Students learn to charm robots in hunt for jobs

AS A nervous undergraduate keen to make a good impression on prospective employers, you would be forgiven for wanting to comb your hair and polish your shoes before a job interview.

But this kind of preparation could soon become less important, as some of the most sought-after graduate schemes – including those of Goldman Sachs and Unilever – increasingly use robots to conduct interviews.

Students are asked to set up a webcam on their computer or phone and make a video recording of their answers to questions that pop up on the screen. Thousands of videos are then scanned by algorithms that can pick up what kinds of words or phrases an applicant is using, how concisely they present their arguments, and how confident they sound.

Computer programs using artificial intelligence (AI) can also detect “micro-expressions”, such as blinks, smiles or frowns. The AI interviews are typically used at an early stage of the process, to whittle down tens of thousands of applicants to a smaller pool that can move on to assessment days and finally, in-person interviews.

Derek Walker, who ran graduate recruitment at Merrill Lynch and Barclays, said most big firms had been using automated online tests for the past decade.

“What we are seeing now is the roll-out of a much more sophisticated set of tools, including interviews delivered by a computer,” he said. “They might have an actor or a graphic asking questions, or a pre-recorded voice, but they are not there listening to you. You have no ability to build a rapport with a machine and this can really throw people.”

Mr Walker, who now works at Finito, a company which gives career advice to students, added: “Your answers are being analysed against a set of quality and criteria determined by the employer. It is more sophisticated than throwing in certain words.”

A number of companies are using the technology developed by HireVue, a firm based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Joshua Pauk, a 21-year-old graduate from Bristol University, said that when he applied for graduate schemes in the banking sector, he was asked to record webcam interviews for around 10 firms.

He said: “They ask very traditional interview questions, like why do you want to work here, and what are your strengths and weaknesses. You’re just talking into a blank screen, it’s really unnerving.”