Having worked in my family business since I was 14, I’ve never needed to apply for a job. However, I have applied to several internships and educational programs, all of which used an online application system. The first step was always to send a resume and cover letter. Then, if you made it to the second step of the interview process, they had a variety of questions to which you would record a video answer.

There are definitely some benefits to this style of interview process. For starters, this would definitely be considered a structured interview because all candidates are answering the same set of questions. Additionally, the online nature of the interview opens up the possibility for more people to apply since you don’t have to be at the physical location. However, the technological requirements could also pose a barrier to some candidates.

Further issues with this interview structure include the basis for entry being so focused on grades. Since there were programs designed for recent graduates, the focus was far more on grades than on work experience for the resume portion of the interview. As we saw in the article “How to get a job at Google”, “GPAs are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless… We found that they don’t predict anything” (Friedman). Instead of analyzing the candidates based on resumes, perhaps companies like this could devise online tests that could determine a candidate’s ability to learn, adapt, and step into a leadership role when it was required. Additionally, they should be sure they have several people from a variety of demographics watch the application videos to ensure they don’t fall into the subconscious habit of hiring people that are like themselves.