Trump Sued Over H-1B Fees & AI Interview Cheating

Additional Resources

• Job Interview Cheating
• Figma CEO on AI
• SHRM HR Benchmark Report
• U.S. Chambers sues President Trump

Transcript

Pete Newsome: 0:00

Today’s job market headlines show us that the hiring process is getting weirder by the week. A technology company CEO tells us AI isn’t coming for our jobs. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce just sued President Trump over H1B visa policy changes, and the Society for Human Resources Management says most companies still don’t even measure whether they’re hiring the right people. But first, job seekers are increasingly using AI to cheat interviews, according to an article in The Atlantic. They report that candidates are increasingly using AI to read answers from chatbots in real time while attempting to respond naturally on Zoom.

0:36

The author believes it’s justified, saying employers have turned a powerful technology against our prospective employees who could blame the job seekers for retaliating. The article goes on to say that the tools being used aren’t very good, but justifies their use. And I’m all for using technology to create efficiency, but not dishonesty. That’s taking it to an entirely different level. And I don’t think it ends well if if and when that happens, because the goal of a job search isn’t to get an interview or even get hired, it’s to secure a job that meets or ideally will exceed your personal and professional goals.

1:13

So you can trick your way in, but you want to be in a place that you’re ultimately going to be happy in and want to stay. So that said, I fully agree that the process is broken, no question about it. And that’s largely been driven by one-click apply applications. As soon as that came out into the market, it changed everything for the worse to a significant degree. Recruiters are getting flooded with applications, so they’re not able to respond to cannabis. It’s just created a terrible cycle.

1:42

But the answer to that isn’t to fight fire with fire, or in this case, volume with volume. Quite the opposite. Because recruiting, hiring, and job searching all work best when there’s a targeted personal approach being taken. And that is a hill I will absolutely die on. Now that’s a different discussion and a lengthy one that I’ll say for a different time and place. So hit me up if you want to hear more about that. I love having that discussion at any time. But for now, yes, the job search process is broken. AI is becoming increasingly prevalent, but there’s no winners in that game. Next up is a very different take on AI in the job market. Figma CEO Dylan Fields says AI is not coming for your job.

2:27

This was on Lenny’s podcast yesterday, where he essentially said that AI is helping people on his team focus on high-value work, not replacing them. He cited an internal Figma survey of over 1,100 product builders, where only 17% said AI is a threat to their role. I really liked his take on this. I’m surprised by those results, but what he said is that you can look at AI in two ways: an opportunity to grow and do more, or to cut costs and increase efficiency. Well, it’s pretty clear that he’s looking at it as a way of doing more and expanding. But I still am concerned, perhaps more than most, perhaps significantly more than most, that the future of AI is happening a lot faster than we think.

3:13

And so while it may not be taking that many jobs right now, although we know it is in certain instances, I think the rapidity of this is being underestimated. So it’s not really what AI is doing today, it’s the impact that it will have over the years to head. And so while the use of AI is going to open doors that you know are perhaps beyond imagination right now, that is so wonderful and exciting. I’m focused on jobs. And I think the evolution and speed at which uh with which it’s improving is going to be unlike anything we’ve previously seen. And yes, it is going to take jobs.

3:51

So I am the pessimist about this. Um listening to uh to Dylan Field yesterday, guy’s clearly an optimist. He’s a lot smarter than me, so I hope he’s right that it’s not going to take as many jobs as I think it will, but we’ll see how this plays out over time for sure. Moving on to policy news, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce just sued the Trump administration over the $100,000 fee on new H1B visa applications. For context, the typical fee prior to the change was between $2,000 and $5,000 per petition, depending on company size. The chamber argues this new fee is illegal and beyond presidential authority, saying it would force companies to either raise labor costs or stop hiring skilled workers altogether.

4:36

Trump defends the fee by claiming the H1B program has led to the large-scale replacement of American workers. There are many who agree with him about that. But the chamber warns that pulling back too hard could make the U.S. less competitive in global talent markets, which is something employers across industries are already struggling with. Here’s my take. No doubt about that. But it’s been abused to a point that it’s essentially unrecognizable from what it was intended to be. And so this $100,000 fee forces companies to put their money where their mouths are. And the truth is, if there’s a hire worthy of receiving an H1B, then this is a cost that you shouldn’t mind paying.

5:22

It’s worth it because these are super valuable employees if it’s being used for the type of workers that we should be giving these visas to. So look, this is every decision lately with President Trump. He makes a change and it gets challenged in court. So that’s where it’s going to play out. We’ll see where this one ultimately ends up. Finally, the Society for Human Resources Management just released its 2025 benchmarking reports, which offers a snapshot of how HR teams manage recruiting and hiring. Here are a few key findings that I thought were interesting in their press release.

5:59

The top skill in demand for the next five years is critical thinking. That’s what 71% of organizations said. I get that. We need that now more than ever. I think that’s always been a top skill, but it really stands out with 71% of organizations saying it is their number one. Also, the cost per hire for a non-executive employee is around $5,500, where the cost of hiring an executive is around $36,000, just under. And on average, companies are allocating 26% of their total HR budget to recruiting. Now, none of that’s surprising, but here’s what is only 20% of the companies measure the quality of their hires.

6:43

So how’s that for a disconnect? Companies are spending more than a quarter of their HR budgets on recruiting, yet, four out of five have no way to measure how well they’re actually hiring. That is broken. Call me crazy, but if you’re spending that much, you probably should measure how effective you’re being along the way. So, those are your headlines. But before I say goodbye, here’s your fun fact. Before he became the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley’s first job was as a truck driver for a company called Crown Electric. I knew Elvis was a truck driver, but I didn’t know who he worked for.

7:19

Crown Electric, I can’t help but wonder if they’re still around. How cool would that be to have Elvis as your claim to fame being a former employee? Hopefully they are. So thanks for listening today. Thank you as always. Please like and subscribe, share with anyone you think might be interested. And I look forward to your feedback. Have a great weekend. Talk to you next week.