Gen Z Applicant Reportedly Asked to Use ChatGPT During Job Interview: ‘Can’t I Even Look at ChatGPT to Help Me?’

In the r/AskReddit thread on unusual job interview experiences, Gen Z came up. The post asked, "HR managers (...) What is the most 'WTF!' thing a Gen Z applicant has ever said during an interview?"

In response, recruiters and other commenters shared accounts of applicants who came with their parents or even expected help answering interview questions on the spot.

A commenter described a candidate who had brought his father along to an in-person interview. The father said he guaranteed his son's work ethic, but the applicant did not get the job. The same commenter also objected to the idea that HR managers do all the interviews and argued that referring to a recruiter as HR (as the OP did) is technically incorrect.

Another Reddit user shared a similar story about parents trying to have a hand in their children's job searches. "I've had several mums reach out applying for their kids," their comment read. The user joked that the moms' initiative was not enough to get their children hired.

Compensation expectations were another topic. A commenter recalled offering a job to a recent college graduate who rejected the offer because they thought they deserved "at least 120k and unlimited PTO". The commenter sarcastically suggested that such benefits, if realistic, would appeal to almost anyone.

However, the commenter did not provide information about the position, industry, location or other details that could help explain the candidate's expectations.

A fourth commenter cited two examples of hypothetical or remembered interview questions from Gen Z candidates that raised concerns about applicants' ability to think independently and their reliance on artificial intelligence (AI). "Wait, it's not a group interview where we can consult each other before we give you our common answer?" the commenter remembered being asked.

Another candidate apparently asked their recruiter a rather odd question that would have been unusual in a job interview a few years ago. This Gen Z asked, "What do you mean no phone? Can't I even look at ChatGPT to help me? But that would mean I would have to know what I'm talking about!"

The commenter concluded: "We're cooked."