Headline, March 09 2022/ ''' '' VIRTUAL INTERVIEWS VORTEX '' ''' : LESSON

 

''' '' VIRTUAL INTERVIEWS

 VORTEX '' ''' : LESSON

''THERE'S A LOT OF DEMAND OUT THERE FOR relatively few people'' said Ben Zhao, a computer science professor at the University of Chicago who studies online marketplaces.

Adding that the imbalance in the labor market might push companies toward risky hires. ''That makes them more susceptible to mis representation of fraud.

Employers are also facing a moment in which collective angst is driving all kinds of unusual misbehaviour. That's something Tamara Sylvestre, 32, said she realized last year when she was working as a recruiter at a staffing firm based in Michigan and interviewed someone for an engineering position.

She did an initial phone screening with the candidate, in which she noted that he had a high-pitched voice. When she conducted a follow up technical interview by video, his voice seemed to have deepened.

Ms. Sylvestre asked why his vocal pitch had changed, and he confessed that he had asked a friend to do the video interview for him.

''What are you going to do if you ended up getting the role?'' Ms. Sylvestre recalled asking the candidate, bewildered. ''He was like : ' I was really nervous. I thought no one would notice.' '' The role was 100 percent remote, so maybe he thought it wouldn't make a difference.''

PITFALLS OF THE VIRTUAL INTERVIEW : A lip-synching applicant. So what do you really know about that job hunter you saw only online?

Remote hiring has given some job seekers the impression that they can get away with extreme forms of dishonesty. 

It was as if ''Seinfeld'' plot had met John Le Carre.

Kristin Zawarski, 44, who works in information technology, in a department of about 70 people, was helping to conduct a virtual job interview.

She said she was impressed by the candidate's sharp understanding of the technical skills required for the position. But about 15 minutes into the conversation, one of her colleagues muted the video call.

''The person answering the questions isn't the person on camera,'' he declared, according to her recollection, prompting an audible gasp from his teammates.

Ms. Zawatski's colleague had recognized the voice coming from the screen and realized it was an acquaintance who was answering the technical questions while the job candidate moved his lips onscreen - something the candidate's friend had just confessed over a text message.

''What did he think was going to happen when he moved across the country and realized he couldn't do the job?'' Ms. Zawatski later wondered aloud.

Job interviews have always demanded a pair of somewhat incongruous qualities : authenticity and polish. Interview guides urge candidates to put their best foot forward. Recruiters encourage people to be genuine, even have fun with the process.

[''The surprising secret to interview success - be yourself,'' goes the typical advice.] It can be a psychologically taxing combination of tips, compelling job seekers to wonder how they can simultaneously convey a real sense of their flawed, leave-dishes-in-the-sink personalities while also boasting of their abilities as a math whiz, polyglot, team leader, calendaring virtuoso or whatever.

''It's very easy to present yourself as you would like to be, as opposed to the way you really are,'' said Robert Feldman, a psychologist at University of Massachusetts Amherst and the author of ''The Liar in Your Life.''

People, he added, tend to learn from a young age the advantages conferred by fibbing.

Children are taught that when Grandma comes over with the gift of an impossibly ugly sweater, they should act as if they had gotten a PlayStation, Dr. Fieldman said. As they get older, the stakes of lying are raised - most notably in a job interview, when there's money on the table.

Remote hiring processes have given some job seekers the impression that they can get away with extreme forms of dishonesty. Virtual interviews leave open the possibility that candidates can ask a friend to feed them answers.

Telephone calls can create a psychological distance between the interviewer and interviewee, Dr. Fieldman noted, which may make it easier for people to justify presenting themselves in an accurate way. 

At the same time, people are doing far more interviews than before, with about one in five employees  voluntarily switching jobs in 2020.

Still, recruiters know to expect some gloss in the hiring process. It's even acknowledged in pop culture. 'Fluent in Finnish?'' Isla Fisher's character is asked in ''Confessions of a Shopaholic,'' by a friend who is scanning her job qualifications.

Ms. Fisher's character responds : ''Everyone has fudged their resume a little.''

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research and Writings on The-State-of-the-World, continues. The World Students Society thanks author Emma Goldberg.

With respectful dedication to Employers, Job Seekers, Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all prepare and register for Great Global Elections on The World Students Society - for every subject in the world : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter - E-!WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

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