Interviewing in the Digital Age

The prospect of hiring a new employee is a potentially daunting task for any company. With profit
margins so narrow and an economic environment that is plagued with uncertainty, few organizations can afford
mistakes. Companies that are fiscally wasteful by hiring under-qualified or inept employees are not going to
survive. Properly qualified applicants are few and far between, so employers are incorporating the fastest and
most efficient ways to quickly sort out and screen individuals. Online applications, many of which automatically
extract pertinent information from an uploaded form or resume, are the current standard protocol. Uploaded
information is stored in a database and sorted through using algorithms. Is each application even looked at with
a human set of eyes? Are the online screening processes truly selecting the best individuals for the job? Even the
most standardized and accepted of processes need to be questioned, analyzed and evaluated. If we don't
constantly question and challenge contemporary thought, we will refrain from making modern advancements, or
in this case, selecting the best individual for the job.
Sure, computers are great. They can help people like me every day (sometimes mental math makes me
assume the fetal position and cry). However, employers need to realize they are simply tools that should be used
as complimentary resource; screening processes should not be centric to a computer system. There are some
things a computer can't do, even now, during an era with rapid technological advancement. Artificial
intelligence can not comprehend human emotion. Trust me on this one, just ask my Siri; we have a very rocky
relationship. I have yelled at her so many times (sometimes horrible, horrible things), yet she fails to
comprehend why I am upset with her. I asked for tacos near my location, Siri, not taco relocation. Why
would I relate a taco to anywhere but my mouth?
I am not trying to diss technology or downplay its relevance, trust me, I understand. I was on
FlappyBirds and Farmville way before Joe Schmoe even thought about opening his app store. I am simply
trying to point out the fallacies that this type of system presents. A computer form may be able to accurately
describe a candidate's GPA, work history, and experience, but what about the other intangible factors that cannot
be assessed this way? How can you measure a person's ability to be a positive and constructive co-worker? What
about the individuals themselves? How can you rate them on their intrinsic morality? Perhaps with this question?
On a scale of 1-10 (1 being the worst, 10 being the best), are you a good person? Hold on a second, computer,
let me figure out this conversion. How do you convert a broad array of emotional feelings into a value. Can you
pass me the calculator? Don't worry, it's a TI-89. It can handle it.
The bottom line is no computer system or electronic screening process will be able to accurately emulate
human intuition. When applications were turned in personally, employers could meet and gain a valuable first
impression. Additionally, they would have a longer relationship with potential employees because they could
encounter them earlier in the process. For example, an employer may meet a suitable candidate, interview
within a few days, and hire within a week or two. Who is to say your newly hired employee has shown you their
true colors and been candid with their personality? As humans, we have the innate ability as objects of

intelligence to control and disguise our true emotions and behaviors. Perhaps a more longitudinal approach
towards selecting an employee will help an organization accurately gauge and assess an individual's ability. This
explains the prevalence of internal promotions and hiring within the company- an individuals skills, traits, and
work ethics have already been analyzed for an extended period of time.
What does the future hold for job seekers? Surely, employers will continue to incorporate technology
into selection, but will it it become so automated that it the human element is all but removed from the process?
For now, information is willingly entered into a digital medium for extraction. Perhaps in the future, information
will be automatically compiled unconsciously. Personality, cognitive, and functional tests will all be combined
into a single integrated, comprehensive extraction process requiring virtually no input from the applicant. With
technology expanding so rapidly, that moment could be decades away, or it could be right around the corner.
Whatever the case, until the day I wake up with USB ports behind my kneecaps, I'll keep a spare paper copy of
my resume handy, just in case.....