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I was interviewed by an AI bot for a job

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Re: I was interviewed by an AI bot for a job

#111

Post by hunterpayne »

ncr100 wrote: post #47
JohnFen wrote: post #2

> If your potential employer is dehumanizing you before you’re on the payroll, how will they treat you once hired? For me, this is the key point. If a company can't even be bothered to show up for my interview -- when everyone is trying to put their best foot forward -- that bodes very ill for how I'll be treated if I were to work there.

Need to say versions of this more often, "That is not how it works here." A very powerful and clarifying comment made by a European reporter, to a US Envoy of the Trump administration, during the first Presidency. (January 2018 press conference involving Pete Hoekstra) It was in response to the Envoy bullshit and lie about how he didn't say some anti-Islam thing (claiming that the Islamic movement had brought "chaos"…

"That is not how it works here."

Right, how it works in Europe is there are just no jobs or economic growth at all. Works great for those late in their career who have jobs and basically can't be fired. Not so much for anyone younger though. Better hope your employer doesn't go out of business before you retire. Better hope your government doesn't go bankrupt before you die.

Stop injecting politics into a non-political discussion that had nothing to do with Trump or politics at all. Especially since Europe's situation doesn't exactly shine by comparison.

Re: I was interviewed by an AI bot for a job

#112

Post by [deleted] »

ncr100 wrote: post #47
JohnFen wrote: post #2

> If your potential employer is dehumanizing you before you’re on the payroll, how will they treat you once hired? For me, this is the key point. If a company can't even be bothered to show up for my interview -- when everyone is trying to put their best foot forward -- that bodes very ill for how I'll be treated if I were to work there.

Need to say versions of this more often, "That is not how it works here." A very powerful and clarifying comment made by a European reporter, to a US Envoy of the Trump administration, during the first Presidency. (January 2018 press conference involving Pete Hoekstra) It was in response to the Envoy bullshit and lie about how he didn't say some anti-Islam thing (claiming that the Islamic movement had brought "chaos"…

[deleted]

Re: I was interviewed by an AI bot for a job

#113

Post by slumberlust »

YesBox wrote: post #88
nitwit005 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me the issue isn't seeming inhuman, but cost. Employers often seem happy to impose rediculous time costs on the people they're hiring: take home tests, long series of interviews, etc. What held that back is they also paid a price. Full automation leaves them free to impose infinite cost with no guarantee of anything.

Applicants are using AI too. I've heard from people who hire/post jobs that they gets hundreds to low thousands of applications, and maybe 5% of them have any relevant experience. The problem is the breakdown of trust is costing all of us.

The companies have made this bed. They are upset its finally a mor even playing field.

Re: I was interviewed by an AI bot for a job

#115

Post by encom »

hunterpayne wrote: post #86
bbkane wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Employers are also inundated by applications so they're applying higher bars to meet as a sort of back pressure. I hate it from the candidates' perspective, but it's not illogical from the employer perspective. No, I don't know how to fix it.

And why would this be the case? Maybe the solution is to ban AI from the hiring process. This seems like companies being hoisted by their own petard. This is because they are the ones who drove the hiring market to be this way. They are the ones who started using AI in the hiring process. They are the ones who decided to make applying so much work driving applicants to use AI to survive. Also, if you are having troub…

You have invented micro-payments, which has never worked, ever.

Re: I was interviewed by an AI bot for a job

#116

Post by ossa-ma »

tmoertel wrote: post #103
ossa-ma wrote: post #9

Perfectly encapsulates the state of the job market. Interviewing is genuinely a hellscape at this point and I've experienced many interviews where there was a complete breakdown of etiquette/guidelines and good faith. One was so bad I had to write about it: https://ossama.is/writing/betrayed

I'm sorry you had such a bad interviewing experience. You asked for feedback in your blog post, and since your blog doesn't allow comments, I hope you won't mind my responding here. You wrote something that I think is untrue of most tech companies, so I'd like to discuss it: > [As I and a friend spoke], I realised something: Three technical interviews went well, I was feeling confident going into the behavioural inte…

> mental model of the hiring process is that the company is probably going to sabatage your end-game interviews

I definitely agree and it is not a mental model that I carry into any interview, I have good intentions and I'm super friendly! This was only a tiny (disillusioned) post-interview reflection. I would say most interviews especially with engineers have gone well but there has absolutely been a vibe shift in the past year.

You can tell teams are a lot more risk averse when it comes to hiring. The promise of a fabled 10x engineer on the horizon paired with SWE automation devaluing existing talent has meant they will make you jump through 10 more loops and even then the decision is scrutinised. Understandably hiring is an expensive process (both successful and unsuccessful).

> Most employers will want some assurance that you are serious about the position you're applying for.

This is also a reflection of the job market. If it was balanced this notion would not exist. It's become a game of numbers, automated screening + AI has meant candidates need to send out 100s of application often with automation on their end too. On the other side every job likely receives 1000s of applications especially with stupid things like "L*nkedIn Easy Apply". Me personally, I would not apply for a role I am not committed to taking and I especially would not have gone through FOUR stages for fun, the first interview should be plenty screening for both parties!!! Alas.

I appreciate you taking the time to respond and thank you for your well wishes!

Re: I was interviewed by an AI bot for a job

#117

Post by kermatt »

I encountered two of these in a recent search, and they put me off so badly that I started ignoring subsequent opportunities that started off like this.

I don't mind written Q&A as part of a screening, but AI interactions, via voice or text, seem very unsuitable for the task of identifying candidates. The questions were non-specific, I was cut off mid sentence (voice prompts), and although the systems were supposed to be interactive my asks for clarification were ignored or returned unhelpful answers. I have never felt like I presented myself so poorly.

As long as I have money in the bank, I won't take any company that uses this approach seriously.

Re: I was interviewed by an AI bot for a job

#118

Post by _DeadFred_ »

whatever1 wrote: post #72
ossa-ma wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The lack of feedback is the worst part and is increasingly more common. Zero respect for the candidates time investment and propagates a terrible culture.

Most of big-CO legal teams do not allow for feedback to be communicated to the candidates. They are afraid the candidates will sue base on that. That is not new.

Our entire system is getting so bogged down by things like this that it is ceasing to function. Lots of things that make sense individually but are breaking the previous social contract, or removing the grease that made things work.

Re: I was interviewed by an AI bot for a job

#119

Post by givemeethekeys »

ossa-ma wrote: post #9

Perfectly encapsulates the state of the job market. Interviewing is genuinely a hellscape at this point and I've experienced many interviews where there was a complete breakdown of etiquette/guidelines and good faith. One was so bad I had to write about it: https://ossama.is/writing/betrayed

Solid rant, mate! And a great blog, too!

Re: I was interviewed by an AI bot for a job

#120

Post by y1n0 »

kermatt wrote: post #117

I encountered two of these in a recent search, and they put me off so badly that I started ignoring subsequent opportunities that started off like this. I don't mind written Q&A as part of a screening, but AI interactions, via voice or text, seem very unsuitable for the task of identifying candidates. The questions were non-specific, I was cut off mid sentence (voice prompts), and although the systems were supposed t…

Your loss. Potentially. I wouldn't judge a company by the HR department. Unless you are applying for an HR job, naturally.

I'd see this as something you can hack to get to level 2. Assuming you are interested in the company. I wouldn't let this sort of thing put me off of something I wanted.

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