The interview of a woman who was seeking her dream job took a twist when her Google Assistant accidentally turned on, an interviewing a women and was reading a random Wikipedia article aloud in the middle of the interview.
This has become viral and raised debates on the effectiveness of smart devices in the workplace, as the incident was realized in the course of a video interview.
When Technology Betrays You
The candidate, who has posted her experience in one of the Internet forums, explained that she entered a video conference to get a position that she was keen on receiving.
Her phone assistant suddenly comes on on andon,reading Wikipedia in the presence of the hiring manager.
She continued remembering, I even had a Zoom interview on,for a job I wanted really badly.
One day my phone’s google Assistant just picked itself up and began reading me a piece in Wikipedia.
Having been taken absolutely unawares, she scurried to the maximum, tried to change the volume to off, gently tilted her device, or even under phone’seven put it a cushion, in the end, silencing the voice.
The disturbance already had dispelled her concentration. “My brain just shut down… I was so much out of the track of things.
Afterwards there was a strange business of the interview even put it interview,and the wave had passed.
Her case went viral interview and others like her began to share stories of how their intelligent assistants had failed them at the most inappropriate times.
My Google assistant has just ruined my job interview. I’m dying of embarrassment. Post on Reddit made by user ticketsstardom_4l.
Why This Incident Matters
This episode underscores how the use of smart devices, even in a simple configuration, may come with some surprises.
A rogue activation may be like the worst possible time when it comes to your job interview.
As remote work and video interviews have become the new normal among most employers, the efficient work of technologies is not only a luxury but also a professional duty.
This also breeds questions on how to accommodate human error and a technology failure in both the employers and the candidates.
As one of the users remarked that the incident could portray him badly in terms of composure, others sympathized and added how accidents can happen so easily.
Meanwhile, the incident highlights the significance of preparation of the devices, i.e., checking device settings, turning off unwanted activations, and silencing notifications or voice assistants at such vital moments.
What You Should Do
- Switch off the voice assistant triggers on the device or switch to the Do Not Disturb mode before a video call.
- Switch off more gadgets such as smartphones, tablets, and smart speakers when not in use.
- Make a test call and test audio and video, as well as using background devices that may be active.
- Should something go wrong, hang up the call, should it be possible, tell the glitch that has occurred and request to get back on but at a slow pace, and keep in mind, you are not the first to encounter this.
To sum it all up, intelligent helpers are helpful, however, there is also the threat of the utmost failure that could happen at the most inconvenient time.
Whilst making an important call, one of the last things that someone can check is his/her device just to avoid appearing in an already viral story because of the wrong reasons.
