Google, McKinsey, Reintroduce In-Person Interviews Due to AI

In-person job interviews are on the rise as recruiters adapt to candidates using AI during the process — even on video. Recruiters told The Wall Street Journal last week that, though virtual interviews are still popular, the format has a downside: candidates turning to AI for answers during the interview, and reading them out verbatim.

This is particularly an issue for technical interviews, experts told CNBC, when potential hires are faced with the pressure of thinking of technical solutions on the spot. Instead of relying on their own mental aptitude, candidates are overwhelmingly using AI responses to cheat.

Now, major companies, including Google and McKinsey, are cracking down on AI use by bringing back in-person interviews.

Related: McKinsey Is Using AI to Create PowerPoints and Take Over Junior Employee Tasks: ‘Technology Could Do That’

McKinsey, for example, started asking hiring managers to schedule at least one in-person meeting with potential recruits before extending an offer. The consulting firm began this practice about a year and a half ago, per WSJ.

Meanwhile, Google is also reintroducing “at least one round of in-person interviews for people,” CEO Sundar Pichai told “The Lex Fridman Podcast” in June. Pichai said on the podcast that Google wanted to “make sure” candidates mastered “the fundamentals” through in-person interviews.

^{Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images}

The push for AI-proof hiring arrives as data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that employment has slowed to a near-decade low. The economic climate has sparked a new workplace trend called “job hugging,” where employees cling to their jobs and stay at the same company. It has also led to “quiet firing,” when employers try to encourage staff to leave without outright firing them.

Hiring as a whole is also turning back to old practices to work around AI. For example, Business Insider reported on Monday that candidates are submitting paper resumes in person to different companies to stand out in a crowded market. At the same time, the outlet noted that some employers are flying out potential hires to in-person sites as part of the interview process, to see how candidates handle questions without AI help.

Related: Is Gen Z Really Taking Their Parents to Job Interviews? A New Report Suggests 3 in 4 Have Already Done It.

In-person interviews could be what potential hires are looking for to stand out — data suggests that candidates would rather give an in-person interview than a virtual one. A May 2023 report from the American Staffing Association showed that 70% of the over 2,000 U.S. adults surveyed would prefer to give an in-person interview over a phone or video call.^{Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.}