Anyone who’s ever applied for a job knows the drill: Head to the hiring manager’s office (or log into Zoom) with physical or virtual portfolio in-hand, exchange pleasantries, answer boilerplate questions, shake hands (then nervously wait).

While straightforward and simple, classic interviews come with a range of challenges — from introduction of bias, to candidate awkwardness, to the overlooking of workers who would otherwise be great for the job because they didn’t get the chance to adequately exhibit their skills.

To remain competitive and recruit the best talent for the job, recruiters today must adopt new, creative interview methods, experts say.

“Traditional interviews often fail to provide a realistic preview of the actual work environment or the day-to-day responsibilities, leading to potential mismatches in job expectations and reality,” Sara Gutierrez, chief science officer for recruitment company SHL, told SDxCentral.

The limitations of traditional interviews One of the most concerning issues with conventional interviews is bias that skews objectivity. For example, with confirmation bias, interviewers may seek out information that aligns with their preconceived notions. With affinity bias, meanwhile, they could favor candidates who they share similarities with.

“These biases can inject a degree of subjectivity into the interview process, potentially obstructing fair and equitable decision-making,” said Gutierrez.

Structured interviews are most predictive of job performance, she noted, but they must be carefully designed so they are not standardized. Interview questions and assessments should promote deeper exploration into specific skills and experiences closely aligned to the intended job. If done right, structured interviews can improve fairness and consistency and create a level playing field.

So why are recruiters still so reliant on traditional interviews? It comes down to a certain degree of “historical inertia,” said Gutierrez. Hiring managers are familiar with the process, and perceive standardization as a “seemingly fair and orderly way to compare candidates.”

Also, she pointed out, traditional interviews tend to be less resource-intensive compared to work simulations or job trials — which can be especially compounded for SMBs that simply can’t justify that type of investment.

Candidates need the best platform to prove themselves Clearly, job candidates have different personalities, so a one-size-fits-all platform can also be uncomfortable. Interviews — even or in some cases especially via Zoom — are high-pressure and can potentially disadvantage some candidates who would better present in less formal settings. Limited time may also not allow them to fully show off their skills, particularly when questions are generic and untailored to the job.

Further, “not all candidates possess equal prowess in self-presentation, which can lead to inequities, particularly affecting those from diverse backgrounds or with varying communication styles,” said Gutierrez.

Ultimately, job seekers want more personalized, respectful, detailed, comprehensive and transparent interviews, she noted. They like recruiters who are engaging, communicate clearly, respond promptly, engage in meaningful dialogue and encourage questions.

Additionally, hiring processes that are efficient and thorough shape candidates’ perceptions of a business, she noted. Negative experiences, such as unresponsive or unprofessional recruiters, often lead workers to decline offers.

“Job seekers are calling for improvements that include better-prepared recruiters, respectful and engaging interviewers and a streamlined, transparent hiring process,” said Gutierrez.

Flexibility in interviewing is important, too Flexibility is another important aspect, particularly when it comes to interview scheduling. This is especially true when it comes to women, and more specifically women in color.

In fact, recent data from recruitment company Karat found that 42% women of color scheduled job interviews out of core 9-5 business hours — which is roughly 20% more often than other candidates. Job seekers are increasingly demanding 24/7 interviews: after hours, late at night, early in the morning or even on the weekend.

Enabling such interviews that are less traditional but more convenient “makes the interviewing process more efficient, engaging and enjoyable,” said Scott Bonneau, Karat’s EVP of product and operations. Candidates can interview “at times that are distraction-free and increase confidence going into what is always a nerve-wracking experience.”

Flexible interview scheduling can also widen a pool of candidates and speed up the hiring process, he said. It can create a more enjoyable experience that emphasizes the value companies place on talent.

This tactic is best suited to organizations with a large global footprint, he noted — including technology companies, large financial institutions and retailers, among others. They can tap into their different time zones and can even open up new global capability in different markets when not limited by the bandwidth of interviewers in specific time zones, said Bonneau.

Increased use of AI, experimentation with emerging tech Artificial intelligence (AI), as it is everywhere else, is working its way into the interview process, notably to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. This includes AI-driven assessments, preliminary screening tools and automated scheduling, said Gutierrez.

AI can also monitor interview flow and provide real-time prompts to interviewers — such as reminding them to turn on their video or alerting them if they dominate the conversation and inhibit candidates from contributing or asking questions, she said.

“These AI-driven interventions help maintain the quality and effectiveness of interviews, making the experience more engaging and equitable for candidates,” she said.

Additionally, AI can help reduce biases by providing more standardized evaluations of interview responses based on predefined criteria. However, these tools must be continually monitored and refined to ensure fairness and accuracy.

Meanwhile, some organizations are adopting mixed reality (MR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies to perform more immersive evaluations. This is largely in its experimental phases across the board, Gutierrez said, but particularly in fields where real-world training can be costly or risky — such as healthcare, aerospace and advanced manufacturing — employees and prospects can benefit when they practice procedures in controlled virtual spaces.

Additionally, some large financial institutions are beginning to incorporate fully virtualized exercises to assess workers’ decision-making, communication and conflict management skills, said Gutierrez.

Don’t shy away from sharing or open-source tools When it comes to assessing developer skills, one unique tactic is leveraging the open-source community.

“Open source companies have a great toolbox to work with when it comes to hiring” — that is, Github repositories, said Reshma Khilnani, co-founder and CEO of healthcare developer platform Medplum.

Some candidates set up their environment on localhost and contribute a “good first issue” to the public code base, she explained. This can give them a sense of what it’s like to work at a company.

This is Medplum’s practice, said Khilnani — but other companies use their process to evaluate their candidates. Also, candidates using their repo gain experience and can build out a portfolio to show a variety of prospective employers.

“To those not familiar with open source, this sounds nuts — but is in the spirit of the community,” said Khilnani.