The interview is dead | Long live the interview

So is it really dead?  Well not exactly but in line with petrol going up to £25 per litre will the face-to-face interview survive in the connected, social, web centric virtual world we now live in?

And has it already changed more than we care to admit?

A few years ago I suggested that the first time we meet a new employee 'in the flesh' would be on the day they start.  What I found particularly interesting is that one person who really disagreed with me was Robbie Cowling of Jobserve.  This amused me not because it was Robbie (who loves to argue more than me) but because someone from the IT industry disagreed; the same IT industry that had stopped interviewing people face-to-face a long time ago (when was the last time your IT contactors were interviewed by you - or the agency?!) even then (and this was about 4 years ago).

Some key points that will take us there:

1. People will use their networks to self-select which organisations they will work for.
2. Recruiters will do a lot more selection using online tools so they can target better qualified people rather than rely on volume via job boards.
3. People will ask more questions than recruiters e.g. are you sustainable? why should I work for you? what are your values?
4. Petrol and green issues will dictate less travel to assessment centres and countless interviews and more online discussion.
5. Compliance will force checks to be made BEFORE an offer so that time delay will need to be compensated for.
6. Monster will not survive as irrelevant volume will be sacrificed!

But, the point is that the points above are not really the points.  You can argue against any of them.  The main point is that the interview is evolving and people are revolting against needless travel and time wasting to NOT be offered a job.