As AI help in interviews became more common, some large employers started meeting candidates in person again. In 2025, Google said it was bringing back at least one in-person round, and McKinsey asks hiring managers to meet candidates before making an offer. This approach works, but it is expensive.
The costs of an in-person round
- Time. The candidate and the interviewers have to find a day when everyone can travel, which adds days or weeks to each hire.
- Money. You pay for travel and rooms, and interviewers spend time away from their work.
- Candidates. People who live far away, care for someone or can't take a day off are less likely to apply, and some of them may be your best candidates.
What a remote interview needs
A remote interview is worth keeping if you can trust what you see. That requires three things:
- The questions you share are hard for an AI tool to read.
- You can tell when something about the candidate's setup is unusual, such as an AI browser extension, a second screen or a hidden connection.
- You have a record of what happened, so the decision doesn't rest on one interviewer's impression.
With dontapplyai you keep interviewing remotely, on the video call tool you already use, and you get a much better view of who is answering.
When to meet in person
Some roles still call for an in-person round, such as senior hires, roles with access to sensitive systems, and candidates whose remote interview raised questions you couldn't resolve.
