Digital Interviews have gained momentum in the domain of Talent Assessment. Through a set of two questions, let us examine whether or not Digital Interviews are good enough!

1. #TCPerspectives
Are Digital Interviews Good Enough?
• Digital Interviews have gained momentum in the domain of Talent Assessment.
It is an emerging form wherein interviewees digitally record their answers to
(typically) digitally presented interview questions, without live interaction with
an interviewer (Brenner, Ortner, & Fay, 2016; Chamorro- Premuzic,
Winsborough, Sherman, & Hogan, 2016).
• Digital Interviews are believed to be more time- and cost-efficient than face-to-
face interviews and other forms of technology-based interviews such as phone
and video-conferences.
• Through a set of two questions, let us examine whether or not Digital
Interviews are good enough!

2. #TCPerspectives
Aren’t Digital Interviews Creepy?
• Creepiness can be elicited by unfamiliar interactions with technologies (Tene &
Polonetsky, 2015), and can be defined as a queasy feeling paired with
uncertainty about how to behave or how to judge a situation.
• Digital interviews are a relatively new concept, hence, this might be sufficient
to evoke feelings of creepiness. In addition, applicants do not interact with any
individual but interact with software. Applicants are continuously reminded
that they are communicating through technology, which could lend a strange
feeling to the digital interview procedure and the transparency of the process.
• Few studies have indicated that participants experienced more creepiness during
digital interviews than during videoconference interviews. Drawing on
theoretical arguments on creepiness in the context of novel technologies (Tene
& Polonetsky, 2015) we can reason that this difference might be due to the fact
that digital interviews are not yet as common as telephonic or videoconference
interviews.
• If practitioners’ and researchers’ predictions that digital interviews will become
increasingly popular come true, this might reduce the creepiness felt during
digital interviews over time. Spreading awareness and educating the audience
minimizes such feel perceptions.

3. #TCPerspectives
Are Digital Interviews Less Fair?
• Contrary to the popular belief, there is negligible difference between the
interview methods fairness and interviewer’s ratings.
• Studies have suggested that digital interviews’ ratings are weakly to moderately
higher than ratings assigned during telephonic or video-conferencing
interviews. This implies that applicants are not penalized during digital
interviews and the assessment is largely fair.
• Even though participants usually perceive a lower opportunity to perform
because there are no interviewer to signal that they are on the right track with
their answer, they usually have the opportunity to prepare and structure their
answer for at least 60-90 seconds, possibly resulting in stronger feelings of
opportunity to perform.

4. #TCPerspectives
Conclusion
• Based on these questions, it may be fair to assume that Digital Interviews are good
enough. Many practitioners and institutions are becoming highly interested in
this approach and are actively deploying it; with many seeing accurate and reliable
results.
• The two questions addressed here are small aspects of digital interviews
Undoubtedly, we need more research on digital interviews.
• Digital interviews are a novel alternative for conducting interviews and they offer
many new directions for research.
References:
• Brenner, F. S., Ortner, T. M., & Fay, D. (2016). Asynchronous video interviewing as a new technology in
personnel selection: The applicant’s point of view. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 863
• Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Winsborough, D., Sherman, R. A., & Hogan, R.c (2016). New talent signals: Shiny
new objects or a brave new world? Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 9, 621–640.
• Tene, O., & Polonetsky, J. (2015). A theory of creepy: Technology, privacy, and shifting social norms. Yale
Journal of Law and Technology, 16, 59–102.
• Langer M, K€onig CJ, Krause K. Examining digital interviews for personnel selection: Applicant reactions
• and interviewer ratings. Int J Select Assess. 2017;25:371– 382.