Recruiters across Europe are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence not just to sift through CVs, but to conduct the job interview itself. Companies including Google are developing specialised AI systems that screen candidates via phone calls, video chats with on-screen avatars, or text messages. The trend is particularly pronounced in Germany, where a recent survey by hiring platform Glasshouse found that 57% of workers have undertaken an AI-led interview.
The study, which polled nearly 3,000 job seekers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and Australia, also revealed a significant backlash: 42% of German respondents who experienced an AI interview withdrew from the process — the highest rate of any market surveyed. More than half of those who completed the interview never heard back, either because they were “ghosted” by the employer or are still awaiting a reply.
How to prepare for an AI interviewer
Career coaches and workplace experts stress that preparation is key, even when the interviewer is a machine. Amanda Augustine, a career coach at Careerminds, advises candidates to review the job description, research the organisation, and understand what they are looking for. “The more prepared you are, the easier it will be to tailor your responses, even when you’re interacting with AI instead of a person,” she said.
Unlike human-led interviews, AI sessions typically lack warm-up chit-chat or icebreakers. Priya Rathod, workplace trends editor at the online job board Indeed, recommends practising answers out loud. “The chatbot needs to record what is being said,” she explained. Candidates should also tailor their responses knowing that the AI “cares less about my tone and more about what it is that I’m saying.” She added: “You have to be particularly descriptive and a very clear communicator in your language so that they can pick up on things that a regular interviewer might pick up through your facial expressions and tone.”
Augustine suggests using an online interview simulator to rehearse. These tools record answers and provide instant feedback on content, delivery and pacing. They also help candidates get used to speaking to a camera, managing time limits, and giving structured answers without conversational cues. Before the interview, ensure a proper physical setup: functioning audio and video, good lighting, and a laptop at eye level.
AI interviewers rely heavily on behavioural questions, often asking for specific examples with numbers and metrics. “You want to use numbers as much as possible,” Rathod said. “Even if you’re not in a revenue driving role, there are ways in which you can say how you influenced something or impacted something within a group.” She recommends using the STAR method — situation, task, action, result — when answering such questions.
Some job seekers may be tempted to use AI to generate answers, but Rathod warns that this is “pretty obvious” to the interviewing tool and anyone reviewing the recording, and can “immediately disqualify” a candidate. Mehak Chowdhary, head of marketing at TestGorilla, a Dutch skills-based hiring platform, noted that some questions are deliberately convoluted to detect cheating. “We do that intentionally to understand whether you are running an AI alongside, because the AI will then try and optimise for the length of the question,” she said. “But if you know your skill set, you will understand what’s being asked.” If you are struggling, you can always ask the AI to clarify or repeat the question.
The rise of AI in recruitment comes as Germany invests heavily in artificial intelligence. The federal government recently launched a €125 million competition to build Europe’s frontier AI labs, signalling a strategic push to develop homegrown expertise. Yet the survey results suggest that many workers remain sceptical of automated hiring processes. As AI becomes more embedded in the job market, candidates will need to adapt their interview skills to a new, non-human interlocutor.
