Your next job interview may be taken by a robot

Candidates interviewed by webcam send their response to the firm for review

The future of job interviews might horrify you. It horrified Jake Rosen.

A recent graduate of UCLA, Rosen was applying to be a page at NBC (yes, yes, just like Kenneth) when he learned he wouldn't be going to an office to talk to a human being about his skills. Instead, he interviewed by webcam, on a laptop.

So Skype, right? Nope, nothing as personal as that. He recorded his answers and sent them back to a hiring manager at NBC for review at the company's convenience.

It's the robo-interview, and it goes something like this. In the more humane experience, a hiring manager, who also isn't all that practised in the art of digital video, delivers taped questions. Or, if it's truly Mr Roboto, a question pops up on the screen. You have a limited amount of time to answer. You talk to your computer, record the responses, and send them back to the company. Sometimes there's a practice question to get prospective employees used to talking to a camera. Sometimes there isn't. Often, at the end, you have the chance to re-record your answers.

For shy people, it may be a dream come true. No firm handshake needed, and sure, you smell fine. And wouldn't we all love the redo option after making up an answer and mumbling it, too?

For everyone else, it's awkward at best. It's a pretty slick encounter, a little like FaceTime, except you're forced to stare at your big, nervous face as you wax on about why you want to work at the company. It feels more like performing for an invisible audience than having a conversation, because that's essentially what it is. Not used to being on camera, Rosen felt flustered from the first question, which coloured the rest of his interview, he said. Read More