As half of job applicants face AI interviews, top recruiters reveal what you need to say to get past the chatbots and secure an interview with a REAL person

Job interviews are nerve-racking enough, especially in a competitive careers market, but today’s applicants face an entirely new screening process. Instead of coming face-to-face with a potential future boss, millions are being quizzed by artificial intelligence chatbots before getting the chance to speak to a real person.

Almost half of job seekers in Britain have already had an AI interview, according to hiring platform Greenhouse.

Some appear as a simple list of questions that are emailed to you to answer at any time, which an AI bot will then analyse. Based on its assessment, you may be put forward for an interview with a real person. Increasingly, however, AI bots are being used to conduct full interviews via video call.

So what exactly are these chatbots looking for? We have spoken to the experts devising these systems to find out. Here are the answers job seekers need to give if they want to charm their way past the AI bot and secure an interview with a human.

Firstly, you’ll need to devise a specific plan and practise your answers before facing a chatbot, because it will be a different experience than you may be used to.

Victoria McLean, founder of careers consultancy Hanover Talent Solutions, says the key difference lies in how you deliver your answers.

She says: ‘You need to assume there will be no second chance to explain yourself. In an AI interview, there is usually no follow-up question to rescue a weak answer, so you have to make your first answer count.’

McLean advises practising in front of a camera if you are not used to speaking on video so you can make sure you are looking in the right place and that the lighting is good. There will be nobody for you to look at on the screen so try to look into the camera.

However, careers experts say it’s highly unlikely you would fail an interview for looking in the wrong place or as a result of poor lighting.

Applying for the jobs that you have relevant experience for will be more important than ever, according to Barb Hyman, founder of Sapia, an AI used to interview job candidates.

While you may have once been able to bag a job by showing enthusiasm, the right attitude and a willingness to learn, an AI bot is unlikely to be charmed in the same way.

This bot interviewer will want to hear about experience that is directly relevant to the job.

To give an example, Hyman says: ‘We have worked with Joe And The Juice for many years. It’s a sexy brand – people want to work there. But what you’re actually doing there 90 per cent of the time is cleaning, so your answers need to reflect that.’

These interviews frequently ask about your ability to work in teams. To answer successfully, you need to understand how you would be expected to work with others while your answer should focus on specific examples from your past, says McLean.

She explains: ‘You have one shot at an answer, which is why being clear, structured and specific about your actions becomes much more important.’

If asked a question based on teamwork, a weaker candidate would answer as if the interviewer might ask a follow-up question. They would likely spend too long describing a project without making clear reference to their contribution.

‘A stronger answer would only briefly set out the context and move quickly into what they did specifically to improve the situation,’ says McLean.

You should set out clearly what you did and importantly, how that changed the outcome, she adds. That way, the AI can identify that you meet certain criteria points.

If you are aiming for a retail job you might be asked: ‘Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult customer?’

A weak answer would focus on how tricky the customer was, to create a relatable story. But the AI does not care how interesting the answer is, but whether you demonstrate what the company is looking for, McLean says.

She adds: ‘A more effective answer would focus on the action and the outcome. This might include actively listening to understand the issue, taking ownership rather than passing it on, offering a practical solution such as a replacement or refund, and taking steps to prevent the issue happening again.

‘The candidate would then explain the outcome, such as resolving the complaint, retaining the customer and receiving positive feedback.’

But don’t think that just because a robot is assessing you that you should try to outsmart it by using certain key words and scripted answers. McLean says: ‘You end up sounding less natural and precise when you try to game it. And a human will probably end up reviewing [the video] so it won’t work in the long run.’

If it is a written interview, you might be tempted to use other chatbots, such as ChatGPT to write the answers. However that can be a big mistake, experts warn.

Most companies have software that can detect whether you have used AI. This means your interview may be automatically flagged to the employer. Even if your use of AI goes undetected, the answers are unlikely to be as strong because they won’t be authentic or set you apart from competitors.

‘You might bang your CV into ChatGPT and get something back and think, wow, I sound absolutely amazing, but what you are not seeing are the hundreds or thousands of other applications that look almost identical to the one you’ve created,’ says McLean. ‘Candidates are not being rejected because their answers are weak, they are being rejected because they all sound the same. Using AI removes the very detail that employers are looking for.’

The questions asked by an AI interviewer should be similar to those asked in a basic human interview. But the chatbot is unlikely to throw any curveballs that a real person might, Hyman says. ‘That’s because it’s not trying to catch you out but assess you by the evidence you give it.’