I don’t do video interviews when hiring.

I don’t like doing them.
Filipinos don’t like doing them.

Most Filipinos are shy, it makes them self-conscious, and it makes them uncomfortable. Not that all these things are bad…

My team recently did a poll on a Facebook group and asked them whether they like going through video interviews and why. Here are the results.

“Pwede pass nalang” means no, they’s pass on interviews if possible.

As you can see, most of them don’t like it.

I know it’s weird that some people say they both love and hate video interviews. Here’s the reason they gave for that answer.

“Both for me. Depends on my mood. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.”

Some are okay with interviews because some days they feel confident and comfortable with it. Sometimes, they don’t. It’s an explanation, but I’m still going to count it as a no because I know it will take a lot of motivation on their part to be confident with video interviews.

As you can see, most answered with “No, not comfortable. Here are some of their reasons why.”

“I often fail at interviews because I am intimidated by people who are really good at English. I noticed that applicants with better English are more likely to get hired. I prefer showing off my skills, and being hired based on the output.”

There are so many jobs that don’t need great English skills. I think it’s more important that your OFS has the right skills and attitude for the job. Their English doesn’t have to be perfect in order to communicate with them.

Here’s an interesting response to why they don’t like interviews.

I think this is related to the first comment.

Video interviews are hard enough, but a face-to-face interview can be panic-inducing for some people. To make matters worse, most Philippine companies DO require applicants to speak in English during these interviews. That’s added pressure for them.

But most of them responded like this.

What was interesting about this poll is the number of people who do like interviews. Here’s the leading response.

“Yes, so we can see and hear who we’re dealing with. You’ll get to know the client when you see them and see how they talk at the same time.”

Those who like doing interviews do this so they know who they’re dealing with, to see if they can trust the person.

This usually happens when they go through a hiring process where they’re not given other ways to get to know the employer, like with email interviews.

When I do email interviews, I ask a bunch of questions and encourage them to do the same. I actually prefer it when they have questions because it tells me they’re not just going through the motions. They’re thinking about what they’re doing, which tells me that they’ll do the same thing with their work.

If you want to see my hiring steps and see for yourself how easy it is to hire an amazing OFS, check out OneVAAway.com

John