Google pilots hiring exams that let engineers use AI

Google is piloting hiring exams that let some US software engineer candidates use AI tools.

The trial covers selected entry-level and mid-level roles and includes code comprehension tasks where applicants review existing code, fix bugs, and improve performance.

Interviewers will evaluate how candidates prompt AI and how they check its output, edit results, and debug code instead of only how well they write code from scratch.

Google previously said AI generates about three quarters of new code at the company, while design software company Canva and AI coding startup Cognition also use hiring processes that assume AI use.

🔗 Source: The Chosun Daily

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AI use in technical interviews is becoming more common

Google is joining Meta, Shopify, and Rippling in letting candidates use AI assistants in some coding interviews 1.
Canva now expects candidates to use tools like GitHub Copilot, an AI coding assistant, Cursor, an AI-powered code editor, or Claude, an AI chatbot from Anthropic, during technical interviews 2.
Canva made the change in part because it found it impractical to police undisclosed AI use, and it wanted a more open process 2.
Some employers are reworking interviews because standard coding tests no longer match how software engineers now do the job with AI tools 2.
In Google’s pilot, candidates will use Gemini, Google’s AI model, during the test 3.

Software engineering candidates are increasingly judged on how they work with AI

Hiring teams now pay less attention to memorizing syntax. They care more about writing useful prompts, checking AI output, and fixing code created with AI help 3.
Interview questions are getting harder to pin down because AI can solve many traditional algorithm problems, which makes them less useful for judging ability 2.
Canva found a new weak spot. Some candidates struggled because they lacked the judgment to steer AI well or spot when its suggestions were off track 2.
A candidate’s view of AI is also becoming part of the evaluation, with Canva saying people who showed strong interest in AI during the recruiter screen often did well 4.