Why Going Through Digital Recruitment Can Be Intimidating
An (older) Gen Y perspective
Backstreet Boys and Westlife were all my teenage idols, so you might have guessed which generation I am. Looking at the generation theory, they call my generation Gen Y, and I belong to the first batch of this age group.
To a certain level, I admit there’s a gap of digital adaptability between me and the Gen Ys who were born in the 1990’s. I remember struggling to switch to a digital mindset. I still used a daily planner book up until 2018 before I began relying on Google calendar. I’ve only become familiar with Spotify since perhaps 2–3 years ago. And it wasn’t until last year that I took LinkedIn more seriously, not only updating, but also revamping my profile. The reason why was because I was job hunting.
I was (and am still) amazed by how things have transformed within the job recruiting landscape. The majority of the companies I applied for were using digital recruitment tools or software which was all automated. Something that I’d never encountered before in my more than 12 years of entering the workforce (fyi, I did take some time off my career due to personal reasons).
Just like a decade ago, last year I still found the usual online application forms, screening questions, and short tests. But, these 2 selection methods were the most terrifying for me: voice and video recording.
From an older Gen Y perspective, here’s why I found them to be nerve-wracking. It might help you to set your expectations if you ever have to deal with them.
Voice Recording
First, it’s the time limit that got me stuck with compressing my ideas into a short 2–3 minute answer. Capturing essential points you want to convey is not an easy task — especially when you want to stand out from the crowds.
But, it’s not just about cutting the content, it’s also about the feeling. Honestly, it felt so weird doing a self-interview. Compared to conventional face-to-face interviews, where you can see how the person in front of you responds (and you can also observe their reaction), recording your own voice, seems like talking to no one.
With no possibility to see your expression, your clarity of speaking and tone of voice becomes your best bet. Employers depend heavily on it. And as if that’s not enough, other challenges also come from how comfortable you are with the software and to get rid of disturbances and noises around. It might as well be important to have a good quality microphone.
While preparing, it took me some time to write down the points I wanted to highlight and talk about — yes, I wrote in my notebook, not typed on my laptop. I practiced talking as clearly as I could within the time limit using a timer and asked my husband if I had set the right tone of voice. I also familiarized myself with the self-interview app and checked how many takes I could have before submitting. That really helped me gain confidence in using the app.
Of course, I also made sure my kids were not around, the room door and windows were closed to avoid any unwanted sounds slipping in.
Video Recording
What’s even more nerve-wracking for me was when I stumbled upon employers which required me to submit a video recording. Even a Youtuber might find making a self-interview video for a job to be intimidating, let alone a behind-the-scenes individual like me.
Aside from speaking clearly within the time frame like when doing a voice recording, you need to put more effort when creating a video. Things like how I dressed, my expression, and my gestures played their roles in convincing the employers. And in a moving image format, I also got to think about my background, the lighting, the microphone, and let’s not forget the makeup.
Put all of these on top of the drawbacks of doing a voice recording, and I ended up feeling anxious to the max.
Digitization for Everything?
Long story short, it was a happy ending to my job hunting. Surprisingly, I got the job offer from a company that didn’t require me to do any voice nor video recording. I might have failed those kinds of selection processes when applying for the other vacancies, or probably I just didn’t fit in with what they were looking for.
But, the whole job-hunting journey really got me into asking myself: Should digitization be applied for everything?
I can imagine the efficiency for recruiters by shifting from the long hours of interviewing to seeing candidates’ video recording on-demand. But, I would disagree if it replaces the human factors in assessing a candidate’s suitability during a “live” interview, even when it’s only virtual and not face-to-face.
And if companies are requiring it as part of the initial screening process, I think it wouldn’t be fair for the candidates, given the series of preparation a job seeker should do to produce a 2–3 minute recording. In some cases, they may need to borrow or buy certain devices to support the process, like a microphone and lighting tools (I bought a microphone specifically for this purpose!).
But, hey, it might just be me, an older Gen Y who’s complaining about the new era of hiring digitization. Perhaps, just like internet connection, voice and video recording for a job interview would be a usual thing for everyone in the future.
I just hope I would never go through that nerve-wracking situation ever again. I know myself well enough on the digitizations I can and cannot adapt!
Thank you for reading.
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