This is the question that I have probably asked many HRs in my life and now I’m on the receiving end of this question. But it has always been easy to answer stating there would be a 'technical round', 'HR round', 'Aptitude Tests', etc. This has been the traditional and accepted form of interviewing and shortlisting a candidate for hire. But with technology widely sweeping away traditional methods, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence are paving the way for new and disruptive processes for recruitment.
The Job Interviews might very soon run of gas and be forgotten. Because numerous researches state that job interviews are not entirely assessing a candidate, i.e. not entirely truthful. It’s not a hidden fact that the candidates often tailor-make their characteristics and skills to suit the role that they are applying for. And employers munch on it like peanuts and end up recruiting the candidate who might not be a perfect fit for the role.
While most HRs and managers are in absolute control while recruiting a candidate for the job, there is a lot of unconscious bias that also underplays the selection process. Friedman says it’s because of the way our brain operates. Suppose, you are interviewing an attractive person or a tall person or a person with a deep voice. Our brain immediately forms biases in our mind, that the candidate could be a potentially good hire.
The science behind this is simple,
Attractive person: An attractive person is often evaluated as being more competent, intelligent and qualified than their less attractive colleagues, despite not being objectively better at anything.
A tall person: A tall person is perceived as having more leadership skills that their counterparts.
A person with deep, low pitch voice: Such people are perceived to possess greater strength, integrity, and trustworthiness. The result always suggests that these qualities always sway people on conducting the interview.
There is also a stark difference between the way interviewers interview the introverted and extroverted individuals. So, the answers of the candidate move towards influencing the interviewer.
The Plausible solutions to take over interviews as a key determinant of recruitment are
· Job Auditions: To disrupt the HR process, in-person interviews and replace them with job auditions pertaining to relevant job tasks. For example, if you are hiring a sales rep, bring the candidate in for a few hours and have that person sell to you and your team on your product. If you are hiring a content developer, bring them in for developing content for your blog or website.
· Work Try-outs (or) Work Sample test: This entails giving the candidate a sample piece of work, like which they would do in the job once they are recruited. It will help assess their involvement, their determination and their focus towards the given task. Though it will not be 100% accurate as to work in an office environment there needs to be a good collaboration with team members, ability to adapt to uncertainty, knowing who to turn to in case of any queries/issues.
With the world moving towards technology at an insanely quick pace, installing smarter and improved versions of testing candidates will be the key focus of companies around the world.
~ Shruthi Maniraj
Corporate HR