A Job Interview Like No Other I’ve Had

Looking for a job has certainly changed. My job hunts are centred on freelance positions, short-term gigs, but they are nothing like they used to be. I’ll share a recent experience with you.

I applied for a freelance writing job. It could become part-time if it worked out. I was well suited to it, had the right background and experience, and was looking forward to my interview. Just getting to the interview is a major win these days.

I fluffed my hair, fixed my makeup, and logged onto Zoom. There, I was greeted by a disembodied voice. “Your interview will be conducted by AI. If you wish to proceed, please say, “proceed.” What the heck, right? I enjoy new experiences. “Proceed.”

A soft female artificial intelligence voice asked me a series of questions, some of them rather deep. I was on camera the whole time. After every answer, the voice offered polite feedback. “Thank you for providing such a thoughtful response.” But I never forgot it was AI.

The interview ended and the voice told me I’d be directed to a form to fill out. I’d already uploaded my resume so I wondered what it could be. The invisible voice went away and the form appeared. Question number two: What is your date of birth?

Oh, No You Don’t

Age is a protected characteristic under human rights laws. It’s illegal to ask how old a candidate is, just like you can’t ask about their sexual orientation or religion. The only time age is relevant is if someone is serving alcohol. They’d have to be old enough to do it. Once you’re hired, Human Resources can ask for your date of birth for insurance forms. But before that time, it’s a definite no-no.

So let’s recap. I sent in my resume. Then I endured a fifteen minute on-camera interview with a robot. But once the age question came up, noted as mandatory to answer, I bailed. I closed up the window and went on with my day. After all, it wasn’t as if I’d wasted a human being’s precious time. No, THEY wasted a human being’s precious time!

I wonder what happened next. Did a human review that day’s interviews and delete me by hand because I didn’t complete the form? Or did the software do that for them? All I know for sure is, I didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings by the digital equivalent of walking out.

The Job Market Sucks

My LinkedIn feed is full of horror stories about job interviews that are inappropriate, rude, and nearly impossible to get. Most of the people writing about them have been out of work for months and are becoming desperate. I’m fortunate that I could let this one go.

I also understand the desire to leverage AI for one’s business. It’s part of the reason I’m not as busy as I used to be with voice-over and blogging for companies. Lots of organizations are dabbling with AI voice-overs and blog posts. The voices are synthetic sounding and the writing is generic. But I get it. It’s cheaper and faster so it’s probably worth it to at least try it.

But using AI conduct an interview? Followed by an unlawful questionnaire? I don’t know whether it’s new but it was certainly new to me. Like most technology it was fascinating, annoying, and I’m grateful I don’t have to deal with it again.