Video Interviewing – An unnecessary step in an ever complicated recruitment process or an essential development to assess candidates?
Graham B. Chartered FCIPD, FCPHR
Human Resources Director @ Global Executive Consulting | Human Capital Strategy, HR Transformation
My personal opinion of Video Interviewing is that they are a waste of time for everyone involved. The candidates have to prepare and set up their computer so they have a strong connection, good light and the sound working properly. Most times there are issues with something. If they do get the set up right then what advantage does the 3-5 minute interview segment give a company that they would not have from a telephone call or face to face meeting? The answer I think is nothing much, but another step to follow in what is becoming a more and more complex recruitment process bogged down with multiple approvals and processes to ensure all boxes are fully checked. Candidates are becoming frustrated by the lack of personal interaction when involved in a recruitment process. Most CV’s go into a black hole and are lost in a large company database never to be viewed. Even worse, companies will use the recruitment process with outside candidates to justify internal promotions with no intention of hiring the candidates interviewed.
I have been on both sides of the video interview as a hiring manager and someone wanting to get hired. I have been involved in 3 of them as a candidate and have been asked to the next stage with 2 of the interviews and the other I did not hear anything back from the company. I cannot see the value they add to the process other than if an employer wanted to make sure the candidate looks presentable and communicates well, but this can be done on a quick phone call or face to face cutting out the additional step involved in the process. As a hiring manager I have seen the interview videos and always feel that it is not a true reflection of what a candidate is like. It is very staged and unnatural. Candidates do much better in person or over the phone which I would suggest is a better experience for all.
Recruitment is developing into an impersonal function similar to the computer screens you can see at an airport. If your flight is delayed then the screen simply comes up with a red delay sign and that is the end of it. In recruitment “the computer says no” too often and there is not enough personal interaction with people who actually matter or know what they are talking about. The Video Interview is just another worthless step to make big companies think they are setting up a professionally run recruitment process. Let’s try to keep things more simple and keep the human factor in HR!
HR L&D Expert | Executive Talent and Organisation Development | Technological Innovation Enthusiast | Change Leader | Agile | Corporate Culture | Performance Management| Intercultural | Author, Speaker, Micro-Learning
6 年oh you mean a video interview like recording a video to answer a question and talking to nobody in real, right?
Shingijutsu-trained management consultant, I guide organizations to award-winning performances by improving employee engagement, using their creativity, Hoshin Kanri, Lean, Operational Innovation & Flawless Execution.
7 年A few months ago I had the opportunity of attending a video interview as a candidate with a very large company based in Fort Worth , TX. The HR Manager wanted me to go in for a face-to-face, but the VP Operations absolutely insisted on this “essential” step before that happened. During the interview the VP asked me what assurance I could give him so that I would not leave the company after a short time because I had changed my job three times between 2001 and 2006. I tried to explain that that happened a long time ago and I was naive enough to have joined those companies without knowing that that they each would lay off hundreds of people within a year of my joining, because the company was heading for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He told me at the end that I could not give him any “proof” that I was not going to leave. Both the Recruiter and I wondered why the VP could not have made that determination from my resume! Almost six months later, I still do not know WHY I had to go through that circus of a video interview.
Couldn't agree more.
Absolutely agree! The Skype interview being used more frequently is a sad reflection of the way HR is moving.
Product Development Leader
7 年Agree. This type of a video interview does not allow for a two way communication or connection. A telephone interview allows the candidate to make a connection with the hiring manager or recruiter. A video interview where one is just answering typed question feels like talking to an emotionless figure. I have only had one of these AI video interviews but it felt like I may as well had written the answers. There was no way to clarify a question. I did not know who I was speaking too or figure out how I could better connect with the person on the other end. It may also sends a wrong message that the recruiters are too good to talk to you. In the workplace, I would always be talking to a live human. However, on the hiring end, the advantage is likely related to either using as a screen when there are too many applicants or points to a busy schedule and not having to go back and forth arranging time between the company and the candidate, hence giving both flexibility. It automates the interview process, giving an advantage to those who have had more experience with video interviews at least until they become routine practice.