We might be seeing the end of remote coding interviews as we know them, and a return of in-person interviews, trial days and longer trial periods. Could hiring be returning to pre-pandemic norms?

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Tech hiring faces significant challenges in 2025, with remote interview processes plagued by AI-generated applications and cheating. Companies report difficulties in identifying genuine candidates, leading some to consider returning to in-person interviews, trial periods, and emphasizing referrals. The need for robust hiring strategies is more critical than ever due to the rise in AI-assisted interview tactics.

Tech hiring: is this an inflection point?

1. Full-remote hiring approaches that used to work – but now don’t

The idea of trial weeks seem insane to me. Now if I am unemployed trial weeks seem fine but if I am moving from one job to another how am I supposed to do a trial week? I can’t quit my current job under the assumption that I may have a job if the trial week goes well. That is ridiculous.

I’ve used simple take home stuff before an interview before. Not to judge the code, but to get a starting point for a discussion.
The best interviews I had, both as a candidate and a interviewer are when the candidate can show their knowledge by diving deep on the topics. It’s not just about what you did in the take home bit, but why, and how well do you actually know the material. But for that to work, the interviewer must also know enough to ask the challenging questions on the fly.

Coding challenges have been a joke for many years now, and the fact that that the skills they demonstrate can be so easily emulated by AI is just further evidence of this. The candidates that these challenges are relevant for can just as easily be replaced by AI, too.
There’s nothing new here. This all sucked just the same 5 years ago.
Good coding challenges take time, skill and effort off both sides.
They aren’t found on leetcode, can’t be trained for and certainly can’t be aced by AI.