First off, thanks to all of you who responded to my survey on interviewing trends sent out in June. The second part of that survey on ‘biggest mistakes in interviewing’ will come out next.

Career practitioners need to stay current on interviewing trends so we can help our clients/students.

One thing I see in the results of the survey is that things have not changed too much in the past few years. Yet some people are still surprised about the process…and that is not good for them. Helping our clients be prepared for this process is so important.

Interviewing Trends #1. Use of technology in the process.

There are many more interviews being done using Skype or Zoom. There may be an initial phone interview to screen out applicants followed up with a video interview before they bring people to a live interview.

Career Practitioner tip: Make sure your clients are prepared for this type of interview. They need to be made aware of lighting, background, the height of the computer monitor (eye level view), pay attention to noises and possible interruptions.

Many employers are now using tools such as Hirevue which is more of a ‘digital video interview’. They send a link to a site where you have three to five questions to answer in an allotted time frame. You log in, the questions come up, you answer them, and then move on to the next question. You are essentially talking to yourself and recording your answers.

Career Practitioner tip: Just like mock interviews, this is something we should practice with our clients. Talking to ‘no one’ could be very difficult for lots of people. How do you create a positive, emotional, authentic feel when you are simply talking to a screen? Radio DJ’s do this all the time but it takes practice.

As a side note here, engineers and physical science positions are often asked to “whiteboard problems” out so the companies can see the process they are using.

Career Practitioner tip: This is not an area I am familiar with, so I would have to seek assistance with this one.  Does anyone have any advice to share on this topic?