Your Applicant Wants to Record the Interview?(!)

Imagine, meeting a job applicant IRL. Perhaps at your office, maybe at a coffee shop. You sit down, introduce yourself, and then the applicant pulls out a tri-pod, sets up the phone, and says, “I hope you don’t mind if I record this…..”

What would you say?

I’m sure you would be shocked by the audacity.

You might respond with something like, “Ohh, err, I’m not comfortable with that….” or even “I don’t consent to being recorded,” to which the applicant responds…

“This is very common now. And, it’s really for YOUR benefit. In this way, I can focus on you, and our discussion, and not on taking notes! Plus, I’ll be able to review your questions and answers at my leisure, and then I’ll be able to share this video with my advisors, that way, we can all better understand the role and your company.”

Would you shrug, agree, and continue? I don’t think so…..

Stop asking people for one-way video interviews. Stop recording them. Stop bullying them into surrendering their words, image, and ideas to a 3P LLM just for the privilege of applying for a job.

If you found yourself offended by the audacity of an applicant taping you and your interview, be assured the applicant feel EXACTLY the same way! If you’re serious about bringing talent into your organization, offending applicants is not the way to do it.

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Originally published at http://plumedepoison.com on March 17, 2025.