questions were very general, focused on behaviour at the workplace and could be applied to many other roles”.About a week later, she “received very general feedback and a rejection”.
“I’m not even sure anybody watched the interview,” she adds.Susannah says she understands why companies use AI interviews.“There are just so many applications for these jobs that an HR department would not be able to go through them all.”Susannah, who is now contracting, says people do the AI interviews “because we are so desperate” for work.David*, 47, a marketing consultant living in Spain, says his AI interview was “completely horrible for the autistic brain”.
“What followed was awkward to say the least,” he says of the 20-minute process.“I struggled immediately.I spoke in bullet points and keywords.The real me, who would take his time to understand the actual challenge and constraints of a project, would never deliver like that.In my line of work, there are always questions to ask before any solution can have merit.
It’s a two-way thing and always will be.”Despite feeling he had not done well, he was invited to an interview with the chief executive of the company, who told David that he had put the AI interview transcripts through ChatGPT to see what it made of the candidates.Although David understands AI’s usefulness in some circumstances, he was not impressed with his first AI interview.“AI interviews are one-way.They minimise the investment for the hiring party and maximise the strain on the potential supplier.
They’re also completely horrible for the autistic brain, and I presume not much nicer for others,“For me, it’s the worst thing possible, a countdown, answering a blank screen, no context,I can’t ask the question,But also, I don’t know if that’s autism or everyone, but I can’t pause, so you’re going to get some generic garbage out of me if you put me on the spot in a panic like that,I guess my garbage was strong enough, but it wasn’t true.
”Tom, a project manager living in Scotland, applied for a “side hustle” job – and said this probably made him view the AI interview with intrigue rather than ire,“If this had been a day job I was going for, I think I would have been far more grumpy about it,” says Tom, who is in his late 40s,After he submitted his CV, he was invited for an interview with an AI agent, which conducted a “reasonable” conversation with Tom via his computer screen,He likened it to a phone conversation, albeit one with the odd glitch,“When I would pause, ready to continue my answer, the AI agent had decided I’d finished, so repeatedly interrupted and moved on to the next question despite the answer not being complete,” he says.
“The agent also picked up and reinforced the most minor points.I found it mildly amusing and intriguing, but then I am not depending on getting this job, so I could be a bit more relaxed about it.”He said an AI interview “can’t yet pick up on the subtleties of body language”.“Also, an interview should be a two-way thing: the potential employer interviewing you, but also I am interviewing them to see if I want the job.”The job was an AI-related project, so he says he can understand why the interview took the format it did.
“I don’t think the technology is ready for a full-blown interview yet – I guess maybe it depends on what sort of job you’ll end up doing.But I think the human touch is probably a good thing, and I hope that lasts as long as possible.”*Name has been changed
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