Radhika Sharma, a 35-year-old Product Manager from New Delhi, India, described her experience of interviewing an AI recruiter. She said it was «exciting and nerve-wracking,» and that the AI was more attentive and meticulous than she had imagined.
Radhika Sharma, a 35-year-old Product Manager from New Delhi, India, described her experience of interviewing an AI recruiter. She said it was «exciting and nerve-wracking,» and that the AI was more attentive and meticulous than she had imagined.
«While looking for a job, I submitted my application to a SaaS company and received an email inviting me to a screening interview with the help of an AI. The email clearly stated that the AI would ask me a few screening questions to assess my skills and experience in product management», — Sharma told Business Insider.
Before the interview, she was given interview etiquette, which included sitting in a quiet place and not switching between tabs. The candidate was even made to swipe her screen to monitor her laptop usage.
«As soon as the interview started, a timer started counting down from 20 minutes, which was a bit distracting. I was greeted by a blank screen with a female voice asking me very specific questions about product management. It would have been great if there had been a face, but it was just a voice», — notes Radhika.
The AI asked how she planned product roadmaps and managed conflicting stakeholder demands. Immediately after the interview, the woman received a detailed assessment of her performance.
«To my surprise, the AI rated my technical knowledge, as well as my engagement, eye contact, facial expressions, posture, and clothing. I found my rating to be remarkably accurate, but I underestimated how AI could rate me, so I didn’t think to wear a collared shirt,» says Sharma.
She said she received high marks for her technical skills, but the report noted that she was dressed unprofessionally and always maintained eye contact. According to the product manager, interviews with AI have their pros and cons.
«The biggest downside is that the interview was not two-way, meaning I didn’t have the opportunity to ask follow-up questions. For example, I was asked how I would handle conflicting priorities between stakeholders. If I had the opportunity, I would have asked if I could share an example from the past to make my answer more interesting and understandable», — Radhika explained.
She added that she would prepare better for an AI interview next time. «My advice is don’t underestimate the AI interview system: be prepared, be honest, and in my experience, dress smartly,» the manager advises.
Career coach Herman Koh previously said that companies are increasingly using artificial intelligence to screen job candidates. AI is being used in cover letter screening, psychometric tests, and even video interviews.
The coach argues that the first 30 seconds of a video interview are crucial. That’s how much time a recruiter spends randomly sampling candidate videos during the hiring cycle.
