Research from WikiJob, the UK’s most popular graduate job forum, suggests that graduate jobseekers are increasingly being asked to attend an interview by video rather than telephone or face-to-face.
WikiJob’s forums are something of a barometer for the most pressing issues facing graduate interview candidates, and in 2014 there was a sharp rise in chat threads relating to video interview process conducted by employers such as Grant Thornton, Axa, John Lewis, Schroders and Morrisons. In particular, many candidates are unsure how the structure and subjects differ in a video interview rather than a phone interview.
Candidates are also concerned at the short amount of time they have to answer questions in a video interview. One WikiJob forum user, b_sotysiak, said: “The interview made me panic because you only have 90 seconds, yes, 90 seconds...to answer these questions. You have a minute before the question and then 90 seconds to answer.”
Many large graduate employers, especially those with a multinational workforce, are turning to video interviews to save on costs and time. A recent survey by Office Time in the US found that over 60% of HR managers polled use video interviews to screen candidates. Automated video interviewing is also on the rise, whereby the company creates the questions and sends an email link to the candidate, who then sits the interview in a specified period of time via a web recording, which is sent back to the client.
James Rice, Head of Digital Marketing at WikiJob, said: “Jobseekers can expect video interviews to become the new norm. For employers it saves time and expense on travel, scheduling or time away from work, and so candidates should familarise themselves with presenting themselves on a webcam.”