Let's face it: the job search is totally broken. For the last several years, and especially post-Covid, we've been on a dark path.
The job search from the candidate's perspective has become a total numbers game. Many job seekers today are facing an impenetrable wall of issues:
Rampant ghosting (Nearly 80% of job seekers are consistently getting ghosted)
Need to submit 150+ applications for every hire on average
Long, arduous application processes via applicant tracking systems (ATS)
Too often, the job search ends up looking something like this for jobseekers:
The same can be said for employers; there are many large-scale, multifaceted problems at play in the modern hiring landscape, including:
Too many applicants (for certain industries like technology, finance, consulting, etc.)
No applicants (especially in smaller communities and in less flashy industries)
Under-qualified applicants (a direct result of the “one-click application” trend)
While I could go on and on about this issue, I’ll save it for another article. Enough about the problem… what’s the solution?
How can we combat Modern Hiring Hurdles?
Some say that the job search is entirely broken and utterly irreparable due to the global economy, unsavory hiring technology, and employer attitudes. However, there are stepping-stone solutions that can revolutionize the job search little by little. Enter a new, modern approach to hiring: Instant Interview.
Redefining Recruitment with Instant Interviews
What is an instant interview anyway?
An instant interview is a universal interview link that allows anyone to interview for a job position instantly without having to submit a resume or a cover letter or work their way through an ATS. It’s a new-age hiring technique that benefits both the employer and the applicant in several ways.
You can think of instant interviews like “open interviews” at a job fair, except they are always available to anyone at any time. It’s a great way for candidates to speak their truth in a low-stakes interview setting and to avoid the falsity and repetition of the usual application process.
How Instant Interviews Can Streamline the Hiring Process
There are many benefits to using instant interviews, so we’ll split them up for both sides:
Benefits to Candidates
Here is a short list of the many benefits that Instant Interview brings to candidates:
Streamlines the application process - If you’ve applied to a job in the past five years or so, you’ll surely have been dropped into an ATS process. These are often arduous, slow, and redundant. In fact, many candidates don’t even stick around to deal with the ATS rigamarole; in fact, most ATS processes have a 43% dropout rate.
No need for an updated resume - As an applicant, you often must submit an updated resume tailored to the company. When a candidate interviews instantly, there’s no need. This makes no sense, especially if the job doesn’t require much prior experience. This can save tons of time for candidates.
No need for a cover letter - Cover letters are a thing of the past. Why should a candidate take the time to write a cover letter if there’s only a 3% chance that they’ll even get a callback? Also, cover letters are redundant. Oftentimes, the same ground gets covered in an interview, so why make candidates repeat themselves?
Candidates can elevate their voice - So many times I have heard the story, “If only I could talk to someone, they’d see that I’m a great candidate.” This is yet another reason why Instant Interview is so huge: because without any merit on paper, anyone can show that they’re a fit for the job.
Candidates can take an active role - The modern hiring process - especially within the context of “one-click applications” is often quite passive. Candidates find themselves tossing their resumes into a void of other applications, just hoping that a recruiter even glances at their efforts. Interviews allow candidates to shine through via their personality, past experiences, and passion on a much deeper level than any piece of paper possibly could. This way, employers know their getting higher quality, more ambitious candidates.
Benefits to Employers
Instant interviews don’t only benefit the candidate. Here are some of the many benefits that Instant Interview brings to employers:
Faster time-to-screen - On average, it takes 16 days from job posting to a list of screened candidates. This means that screening time, including looking through resumes, shortlisting candidates, scheduling, performing, and evaluating interviews, and selection for progression, takes 16 days. With instant interviews, every single step of that screening process is eliminated in one simple one. As an employer, you get a list of screening candidates on your desk in a matter of hours, not days.
Cheaper than any other screening procedure - Instant interviews cut down on one major factor - opportunity cost. If you’re an employer, think how much time you’ve spent in preliminary interviews with candidates. Your time is extremely valuable, so why waste it on poor interviews? If you’ve ever worked with a recruiting firm, you know they’re also very costly. They’ll often take a 30% cut of the hire’s salary, which can be a staggering expense.
Inherently sorts for better candidates - As I mentioned above in the candidate benefit section, instant interviews filter for candidates who take initiative and for those who have the most passion for the industry and the job at hand. You’ll reduce your rate of low-effort applications because, with an interview, there isn’t anything “one-click” about it.
Improves brand equity - Candidates these days love to hate on the hiring process. In fact, there are entire online communities dedicated to hatred of recruiters in general. Why? Because, on balance, candidates simply aren’t treated well in the modern process. They’re often ghosted, given the runaround, and their time is often taken advantage of. This causes resentment towards companies that use unsavory hiring processes. When you use instant interviews, you’re taking an active step towards being candidate-centric, which can massively increase the positive perception of your brand.
Open interviews can always be “fishing” for applicants - Open interview links are universal and always open, meaning that you can simply place this link anywhere (on your website, social media, job boards, etc.), and it will gradually gather more candidates over time. This is especially helpful if you’re in a high-turnover industry and you always find yourself re-posting that job. This way, you’ll never have to stress about firing up the hiring process, starting from square one each time.
Is Instant Interview the Future of Hiring?
Now that you’re well-versed in the concept, you may be asking, who is doing this? The answer is, as of the time of writing, almost nobody. This is a radical concept, and it’s tough to show the world that open interviews may be a great next step toward improving this broken system.
Seeing all of these problems in the hiring process and the lack of a proper solution is what inspired us to build Elevora Instant Interview. Our software allows employers to build job description and company culture-inspired custom interviews to deploy to their prospective employees. The best part is the AI evaluates and ranks the candidates’ interview performance directly against the job description and the company culture.
Of course, this product is currently early stage, and we’re still learning about employers and applicants and how they interact with this new hiring flow. We’ve really enjoyed building this software, and we’re looking forward to adding to it with several crucial features moving forward. Our long-term vision is to change forever how hiring is done.
If you’re an employer and want to get started with instant interview, please visit this page to begin. We love working with forward-thinking companies, and we’re always willing to learn about your pain points and needs.
Thanks for reading!