Job Seekers Face Virtual Interviews -- WSJ
August 17 2016 - 03:04AM
Dow Jones News
Recruiters are turning to video meetings to speed up hiring and
widen their reach
By Dahlia Bazzaz
For job seekers looking to make a good first impression, a
working webcam and a tidy room might be the new firm handshake.
First-round job interviews are the latest part of the hiring
process to undergo digitization as companies use video interviews
to cut recruiting costs and times. Cigna Corp., Goldman Sachs Group
Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. are among the
employers now asking some applicants to log on to a website and
submit video responses to interview questions in lieu of talking
with a human. The method has grown in recent years as nearly
everyone has access to a laptop or smartphone with a front-facing
camera, and companies say it is an efficient, fair and inexpensive
way to process hundreds of applicants.
Salt Lake City, Utah-based HireVue Inc., which provides video
interviewing software for Goldman Sachs and 600 other firms, said
it hosted nearly three million video interviews last year, up from
13,000 five years ago.
Most video-interviewing programs require applicants to click a
link or install an app. Interviews begin with a prompt such as
"Tell us about a time you had to deal with a conflict" that stays
on-screen for about 30 seconds. Then, the camera turns on and the
candidate has anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes to respond
before the next question pops up.
Human-resources staff then review the videos and pass along
promising applicants to managers for consideration. Applicants who
make the cut are typically invited to a one-on-one interview. That
doesn't always mean it will be in-person, though. Varsha Paidi, a
software engineer hired by IBM last year, had subsequent online
interviews and eventually received her job offer via text
message.
Speeding up the hiring process allows recruiters to look at more
applicants than before, giving companies wider reach, said Obed
Louissaint, the human-resources lead for IBM's Watson division.
Applicants, however, say that computer-guided interviews take
some getting used to. Amy Hall was never the type to get nervous
during job interviews, but when the 29-year-old had to complete a
video interview last year for an internal job switch at
Cigna-Healthspring, she recalled feeling apprehensive and
camera-shy. She waited until after work hours and used a computer
in the IT department. With the door closed, she clicked a link to
Cigna's video-interviewing site.
Replaying footage of her interview responses was "very
uncomfortable" at first, she said. She resubmitted two responses,
but ultimately found her stride and even preferred the video format
because, she recalled, "you're not trying to perform." Last
January, she got the job as a senior data analyst managing records
for Medicare doctors.
Video interviews have significantly reduced travel costs for
Cigna recruiters. Frank Abate, a senior recruiter there, said one
of his colleagues racked up more than $1 million annually just
traveling to meet candidates. Since adopting video interviews four
years ago, that colleague's expenses are now under $100,000.
Companies say they seek similar traits in video interviews as
they do in traditional interviews. Recruiters at IBM and Cigna said
they evaluate candidates based on how well the person communicates
his/her thought process, whether the person answers all parts of
the question -- and whether he/she makes eye contact.
According to Mary Wilson, a Cigna hiring manager, Ms. Hall's
interview stood out because her responses seemed like they were
addressed to an actual person, not a camera.
"Others tend to fidget or look away, but she looked directly
into the camera and answered the questions thoughtfully and
completely," she said.
HireVue, InterviewStream, WePow and other vendors that make
video-interviewing software say their programs make hiring more
fair because all applicants must answer the same questions, placing
substance over schmoozing and small talk.
Video interviews might also present some problems because
managers cannot ask follow-up questions or engage candidates
further on a point, said Carol Miaskoff, assistant legal counsel
for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In letters to
vendors, Ms. Miaskoff has suggested that companies assign more than
one person to review individual videos to ensure hiring decisions
aren't made hastily.
Taking robo-recruiting one step further, some HireVue customers
have an algorithm review the video interviews for them. Using data
about the skills and attributes companies are seeking for a given
role, a program called HireVue Insights scans videos for verbal and
facial cues that match those skills then ranks the top 100
applicants.
Human evaluation can help when things go wrong mid-interview.
Bruce DelMonico, the assistant dean for admissions for the Yale
School of Management -- which requires M.B.A. program applicants to
respond to video prompts -- said that unforeseen interruptions like
a roommate barging in mid-interview show how applicants think on
their feet.
"All is not lost," said Mr. DelMonico. "We pay attention to how
well you respond and recover."
Write to Dahlia Bazzaz at Dahlia.Bazzaz@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 17, 2016 02:49 ET (06:49 GMT)
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