Some observations and thoughts on my recent experience in trying to fill a role in today’s landscape of AI.
AI is progressing fast and is changing how we all approach software development. It’ll be fascinating to see how software systems and applications will be built and maintained in the next few years. As such, the use of AI has been highly encouraged across Gametime and we are investing heavily in Engineering, whether it’s using AI development tools or finding opportunities to build agentic solutions and foundations.
Now where it gets tricky is hiring. It would be hypocritical to say that on one hand Gametime believes in AI, then on the other hand, say that use of AI during the recruiting or the interview process is prohibited. Having said that, I believe there are some unwritten rules that all revolve around the core aspect of authenticity:
➡️ Using AI to help tailor your resume to specific job postings: Fair game in my opinion EXCEPT if you are lying. I came across a resume that was clearly generated to match our job description as it contained a lot of backend-specific accomplishments we were looking for. When I checked their LinkedIn profile, turned out they were a frontend engineer with zero mention of any of the same tech/projects that were on their resume. 😏
➡️ Using AI tools during your interview: If the company says you can’t use it, you may disagree but you shouldn’t use it. If they don’t say one way or another, you should tell the interviewer that you are using AI assistance (while writing code for example). This will provide a clearer context for all parties during the interview.
➡️ Fake candidates - I don’t even think this falls under the topic of AI, but thought it was worth mentioning. I recently interviewed a candidate that I ended up turning down (not the best communicator, some odd backtracking of statements, and clearly looking at a different screen while performing the coding exercise). 2 months later, I interviewed “another” candidate, and lo and behold, the SAME PERSON logged on. Needless to say, that was an interesting moment.
I’ll wrap this up by saying that at the end of the day, as a hiring manager, I’m trying my best to get to know a candidate through the interview process. Yes, engineering interviews are flawed and hard to get right, but as a candidate, if you are not being honest and authentic, what does that say about you? Sure, you might get the job but more likely than not, whatever made you feel the need to hide the truth will come out at some point during your employment with the company.
And yes, I used ChatGPT to proofread this for spelling/grammatical errors but the essence of this post comes from my authentic self. AI has been a polarizing topic, so I'm curious to hear your thoughts and experiences.
Finally, I’m still looking to fill a Senior Backend Engineer position on my team so please spread the word!