The Evolution of Job Interviews: From B.C. to 2015 and Beyond [Infographic]

Was the humble job interview ever really all that humble? A new infographic from Spark Hire  that loosely traces the history of the job interview suggests the answer is “No, not really.”

Starting with the pre-job days of our Cro-Magnon “caveman” ancestors and running all the way to the eventual rise of holographic interviews, Spark Hire’s infographic hits some interesting notes about the job market, including:

• the connections between the automobile and the modern hiring process;
• Thomas Edison’s test for evaluating candidates (which Spark Hire credits as the first job interview as we know it);
• and the rise and fall of brainteaser interview questions, à la  Google’s old hiring methods.

Check out the full infographic for a crash course in the history of (almost) everyone’s least favorite thing: the job interview. Maybe you’ll feel a little more comfortable next time you’re sitting in front of an interviewer, knowing that the almighty job interview isn’t so sacred and perfect after all. It sure as heck didn’t spring fully formed from Zeus’ head.