Are Automated Interviews the Future or Will They Fall Short?

Recent advancements in technology involve Automated Video Interviews, or AVIs. AVIs are AI technology that allow for candidates to interview for a company while being recorded answering questions. Instead of a person facilitating the interview, the AI simply records the candidate’s responses and picks up on facial expressions, tone, keywords, and gestures to then either approve or boot a candidate for further consideration in the hiring process. 

Many people will hate this. Many people will love it. So, what are the pros and cons to automated interviews? 

Pros: 

• Saves time and resources. Finding a date and time that works for the recruiter and the candidate can be tricky. Setting up phone calls, in person-interviews, or virtual interviews takes time, sometimes up to a week or more to match schedules. This takes more time when recruiters are setting up these meetings with more than one candidate, and then must compare the pros and cons of each candidate to make that final decision. AVIs cut out the time and resources issue, as the HR team can focus on looking at candidates that make it past the AI, instead of trying to schedule themselves for a bunch of preliminary interviews. Humans are a resource, and recruiters can focus their energy on further stages of the hiring process. 

• Provides flexibility. As mentioned in a previous article, many individuals applying for jobs are already working as they search for something new. AVIs provide flexibility to be convenient for the candidate, which reflects positively on the company. People will feel like their time was taken into consideration and that they didn’t have to make something work that conflicted with their normal schedules. 

• Facilitates consistency. The recruiters that watch these automated interviews can compare candidates one after the other, instead of comparing a candidate they spoke to today with one they met with two weeks ago. The impression a candidate makes will stay fresher in their minds and recruiters don’t have to second guess if they’re forgetting something from a previous interview. 

• Potentially eliminates certain types of bias. AVIs can allow for multiple recruiters to review the interviews and decide if a person is fit for a job, instead of giving that to one person who may have an unconscious bias that interferes with their hiring decisions. For instance, one recruiter may have a bias towards people of a certain age. By having more than one recruiter review the videos, your company can be more inclusive and diverse. 

Cons:

• Discourages candidates. Interviewing with a robot can sound cold to candidates and applicants may believe that the hiring process is impersonal.  

• Contains race and gender bias. Some AI have been reported to contain race and gender bias, unfairly booting candidates based on how they look instead of how they perform in the interview. This makes it difficult for companies to remain diverse and inclusive if the technology prohibits people from making it further in the hiring process. 

• Causes people to behave differently in response to an AI versus speaking with a person. People who feel like they’re speaking more to a robot than a human being may alter their normal behaviors and tone of voice to appeal more to a robot. People may use monotone tones and remain still, opposed to lively. You might miss out on top talent who got confused on how to behave with AI technology.

• Curbs opportunity for spontaneity. Sometimes the best moments in interviews are secondary questions the recruiter comes up with on the spot based on the candidate’s previous answer. Opportunities to have that exciting moment are lost when an AI system is brought in, because candidates are talking to a screen. 

• Hacks may disrupt the process. People can hack anything, even an interview. Once people become more accustomed to AVIs and how the AI approves or declines a candidate for further consideration, people may become better at pretending during interviews. Candidates can make gestures, use keywords they find on your website or job posting, or utilize facial expressions they know the AI will approve. Of course, if they pass the AI’s test, other people will be reviewing their video and they’ll have to make a positive impact on recruiters, as well. However, without human intuition or spontaneity, people will be able to fool the AI to move along in the hiring process.  

A lot is still unknown about AVIs and how they’ll affect the recruitment process. However, it’s important to take this into thought if your company decides to move forward with AI so you can combat the cons and enhance the pros.