What are your thoughts regarding one-way video interviewing?
I love a good algorithm! As an I/O psychologist with a minor in statistics, the ability to accurately predict job performance, employee engagement, organization fit, job satisfaction, etc., is nirvana.
So you’d think I would support the idea of great quality video interviewing software (with predictive algorithms) as a new way to identify quality applicants. And I would be lying if I didn’t say I was intrigued by it.
I have completed the video interview process twice. Both times, I was nervous about the lighting, sound, and timing. I feared that my brand might become a misplaced camera, a chipmunk voice (competing with the background lawn mower), and a botched “zinger” question forever memorialized on video.
In concept, video interviewing is great: Do it in the comfort of your own home; do it when it is convenient for you; no travel…and voila! A company has you on video that they can watch whenever they would like (heaven forbid it is MY video…) and the software company provides analytics to the hiring company based on over 20,000 facial movements. If you make the “purple unicorn” cut, you move to the second round.
The questions are your standard structured interview questions. In person-to-person interviews, I’ve answered these questions well. Video, however, was a challenge. My first reason lies in who I am. I enjoy taking pictures but not being in them. I am an introvert. I do know my craft, body of work and my unique contributions. Is it the newness of the concept that I am resisting?
On LinkedIn, recruiters, HR and I/O professionals and recruits have expressed frustration with the recruiting and hiring process. Politeness and manners seem to have gone missing. Building relationships, connecting and making connections (espoused to be important and lacking in some 20generations) may be next to leave the scene. Even the tech wizards in Silicon Valley are stumped trying to remove the bias from hiring.
While I know friends/HR professionals who espouse their affection for the new AI selection mechanism, they also note that a video interview is still a structured interview. A study by Schmitz and Hunter found that structured interviews only predict about 25% of job performance. One of the online video interviewing software companies notes an 80% improvement in candidate prediction using algorithms. Since I’m unfamiliar with the costs involved in these systems, my first question is whether a 20% increase in prediction of job performance is substantial enough ROI. Could we get that same increase using a good cognitive ability test? And what are the target roles for use of video interviews? Roles that have hundreds of applicants? Entry-level roles? Director and VP roles?
Leaders tout how important relationship-building is in business. An interview with a live person allows me to understand what keeps my potential employer up at night and whether I am the right person. It is an opportunity to connect. So as these AI tools capture our facial movements, what do they tell us? Is there a set of movements for an awesome electrical engineer vs. a chemical engineer? If we hire engineers based on the “awesome profile” do we get more of the same…and miss out on the unique engineer that in combination with my already awesome staff could have invented something to cure a disease?
My concern is simply this. I am all for a great algorithm, hiring the best/right person, and creating a diverse workforce because of the business ROI. If the ability to build relationships and remain connected is a competitive advantage, how does a one-way video interview nurture and role model this? Oh, and by the way I get it. The video interview isn’t the only tool used to hire talent…but if the structured interview predicts 25% of job performance and a video improves prediction 80%, we now have 55% of performance still left to predict. While I am going to continue to work on mastering my ability to talk to air about how remarkable I am, I have noticed that I feel less of a connection with the organizations that haven’t taken the time to connect with me.
Originally posted on LinkedIn July 10, 2018
Photo by Alex Knight on Unsplash