Should You Record an Interview?

With virtual interviews now common, the ground rules need to be staked out.

One question on the minds of a lot of my clients at Norstrem Associates:

Should I record job interviews?

While it might make sense to take advantage of the technology Zoom and other video-conferencing platforms offer, which tend to make recording any conversation easy, think twice.

When you record a conversation, you must have the consent of everyone on the call, for one thing. Forget or mishandle this step, and you tread tricky legal domain.

When you hit “record,” you also run the risk of changing the vibe of the interview and making the candidate nervous, particularly if they don’t fully understand why you are recording the call.

One last reason not to record? In my experience, when people count on having access to a conversation later in order to evaluate a candidate or go back and get details, they become overly reliant on a technology that’s apt to fail.

Sometimes it’s better to really pay attention, be present during the interview and take into context all interpersonal dynamics.

Of course, there are times when it might be important to record an interview, and after all, the technology was developed for a reason.