Have you applied for a new job? If you’ve been shortlisted, get ready to be interviewed by artificial intelligence.

Deluged by a flood of AI-generated job applications from easy-apply job boards, recruiters are turning to AI to cope. Companies are using chatbots to interview candidates, typically at the screening stage, through phone calls, text messages, or video chats with on-screen avatars.

Recruiters have been using AI-powered hiring tools for years to assess job applicants, and their use has expanded alongside advances in technology.

Many people find AI job interviews unsettling, though the trend appears to be here to stay. According to recent research by hiring platform Greenhouse, more jobseekers report encountering AI-led interviews. But many applicants have also walked away from the hiring process because of it — a sign, depending on whom you ask, that they are either uncomfortable with the technology or were never serious candidates to begin with.

Here’s what to expect from an AI job interview and how to perform your best:

Do Your Homework
Whatever the interview format, the fundamentals still apply, said Amanda Augustine, a career coach at Careerminds, which helps companies support laid-off workers with resume writing and job-search services.

Ahead of the interview, review the job description, research the organization, and understand what it is looking for.

“The more prepared you are, the easier it will be to tailor your responses, even when you’re interacting with AI instead of a person,” she said.

If you’ve never done an AI job interview before, the experience can feel unnerving.

I tried a demo AI interview set up by Netherlands-based TestGorilla, one of many platforms providing recruitment tools for companies. First came two sets of questions — one testing problem-solving skills and another gauging work experience. Then I faced an AI-generated female avatar.

“My goal is to learn more about you and the experiences, skills and competencies that you might bring to this role,” it said, adding that I should plan to spend about two minutes answering each of three questions.

Unlike a human interview, there was no warm-up small talk and no opportunity to build rapport. There was little point in smiling or trying to break the ice.

Experts say preparation is the best way to overcome that discomfort.

“You need to practice out loud,” said Priya Rathod, workplace trends editor at online job board Indeed. “And when I say practice out loud, I mean say the actual answers out loud,” because the chatbot needs to record what you’re saying, she said.

It’s also important to remember that you are providing information to a machine, not having a conversation.

“You have to be particularly descriptive and a very clear communicator in your language so that they can pick up on things that a regular interviewer might pick up through your facial expressions and tone,” Rathod said.

An AI interviewer “cares less about my tone and more about what it is that I’m saying,” she added.

Use an online interview simulator to prepare — many are available. They can record your answers and provide instant feedback on your content, delivery, and pacing. They also help you get used to speaking into a camera, managing time limits, and structuring your answers without the natural back-and-forth of a live conversation, Augustine said.

Get Ready for Behavioral Questions
During my demo interview, the AI grilled me for a communications professional role.

One question asked how I use AI in my “workflow,” including examples of both success and failure. When I replied that I saved significant time using an AI transcription tool for interviews and other recordings, it summarized my answer and asked if I wanted to add anything else. I wasn’t sure whether I had answered satisfactorily.

I scored “below average” on the question, according to TestGorilla’s assessment, which said I provided “no concrete metric” such as minutes saved. “The improvement claim is therefore vague,” it said.

AI interviewers ask these “behavioral questions” because they want candidates to provide examples of how they handled specific workplace situations, complete with numbers and measurable results, Rathod said.

“Those are the kinds of questions that AI relies heavily on. And the trap that we see a lot of people falling into is giving really vague answers,” she said.

Candidates should still rely on tried-and-tested tactics like the STAR method — short for situation, task, action, and result.

Be prepared to describe a specific work situation, the task assigned to you, the action you took, and the result, Rathod said.

“You want to use numbers as much as possible. Even if you’re not in a revenue-driving role, there are ways in which you can say how you influenced something or impacted something within a group,” she said.

Setup Still Matters
Don’t neglect the physical setup of your desk and computer. It still matters even if the interview is conducted with AI instead of a person.

Test your audio and video in advance. Make sure the lighting is bright enough and directed toward your face. Raise your laptop to eye level so you are not looking down at the camera.

“Small adjustments, such as using a stack of books or a ring light, can make a noticeable difference in how polished and professional you appear,” Augustine said.

Don’t be Tempted to Use AI Shortcuts
Jobseekers might be tempted to use AI to help generate answers. After all, the tools are easy to use, and if you’re not talking to a human, who would notice?

“That’s a big no-no because it’s pretty obvious” to both the AI interviewing tool and anyone reviewing the recording, Rathod said. Using AI-generated answers “can sometimes immediately disqualify you.”

If you’re struggling to answer a question, you can always ask the system to clarify or repeat it.

The question itself might even be designed to detect whether you are using AI to cheat. TestGorilla head of marketing Mehak Chowdhary said the company sometimes asks simple questions phrased in a deliberately convoluted way.

“We do that intentionally to understand whether you are running an AI alongside, because the AI will then try and optimize for the length of the question,” she said. “But if you know your skill set, you will understand what’s being asked.

“And we strongly recommend candidates put the AI devices aside. This is a test of your capability.”

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