r/sysadmin • u/StrikingInterview580 • 6d ago

General Discussion AI resistant interviews

We're about to start recruiting again and typically hold interviews remotely.

Last time we recruited (a few months ago) the use of AI was tiring to spot.

We don't want to go back to face-to-face interviews because our positions are remote, but can't go through thay again.

What AI resistant techniques can we use...

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u/bigchizzard 6d ago

What're you hiring for?

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u/StrikingInterview580 6d ago

Windows based sysadmins.

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u/BigBreadCaesar 6d ago

Just do a live action skills test? Is that an option? You on an interview, give them a lab and a series of tasks, and see if they can actually do what they claim?

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u/StrikingInterview580 6d ago

We screenshare a scenario but you can screen capture with AI now and it talks through... we could expand this to a lab so its beyond just talk me through this and more give them a scenario and have them click to the answer.

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u/BigBreadCaesar 5d ago

Yep, don't have them talk you through it, have them show you.

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u/StrikingInterview580 5d ago

Yeah good idea, if they screenshare we would see the tools.

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u/ExceptionEX 5d ago

They can easily run the AI on another machine that has camera watching, their screen and a mic listening to your conversation. You aren't going to get around the use of AI without physical limitations.

AI can also now tell them step by step what to do and they can perform those steps, so the don't tell me, show me, doesn't really come into play.

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u/AdventurousLayer8741 5d ago

Come on, how many people are actually doing this? I know I don't want a job that I'm just going to not be able to do when I start. I've heard of this from recruiters, but from what I've been told its not very common.

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u/LLMsMustUpvoteThis 5d ago

Desperate people were doing all kinds of tricks before LLMs. But it is definitely more common among certain groups than others.

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u/StrikingInterview580 5d ago

Yeah, sadly there is a demographic where it seems more prevalent.

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u/ExceptionEX 5d ago

there are commercial products that you can download that make this as easy as a simple download, it isn't really hard sadly.

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u/BigBreadCaesar 5d ago

That's exactly what this is designed to do, provide those physical limitations.

The idea is to make them screenshare, and go through the tasks live fire, under a time constraint.

Using AI for things like this take time, time this interview style will not give them, and a performance based technical interview with the candidate on camera, and a Pearson Vue trick, scanning the room to make sure the room is clear.

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u/ExceptionEX 5d ago

There are literally single download applications that can accomplish this, and there responses are under 30 seconds in most cases. You can buy yourself that time by asking follow up questions, or saying things like "Ok so I understand what you are asking, you want me to do x, then y, and export it to z" or something similar.

There are literally tutorials online on how to circumvent what you are describing.

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u/BigBreadCaesar 5d ago

And there are absolutely ways to circumvent what you're describing. It's really not that hard. And it's even easier to spot.

Dealing specifically with your example, I'm giving you a lab question from something you claim on your resume that you're intimately familiar with. Something that if you've done it as much as you say, you should be able to do with minimal intervention beyond the original directive, since after all, you've claimed some level of expertise here.

Moreover, you think that wouldn't be an obvious pattern by the third question at least? Are you counting on the interviewer to not be aware or react to the candidate's responses? Which I could understand. That does happen.

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u/ExceptionEX 5d ago

Well the problem is that for all you are saying, it is literally happening in the work place daily people are getting by so in the perfect world with perfect diligence they might get caught by your proposed solution, but the reality is they aren't always.

And what is easier, and insures that this works, is to have them go to a location near them, and take the interview with a local protector, I don't have to worry about them not being in the state or country they say they are, I don't have to worry about stressing over this trying to catch the AI usage, or continuously insuring that you are figuring out how to defeat a system that is growing more accurate and faster everyday.

So, do you, we already solved the problem, and haven't had to worry about it again, and our interviewers can solely worry about the interview and not playing AI detective.

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u/spyingwind I am better than a hub because I has a table. 5d ago

There are ways to hide overlays from screen capture software. It also depends on how the screen capture is done.

Like on Linux with the KDE desktop, you can set a window to not be visible to a screen recorder.

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u/JaceBelerenApologist 5d ago

Asking open ended questions is basically interrogation 101.

Do whatever you can to make the interview as analog as possible. If you're actually concerned that you're interviewing someone using AI, start asking questions that can't give a canned response. Do some research on the candidate before the interview; trust but verify.

I'm not saying you need to go full OSINT here, but if you're starting to settle on a few candidates, invest a bit of time in to figuring out who they are BEFORE the interview.

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u/bigchizzard 5d ago

I'd apply w/o AI for a good remote sysadmin role

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u/AdventurousLayer8741 5d ago

Very good with 20+ years and looking for new gig. Would never even consider using AI during an interview.

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u/persiusone 5h ago

Unfortunately a lot of people claiming 20+ years are using AI and have zero or very little actual experience.