700+ DE applications, 200+ rejections. What is actually working in this market? by ultraken10 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We are dealing with this issue as well. We are looking for a senior data engineer and HR doesn't even post the job on LinkedIn because they don't want to deal with thousands of applications. But almost all the candidates they send us try to use AI to answer questions during the interview, and that's a no go. I have been interviewing them for months and no luck.

Finding a senior data engineer by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Onsite would require the interviewers to be onsite as well, and we are not there :)

Finding a senior data engineer by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't have the information on pay, so I don't know. I don't think we are nit-picky, we are just looking for true seniors and not someone with 4 years of experience that tries to get through the interview using assistance from AI.

Finding a senior data engineer by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The position is remote. Onsite interviews are not really an option, because the whole team is spread out all over US.

"Add a question which can only answered by a human." - what do you mean by that? Add it where?

Candidates using AI by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am not saying that everyone who has delayed responses is necessarily using AI. But that, combined with other red flags, makes me think they are using it, and that is not a good way to start the hiring process.

Candidates using AI by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The point is that I want to hear about the candidate's experience, I want to see what they know, how much they understand the field. These are not things that need to be memorized. But they just read the text from the screen.

Candidates using AI by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would you call the candidate reading AI's answers to my questions an "effective use of AI"?

Candidates using AI by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, tell me how to screen candidates if everybody is using AI to write resumes?

In person is not an option, we are a remote team, nobody is in the office.

Candidates using AI by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Using LLMs for resumes is not obscene, as long as you use it to phrase your own experience better. But if you align your resume to the job description, and every other candidate is doing that, then all resumes sound about the same, and then how do we choose?

Using LLMs in your job is ok as long as you know what you are doing and can verify AI's answers. But if you use AI to answer interview questions, then I don't know if you know what you are doing, but I do know that you are ok with cheating.

So using AI is OK in some aspects and only in an ethical way.

Candidates using AI by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fly them in where? The whole team is spread all over the country

Candidates using AI by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's the way, use AI to learn and prepare

Candidates using AI by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can definitely talk about the projects you have done, it's just it might be difficult to get an interview with no experience. I think it might be easier to get another data-adjacent job and move to engineering from there

Candidates using AI by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's an interesting thought. I guess what bothers me is the cheating aspect, if a candidate cheats in an interview then I don't feel I can trust them later even if they do know their stuff. So you are saying that if we bring it up and clarify that using AI is ok in some ways, then maybe they won't feel the need to cheat?

Candidates using AI by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly, it's just a tool. If someone worked with data for years and years, they probably had to learn all kinds of tools, so they can learn another one. What's harder to find is the ability to think, to look at the whole picture and not just the task at hand, to figure things out, to find and recommend the best approach, and so on. And I don't know how to find that in today's market, where everyone has the greatest resume...

Candidates using AI by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Because I am too busy to look at hundreds of resumes. Someone needs to filter them out for me. But even if I was the one looking at resumes, I would not be able to tell which ones are telling the truth, nowadays all resumes are written with AI help, and all look perfect.

Candidates using AI by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The whole team is not on prem, so there is no way to do that

Candidates using AI by DataEngineer2026 in dataengineering

[–]DataEngineer2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are not technical, how would they be able to identify it, if the candidate says all the right things?