Goldman Sachs is changing the path to new graduates' first job

Digital interviewing has been in the news recently because Goldman Sachs has announced a move to first round video interviews for campus recruitment this summer. For the first time in 10 years the bank reviewed its hiring process for college graduates, resulting in the disruption of a status quo recruiting model to better attract and identify top talent for their analyst program.

Goldman Sachs is looking for top candidates that are the 'right fit' for the junior investment banking roles they need to fill each year.  The 'right fit' for Goldman, like many companies, is someone that will be a cultural fit, be successful in their work, and stay for a meaningful period of time to build a career at the firm, not just use the experience as a quick stepping stone.

At HireVue, we believe that digital interviewing gives people a better chance of finding their dream job, because they will have the same opportunity as anyone else in the candidate pool to tell their story and demonstrate their skills. Going digital just makes sense for organizations that need to build and coach diverse teams.  

Based on the amount of coverage Goldman Sachs' move to video interviewing for campus recruiting is getting, it seems many are surprised and unfamiliar with the technology.  We thought we'd take this opportunity to share how and why companies have disrupted traditional recruiting models with digital technology and progressive practices.

Why move to Digital Interviewing?

The same principles that drove consumer banking to offer more services via digital and mobile technology have been applied to recruiting.  Rather than going to a bank and standing in line to deposit a check, customers can now deposit checks via mobile device.  This is what 'digital' is all about - providing a better experience that is more efficient and at a lower cost. Candidates can now interview from their mobile device, on their own time, eliminating the need to align schedules with a recruiter or hiring manager.

"Resumes aren't a good reflection of who you are," says HireVue CEO and Founder, Mark Newman. "College grad resumes have the same information for each person, it's not humanized. How do you find a good fit?  When it comes to campus recruiting, candidates look the same on paper because their experience is often limited.  They have the degree and maybe an internship, but each student is not the same when it comes to personality, drive, and work ethic. We use video to differentiate."

Digital Interviewing Casts a Wider Net to Attract and identify Talent

Digital interviewing allows companies to attract more talent and cast a wider net for their candidate pool. They are no longer restricted by the amount of time they have available to conduct interviews and screen resumes.  Companies embracing digital and video first recruitment can see more candidates from more schools, while improving the quality of candidates and driving efficiency. 

"Organizations are asking how they can go broader and identify non-traditional sources of talent," said HireVue CEO, Mark Newman in a recent interview.  "In the last 2-3 years organizations are trying not to limit where they recruit from.  Now it's not just Ivy League.  IBM Watson uses HireVue for all college recruiting."

Recent selection science studies have shown that degrees, GPA and school attended are not a good predictor of job performance. 

Candidates Love the EXPERIENCE AND ABILITY to interview on their own time

Digital interviewing appeals to the modern workforce.  Millennials and digital native generations expect to interact with companies and brands in a modern way.  Candidates love the chance to tell their story and demonstrate their skills- from the convenience of their mobile device. Top candidates are off of the market in 10 days.  For graduate pools, the top candidates will receive multiple offers.  Using video first collapses the steps and time required for initial screenings, starting conversations with the right candidates faster and better predicting performance than traditional processes and assessments. HireVue has enabled customers to collapse an average 42 day recruiting process to just 6 days.  

Diverse Teams are High Performing Teams

Despite what some people think, digital interviewing drives diversity.  Every candidate gets the same structured interview experience - the same questions in the same order, leveling the playing field for candidates and focusing on the skills and attributes that matter, rather than where they played sports or other biases inherent in the traditional 1:1 interview. Employers can evaluate substantially more candidates through digital interviews than traditional screening methods. So, more people get a fair shot at each opportunity.

Even if you've successfully used the same recruiting model for years, current market dynamics require a change in order to attract the diverse talent it takes to win. According to various studies, increasing diversity increases revenue.

Taking digital interviews to the next level

Goldman Sachs is experimenting with personality questionnaires to better predict right fit candidates. At HireVue we've gone one step further to capture predictive information as part of the digital interview, which provides a better candidate experience than a lengthy questionnaire.