Forget in-person interviews: Companies are turning to phone calls to hire, and sometimes there isn't even a real person on the line

pulse

November 29, 2018 10:16 PM

Healthcare and insurance companies, retailers, restaurants, and law firms are using automated interviews. Some candidates find them impersonal.

automated, one-sided phone interviews
employees
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Desperate employers in a tight job market are trying out a new kind of job interview: Automated phone calls in which a candidate answers a series of pre-recorded questions. What that means is that on these interviews, candidates effectively talk to themselves.

More and more companies, from healthcare and insurance companies to retailers, restaurants, and law firms, are implementing this type of automated interview, the Wall Street Journal reported. But it may not be ideal for candidates.

Jeremy Maffei

Recruiters told the Journal that this tactic is meant to lock in prospective employees as quickly as possible amid a nationwide labor shortage. The US unemployment rate is at 3.7% and there are more job openings than unemployed people.

It's not the first unusual strategy employers have started using to attract talent in a tight job market.

Some companies are offering people jobs after a single phone interview, Business Insider previously reported, a practice that's mainly being seen withretail Macy's Bath & Body Works. Bteachers engineers

Have you ever had an experience with an automated phone interview? Email the reporter at kwarren@businessinsider.com.

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