Forget finding the perfect interview outfit, high school and college seniors can now interview with some admissions directors or employers in pajama bottoms. Some colleges and companies are using webcams to interview applicants.
E-interviewing is a new process for undergraduate applications, and Wake Forest University is the first college to use online interviews for undergraduate applicants, said Tamara Blocker, associate director of admissions at Wake Forest University. She added that she does know know of any other colleges that have started using e-interviews for their application processes.
When Wake Forest made the SAT and ACT optional for its applicants last year, interviews—which had previously been conducted more for informational purposes—became evaluative, and the university offered online interviews as soon as it made the switch. The online and in-person interviews are given equal weight in the application reviewing process.
“Basically, we use Skype and schedule a time for the interview, and it’s basically like having an on-campus interview but you’re sitting in front of your computer screen,” Blocker said.
Wake Forest will continue to offer on-campus interviews, but the online interviews—which were first made available in December 2008—are now offered to students who cannot make a trip to campus. For the incoming class this fall, Wake Forest had a total of more than 4,000 interviews, 300 of which were conducted through cyberspace.
“It has definitely expanded the number of people that can be interviewed, and that’s the purpose,” Blocker said. “We want to have some sort of personal conversation with as many applicants as we possibly can. The online interview has allowed us to do that.”
It is unlikely, however, that Duke would consider online interviews for undergraduate applicants in the near future because the University no longer offers on-campus interviews, Duke’s Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph Guttentag said. All interviews are now handled regionally through Duke’s alumni interviewing network, so e-interviewing is not necessary.
“I think in general, person-to-person interviews are probably going to be slightly more useful,” Guttentag said. “There’s just more information, visual information, that one can get in a person-to-person meeting.”
On both sides, employers and students are saving money through interviews via Skype, a free video conferencing application available for free download. There are also other software options, like Adobe Acrobat Connect, that are open for student use in The Link.
The University also provides resources for students who need to do interviews online with prospective employers.
The Career Center works closely with The Link, students and companies to coordinate video interviews, Erin Nettifee, coordinator of academic support in the Office of Information Technology, wrote in an e-mail. This Fall, approximately 20 students have e-interviewed through The Link and the Career Center with two different companies.
Lutron Electronics recently started doing e-interviews last summer, and expects to use the process more often, especially during the off seasons when the company might not be sending its employees to campus, said Nora Elmanzalawy, a college recruiting representative at Lutron.
Students have also interviewed over the Web with the finance company UBS.
“UBS has struggled recently, so perhaps this form of interview was a cost-cutting measure,” senior Vadim Leonov wrote in an e-mail.
Elmanzalawy said e-interviewing probably saves her company more than $800 for a school that Lutron’s recruiters would be flying to, and $400 to $500 for a school within driving distance. In addition to the occasional technical difficulty, there are other disadvantages to e-interviewing as opposed to in-person interviews, students said.
“There are intangible traits that interviewers can pick up during an in-person interview on an interviewee that could influence their decision one way or another,” senior Justin Hong, who e-interviewed with UBS, wrote in an e-mail.
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