I read somewhere quite recently (sorry, don't have ref. right now) that its a bit of a large team effort (several to many engineers working together) to ensure getting the job, and then a continued team effort (again several to many engineers) to ensure continued high performance at said job...in order to be able to persist the operations. Quite clever as i understand, though brutal for participants i also imagine.

Merely bypassing the companies protections will be quite a lot of work.

The new Microsoft authenticator app checks if the phone is rooted and checks for valid GPS and VPN connections before it'll allow access for example.

I guess I'll have to ask for a phone along with a laptop from any potential employer that requires this app. (I wonder if MS Authenticator would even run on my de-Googled Android.) I'd much prefer to keep work equipment separate from personal equipment anyways.

Wait, so if GPS is disabled, I cannot use their authentication app? How dare I presume to pretend to have any privacy.

Depends on the setting of the company in question. By default, it's not required.

Presumably not if you're willing to work for North Korean salaries.