In order to gain a real interview from a national grocery chain, I was required to perform a video interview with HireVue, an online, AI assessment tool.

To prepare, I was directed to wear a suit with no tie, headphones were prohibited, volume at a decent level with no external mic plugged in and they said I should be in a well lit, quiet area.

The system asked me 5 questions and I had a minute to read each one and ready myself mentally before answering in 3 minutes or less. The system does not allow you to delete your recording and make additional attempts.

When answering questions, I was instructed to use the Situation, Task, Action and Result method, while maintaining eye contact with the camera, and speaking as if I was actually talking with a human being. The system recognizes the specific words you speak, how you say them, your facial expression and eye movement, which will all be assessed and the hiring manager will be made aware of your score. If your eye strays away from the camera too much or for too long, your score will plummet because it's been programmed to assume this action is the result of reading responses from printed cards or devices in the testers vicinity. If your score is above a certain number, real humans may review your recorded answers if they wish and you may be chosen to speak with additional members of their hiring team to continue the interview process.

But wait! That's not all!

After the 5 questions are asked I was given two games to play. The first game showed me a series of numbers and letters, which I had to memorize and punch in a digital keypad. They got harder and harder until they asked me to input the displayed numbers and letters BACKWARDS. As it got harder, I started to mess up.

After round and round of this game was played, I was required to play ANOTHER game which had me reviewing shapes and identifying which ones were the same. But not just basic shapes like circles and triangles, they were squares divided into 9 segments with patterns of circles and triangles inside them, and sometimes they were in varying positions or rotating.

When playing the game, the player gets immediate feedback if the answer is correct or not, and the more successful you are, the longer it continues.

This is what interviewing has become. It was ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT.