Artificial intelligence (AI) is prompting employers to revive in-person job interviews after virtual hiring became widespread. While remote interviews speed up recruitment, recruiters report that candidates increasingly use AI tools to cheat by feeding answers off screen, especially in technical rounds, noted a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Companies like Cisco, McKinsey, and Google are reintroducing face-to-face interviews to verify candidates’ skills. Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said on the Lex Fridman podcast in June, “We are making sure we’ll introduce at least one round of in-person interviews for people, just to make sure the fundamentals are there.”
Technical roles, such as software engineering, are particularly vulnerable, with off-camera AI assistance making it easier to fake coding tests. Mike Kyle, Managing Director at Coda Search/Staffing, said that in-person interview requests have risen to 30 per cent this year from 5 per cent in 2024.
The rise of AI deepfakes and scams adds to concerns. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned of North Korean scammers impersonating job seekers to steal paychecks. A Gartner survey found that 6 per cent of 3,000 job seekers admitted to interview fraud, and predicts that by 2028, one in four job profiles globally will be fake.
Employers now rely more on biometric verification and digital background checks. Kelly Jones, Chief People Officer at Cisco, said raising the prospect of in-person interviews often weeds out scammers, noting that some candidates “just go quiet after that.”
