It's Come to This: The One-Way AI Video Interview for Jobs, Promotions, Terminations and More

 All generations of those searching for work are bumping into the mandate: Participate in the one-way AI video interview or you won't be able to proceed in your application. And, all generations are finding that a stressful experience. 

There is no one format for those interviews. But becoming commonplace are the versions developed by HireVue. That company serves about 60 Fortune 100 corporations, although their identity is frequently treated as confidential. At just one time period - November 2022 - HireVue conducted 33 million one-way job interviews. 

The interviewing by HireVue has many critics such as Hilke Schellmann. Her book is a must-read both to get perspective on this requirement and guidance on how to conform so that you are not knocked out of the box. That expose is "The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted & Fired & Why We Need To Fight Back Now."

If the version assigned to you has been designed by HireVue, that "performance" will be scored by it but it will not make the decision whether to hire you. Those actually hiring may or may not ever view the video. If your score is low they might simply notify you that the organization is not proceeding with the application. However, in some situations recruiters may take a look. The same protocol will probably apply to those interviews designed by other AI screeners such as Plum.

The simplest one-way interview is formatted as a list of pre-set questions which you will answer. Here are tips on how to have a shot at receiving a score high enough not to be cut.

Practice talking into a camera without an audience. You have to become comfortable presenting yourself in a process which proceeds with no social cues for feedback. It's a vacuum and you have to simulate for yourself a sense of connection with those hiring.

Based on research of the overall interview process, business in general and your particular sector, anticipate questions and try out short answers before you do the interview. Poise in presentation will be as important as content. 

Know the keywords of your industry. You can pick them up from the job ads and media coverage of the sector. Yes, you have to talk the talk.

Set yourself up against a blank wall, with adequate lighting. Dress appropriately. The look of things counts. 

Follow directions. Embedded in those is a test by employers to determine if you are the type who is detailed oriented and will conform with directives. 

Maintain eye contact with the camera. That is part of the soft skills being evaluated. Although personality really aligns with  5% of actual job performance it is usually a major component in the assessment. Emotional intelligence, even if it isn't a key part of the tasks you will be doing, is a primary focus. 

Be relaxed, especially in your facial expressions.  Negative states such as agitation will lower your score. 

Engage. Yes, you should simulate a conversation, as in a real-life interview.

Speak slowly. That signals confidence.

Avoid showing frustration or becoming combative. Those are also evaluated negatively. The interview process is what it is.

Ensure pronoun usage includes enough "we" and not too much "I." Usually they are evaluating ability to work well with others. That is considered important even if the job does not involve team work. 

If given the opportunity to review your answers before pressing "submit," do so. Then you probably will want to revise. Most are stunned at how awkward or stiff they sound. 

For some positions, in addition to the one-way interview there will be timed gaming exercises. Although the scores on the gaming performance may not have much to do with how an applicant will do a specific job in a particular organization those metrics could result in being cut. 

Some of those who are rejected based on the interview/gaming metrics do ask for clarification. In "The Algorithm," Schellmann describes the situation Martin Burch encountered when applying for a data kind of position with Bloomberg overseas. Stunned that he was rejected, he pushed for answers. Eventually Bloomberg paid him a "settlement." No, he was never hired. 

The AI interview process is serious business - that is, if you want that job. The more you know about how it operates the better the odds that you will be able to continue along to other aspects of the application for work, both full-time and contract. If there are those on your network who have gone through it, ask them for intel and tips. 

Although it will continue to be reformed - HireVue dropped the facial analysis - it is likely to become standard as a tool in recruitment. 

Sure, there will be legal challenges, plenty of them. One kind could be by organizations which are sold the AI screening tool and find that they do not measure up to the marketing proposition and result in lawsuits against them. On its AI podcast Paul, Weiss partners discuss this third-party risk.  Likely top plaintiff employment law firms such as Sanford Heisler Sharp will represent clients who were rejected for jobs or promotions or fired as a result of AI screeners. 

But the tool is not going away. There tends to be a glut of talent in most sectors which results in a flood of applications for every openings. For one software developer position there had been 1,700 applications before the employer shut down the portal. Overwhelmed, those hiring have turned to AI screening as the only way to make the first cuts. 

In most cases you have only one shot in communications. Jane Genova is a communications coach and content-creator. Complimentary consultation (please text 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)