Just say no to one-way video interviews… PLEASE!

It’s hard enough out there for job seekers, but now some companies are requesting one-way video interviews from candidates. This is problematic on several levels. Unless the job is specifically “making TikTok or Reels videos of yourself,” HR departments should not ask this of job candidates. Even if that is the precise job description, a portfolio would be enough to show that an applicant can do the required work well.This format is also ripe for discrimination, as the recruiter can make assumptions and decisions due to their implicit bias more easily over a disembodied video than for a flesh-and-blood interviewee.

For starters, job hunting and interviewing are two stressful activities for most people. Especially post-pandemic, when it’s more likely than ever that candidates have been unemployed or underemployed for too long already, the pressure people feel about finding a job is intense. Interviewing makes most people nervous to begin with. Being on camera makes a lot of people even more nervous. One-way video interviews are not unlike public speaking, something an estimated 75% of people have a phobia of public speaking to some degree, according to various publications. Add to that the discomfort many people have seeing themselves on camera, and one-way interviews seem not only rude, but also cruel.

One benefit to one-on-one interviews, either by phone call, Zoom, or in person, is that the interviewer and the candidate have the opportunity to interact in a more authentic, conversational way. This can help put the candidate at ease, or at least will give them an opportunity to ask the HR recruiter questions about the role and the company. It also gives the interviewer a better feel for the candidate and how they would fit into a company culture or team. There is an exchange of energy for better or worse. Face-to-face, or person-to-person interviews show candidates that you value their time as well as your own. One-way video interviews are one sided, indicating that only the recruiter’s time is valuable or worth being valued.

Many job candidates have likely already applied for several positions. Updating and sending out a resume and portfolio, filling out an online application form, and possibly crafting a cover letter should be enough to convey a candidate’s qualifications to move on to an interview. Many of those documents are lost in the ether, as many recruiters and HR teams do not reply to all applicants. One-way video interviews seem impersonal at best. As with the resumes and applications, there is also the possibility that nobody will watch it, that nobody will reply. How soul-crushing. To add insult to injury, the process for these seems wildly inconsistent from company to company, with some telling the candidates to make it as long as possible. Other companies provide automated, popup questions at timed intervals, either cutting the candidate’s previous answer short or leaving them with dead air time waiting for the next question. Excruciating—surely not an opportunity to shine.

The thought of someone putting themselves through a process that could be so grueling for them personally only to hear crickets in response is simply depressing. It’s possible that a real live human won’t even see these, because if an HR recruiter doesn’t have the time to schedule a phone screener at least, they likely won’t be taking the time to watch all of the one-way video interviews they receive. This shows so little regard for the applicant that it reflects poorly on the company—and tells applicants something about how the company will likely treat their employees.

If Reddit r/recruitinghell and members of the Austin Digital Jobs Facebook group are to be believed, a lot of candidates won’t bother with these awkward and dehumanizing one-way video interviews anyway. In a popular Reddit post, hundreds of commenters weighed in to agree with u/tron_mexico25’s post saying he turned down a request to do one of these. The Reddit post concludes, “If you would like for candidates to pursue your open roles, I would humbly suggest someone reaches out with a more personal touch instead of asking candidates to speak into a camera with no opportunity for meaningful interaction.”

Both HR recruiters and candidates in Austin Digital Jobs responded to the posting of a CareerPlug article, written by their Director of HR, Natalie Morgan, that they should be avoided and “are hurting the candidate experience.”

The ADJ members strongly agreed with Morgan that these one-way videos were disrespectful, “gross,” “terrible,” “indefensibly dumb,” and a waste of time. One ADJ member, Annette Priest, sums up the whole vibe perfectly, when they say, “Yuck. You’re almost never treated as well working for a company as you are when you’re interviewing. Consider this a red flag and run away!” I agree completely. Applicants, you shouldn’t subject yourself to these. Recruiters, please be better.