How to Handle an AI Job Interview: Ask the Rules, Keep the Pay Talk Human
Yes, a robot may interview you. No, it should not negotiate your salary.
What happened
If an AI interviewing you sounds absurd, you're not alone. In a Greenhouse survey of 2,950 job seekers, 63% said they'd been interviewed by an AI, 70% said they weren't clearly told beforehand, and 38% said they'd walked away from a hiring process over it. After an AI interview, 51% never heard back. Greenhouse sells hiring software, so treat it as an industry survey, but the trend is real.
In mid-October, Greenhouse's CEO told CNBC that candidates should ask each employer what AI use is allowed during interviews, because many companies haven't published their rules. He also said heavy AI use is making résumés sound alike, which is an argument for using your own specifics.
And a cautionary tale, played for laughs: a comedian sent his own AI agent to an interview with an AI recruiter. The Register reports his bot got his résumé wrong and volunteered about $60,000 when he wants $140,000 to $150,000. The video is likely staged. The lesson isn't.
What to do
- Ask the rules in writing. Before the interview, email the recruiter: will any part be run or scored by AI, and may you use AI tools to prepare or during the interview?
- Practice out loud. Use the prompt below to have a chatbot play the interviewer for the actual job description, one question at a time.
- Lead with specifics. Numbers, names of projects, problems you solved. Generic answers sound like everyone else's AI-polished ones.
- Keep the money talk human. If an AI interviewer asks your salary expectations, say you'll discuss compensation with the hiring team. Never let a bot answer it for you.
- Follow up with a person. After an AI round, send a short note to the recruiter. It's your best defense against the silence half of candidates report.
The prompt
Act as an interviewer for this job. Ask me one question at a time, wait for my answer, then give me two lines of feedback: what worked and what to make more specific. Mix in one question about how I'd handle a difficult situation and one about salary expectations, and coach me to defer salary politely to a human. Ask six questions in total. Job description: [paste it here] My background in two sentences: [summary]
Use it to rehearse, not to script. Interviewers, human and otherwise, can tell.
Where it still needs a grown-up
- Using AI during a live interview may break the employer's rules. Ask first; don't assume.
- Survey numbers come from a hiring-software company. They show a trend, not a guarantee of how any one employer works.
- If you think an automated process treated you unfairly, keep records. Some states have rules on AI in hiring; an employment lawyer can tell you whether they apply.
The verdict
Your experience is the asset. Don't let anyone's bot, including yours, flatten it.