Job interviews are often exhausting, stressful, and scary for most people for different reasons. People to attend the interview have to travel long distances and face the panel members who are ready to interview. Besides preparing for an interview, the candidate should also focus on his attire, attitude, and other main aspects.

Even for the online interview, one has to attend the zoom call which could be daunting. If you put aside the problems of the candidate, the companies have to spend a lot for the interviews which are conducted at offices, while zoom interviews lack proper interaction.

The Power of Virtual Reality

The days have now changed with ever-growing technology. Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality are going to change how interviews take place. People can now attend interviews online without missing the immersive experience.

Last year, students at Sandwell College in West Bromwich conducted virtual interviews which were successful. An AI-generated avatar interviewed the cartoon avatars that represent the interviewee.

A student named Ayyan Ahmed explained that this is his first interview and there was no human to judge him so that he expressed himself clearly. “At the end of the interview, the VR interviewer has given feedback about my performance which helps me in the next interview”. This VR System is designed by the London-based company ‘Bodyswaps’.

From “basic questions like “tell me about yourself” to the candidate’s preferences, the VR interviewer asks different straightforward questions. In the interview, candidates’ eye contact with the VR interviewer and sitting posture will also be observed to judge their personality.

VR for Better Results

Bodyswaps chief executive Christophe Mallet explained that the idea is to help people keep practicing with the online VR interviews until they are comfortable and confident with real ones. These interviews work as mock interviews for people to practice job interviews in a professional setting.

“Communication, empathy, and leadership are three important qualities for the candidate to grow in his professional life. They can be practiced by hiring a coach, but what if you are not rich? There are e-learning videos but they lack an immersive experience. By using VR interviews, you can practice and achieve all these qualities” Mallet explained.

While Bodyswaps is conducting mock interviews, the AI technology of Swedish firm Tengai is already doing real interviews. The candidate can see the software in the form of a cartoon avatar. It interviews people without judging by asking a set of questions. The answers will be recorded and used as a reference for the recruiters to shortlist candidates.

While a few people are focusing on the benefits of AI interviews, some people are seeing dangers,” says Simkins, London Law Firm. “So, it is important for the people to be careful. He also stressed questioning themselves before using AI,” employment lawyer Susan Thompson.

“Whether it is used at the interview stage or exit stage, you have to understand it and speak to the developer about data points. Is it stress-tested for gender bias? Will it be able to eliminate it? If yes, how will it be eliminated? You must know the answers to all these questions,” he added.

Thompson also opined that AI alone can’t handle the whole process of an interview and needs human intervention.