Students might think twice before telling their professors how much they use AI. But during a job interview, the incentives can change: suddenly having an AI story is something to brag about.
But what if you don’t have much experience with AI – or just aren’t sold on it?
Felisha Case was fired as a program manager at LinkedIn in May. Now she is regularly asked during job interviews how she used AI in her previous role. Case said she has little experience because LinkedIn didn’t push employees to really adopt the technology until shortly before her departure.
“It can feel like we’re being asked to go back and get a whole new education in AI,” she said.
If Employers embrace AI and looking for workers with experience using it, some job seekers say they feel pressure to show enthusiasm for the technology – even if they have reservations about its limitations and social implications. They are Learning AI tools to have examples to discuss in interviews, increase their interest in the technology and read the room to find out how much enthusiasm potential employers want to hear.
AI skills appear in more vacanciesand some of the companies investing most heavily in the technology are also adding the most employees. A recent study by Ramp and Revelio Labs found that companies that use the largest investments in AI tended to see more employment growth than companies with smaller or no AI adoption
How excited about AI should you be?
A Big Tech employee currently looking for a new job says AI tools have helped him with small coding tasks and document review, but he’s skeptical of the broader hype surrounding the technology.
“If it all magically disappeared tomorrow, I wouldn’t shed a tear,” he said.
Nevertheless, he believes that AI positions are “where the money is” and where much of the tech industry seems to be going, so he has applied for several positions.
He believes his AI skepticism may have worked against him during an interview where he couldn’t feign enthusiasm for a company he thought he had a bizarre AI strategy. But if he were more desperate for work, he might have tried even harder to do so.
“I have a little bit of luxury because I’m looking for a job right now while I’m currently working, so I don’t feel that overwhelming pressure to conform too much,” he said.
Unemployed job seekers do not always have that luxury. Cristina Estupiñán, a laid-off software developer, previously told Business Insider that she felt pressure to sound enthusiastic about AI during job interviewsdespite concerns about its environmental and social impact, and its use in workplace surveillance.
“I have to come up with something about what gets me excited about AI, because honestly, nothing really gets me excited about AI,” she said.
Kareem Osman, vice president at staffing firm Robert Half, previously told Business Insider that hiring managers want to understand how candidates have used AIincluding examples of how they used it to overcome challenges or streamline processes. He added that many employers are interested in candidates who can use AI without completely relying on it, and that asking about a company’s approach to AI during a job interview can signal curiosity about where the company is going.
“Employers are really trying to see individuals who can adapt, who embrace new technologies,” Osman says.
Job seekers are teaching the room to read about AI
Figuring out what employers want to hear about AI can also mean keeping an eye on how the broader conversation around the technology is changing.
A former communications professional at a Big Tech company said most companies he interviews want to know how he can use AI tools for PR roles. That’s why he’s been experimenting with the technology, including ways to use AI to track media coverage and sentiment.
“Leadership everywhere seems to think AI is the silver bullet for everything,” he said. “It’s important to be able to speak like an AI native and wow the right people.”
In recent months, however, he has noticed growing concerns about the costs of AI overuse of technology. So he has tried to change his tone accordingly during interviews, focusing more on identifying where the tools are most useful.
Of course, job seekers can’t share their thoughts on AI if the topic never comes up. Former Microsoft employee Mody Khan said he earned a certificate in AI and machine learning in hopes of adapting to a changing tech industry. He added it to his resume, but said interviewers haven’t shown much interest in it.
Mody Khan said his AI data has not attracted much interest from interviewers. Mody Khan
Aaron Laniewicz, who has been there looking for work believes AI can make someone dramatically more productive if used properly, after being fired from his consulting job. But AI doesn’t always come up in his interviews.
“If they don’t mention it, I ask if the position or company supports AI tools like Claude Code,” he said.
You can be skeptical about AI to a certain extent
Job seekers don’t necessarily have to like AI to be able to talk about it effectively during job interviews.
Hiring experts interviewed by Business Insider’s Madison Hoff and Tim Paradis said candidates can be honest about their reservations while focusing on the ways they like the technology.
Josh Bersin, an HR analyst and consultant, said many companies are still assessing how to best use the technology, so it can be helpful to ask questions about their approach rather than write them off.
But if you tell a recruiter you don’t believe in AI, “you may have just lost your chance to get a job there,” he said.
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