AlignVR Takes On The Job Interview

#alignvr #interview #hiring #candidate #jobapplication

AlignVR is a 30-minute interview that uses a series of virtual reality experiences and puzzles to essentially give candidates the chance to show who they really are. Candidates go through live social interactions between themselves and other candidates in a variety of contexts and situations. The idea is to show enough behavior that an assessor can determine whether you are a good fit for the team.
And here’s the hook. You can’t fake it.

Really though, you can’t. AlignVR actually has what they call an Impression Management Inhibitor. Impression Management is the psychological term that describes the mental effort we put into trying to make a positive impression on those around us. For example a first date. In an effort to be liked, we try to say the ‘right’ things and avoid saying things that could, well, end the night early. We do this all over the place in our lives, especially when we meet someone new. It is particularly potent during the job interview process. AlignVR breaks the Impression Management feedback loop so that you are substantially less able to use it. You become much more likely to say and do things in line with your nature rather than what you think you should say to get the job. The result is authentic behavior.

“The interview process is broken. It just doesn’t accomplish what we think it does. In the real world, the way we get to know people is by observing their behaviors over time. There is no magic interview question you can ask that will show you anything other than one behavior – and that is how does the candidate act under pressure in a one on one interview setting. Frankly, that is far less useful than we think and not very applicable to most of our jobs. What the job interview needs is to demonstrate a variety of behaviors that relate to the types of social interactions we expect in a functioning team. And then it needs to show them in a genuine way .” Tom Viinikka CEO, AlignVR By the numbers, job interviews are only slightly better than flipping a coin. Leadership IQ did a study of 20,000 new hires that showed 40% of them were considered failures by their organizations because of soft skill deficiencies. Isn’t soft skill assessment exactly why we do a face to face interview?

By comparison, only 6% of all candidates have failed hires based on their hard skills. “We’re good at assessing hard skill. We have certificates, degrees, and tests that can show us what a candidate’s skill level is. We’re horrible at assessing soft skill. It’s not because we can’t, it’s just that we don’t have a good method. Virtual reality technology has made some really neat things possible for us in this area. We now can predictably observe natural behaviors of interest that otherwise would have taken months to surface, usually after you have spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to train and integrate a new hire into your business.” Align is starting to get some attention too. They are working with a Global 500 company to change its recruitment process. “ We have completed a successful proof of concept that will be converting into an installed system.

Our customer is thrilled with the results they have seen .” It’s not just the company that is thrilled. Candidates have loved it as well. “ It turns out that people hate job interviews ”, grins Alex Rossol, Co-founder. “ People would rather not be trying to impress an assessor. They just want to be themselves. This product gives them that and they love it. It’s almost like giving them a couple of beers to help them relax and just do them. ” Candidates have also reported an increased perception of the hiring company and increased likelihood of accepting a job after the VR interview. “They see it as a progressive move in hiring. It makes them excited to work.”