From how Employ's AI Interview Companion platform impacts your existing workflow to overcoming recording anxiety, prepare your team with answers to these most frequently asked questions.
At Employ, we recognize that recording and transcribing interviews may be a new concept to many. To ensure new users feel comfortable and confident in all aspects of our AI Interview Companion platform, we’ve compiled this list of the most frequently asked questions after a first introduction to our platform.
Q. What is the AI Interview Companion (Pillar)?
A. The AI Interview Companion is an interview intelligence platform. Companies leverage AI interview companions to introduce efficiencies and consistency into their interview workflow, fostering fair and equitable hiring experiences where candidates can better represent themselves throughout the interviewing lifecycle.
Q. How does our AI Interview Companion do this?
A. At the core, our AI Interview Companion records and transcribes interviews. The recordings, in part or in their entirety, can then be reviewed and shared with others within your organization. The platform also introduces interview guides and candidate scoring/feedback “live” during the interview, which can reduce the need for post-interview debriefings, etc. These can significantly reduce time-to-hire and possibly eliminate unnecessary interviews.
Q. Are you even allowed to record interviews?
A. Yes! As the candidate is notified on at least two separate occasions that the interview will be recorded, they can opt out of recording at any point. You’ll likely be surprised at how unfazed most are by the recording, and how rare a candidate chooses not to be.
Q. Who can see the recordings after the interview?
A. You, the hiring manager, your system administrators, and those with whom you choose to share the recordings.
Q. Does AI Interview Companion (Pillar) support both SSO and direct auth concurrently?
A. Yes, you can have all three auth types enabled at the same time (email, Google, SAML SOO)
Q. Does AI Interview Companion (Pillar) support Google Meet?
A. Yes, Google Meet is supported; however, the Interview Guide feature is not available with Google Meet. All other features, including transcription and interview recording, are available. To enable Google Meet to work with the AI Interview Companion, follow the steps below.
- Ensure that any meeting is scheduled at least an hour in advance; this will help the bot to pick up on those meetings ahead of time. Any meetings not scheduled with this extra hour allowance should utilize the instant interview button.
- If you use words in the event title, such as “Interview,” the bot can read your calendar for that event and attempt to auto-join.
- Invite the note taker specifically by adding: notetaker@pillar.hr as an invitee. This will make the bot join.
Q. Does AI Interview Companion (Pillar) support EU-based Zoom accounts?
A. While the Zoom integration is available via AI Interview Companion (Pillar), it is NOT compatible with EU-based Zoom accounts.
Q. Does AI Interview Companion (Pillar) support non-English languages?
A. AI Interview Companion (Pillar) can translate interviews into 17 different languages, including the summary, transcript, and AI Interview Companion Copilot (Chatbot) responses. Language translations are supported for both completed interviews and active interviews. NOTE: By default, the summary and transcript automatically appear in the language spoken during the interview.
In the interview, click the Translation icon, then select your preferred language from the drop-down. The supported languages include:
- Arabic
- Dutch
- English
- French
- French Canadian
- German
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Italian
- Japanese
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Romanian
- Serbian
- Spanish
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
Q. Does AI Interview Companion (Pillar) automatically join meetings after the scheduled start time?
A. No, AI Interview Companion (Pillar) will only join meetings at the start or up to eight minutes after the meeting has started. If the meeting is delayed beyond that, it must be rescheduled.
Candidate Experience
Q. Does my candidate know they're being recorded?
A. Yes! At a minimum, the candidate is notified twice that the meeting will be recorded. They receive an email from the AI Interview Companion 24 hrs before the interview, and are notified as they enter the meeting.
Q. Can the candidate opt out of being recorded?
A. Yes. The candidate can opt out of being recorded at any time, including once the interview has begun. If they enter the interview and decide they would prefer not to be recorded, you, as the interviewer, can easily toggle the recording off. The interview will continue as usual.
Q. What if a candidate asks why the interview is being recorded? Can you give a sample response?
A. Why record? "We utilize the AI Interview Companion to record and transcribe our candidate interviews, thereby promoting a fair and equitable hiring process. One where you can represent yourself in your own words at all stages of the interviewing process. It also allows me to focus entirely on our conversation, and less on taking notes.”
Who has access to the recording? The project team working to fill this role can view the recording, and the system administrator can view it as well. If you work for a recruiting or search firm, you could also include that you may share portions of the interview with the client for whom the search is being conducted.
Q. What if a candidate requests a copy of the recording?
A. While incredibly rare, it's beneficial to have an answer if it arises. There's both a legal and a functional answer.
Functionally, if a customer decides to share an interview with a candidate, the AI Interview Companion can share a file with the customer to deliver to the candidate.
Legally, it often depends on the jurisdiction in which the matter is being addressed. For example, the EU and California require the recording to be shared if requested. If you're unsure whether to share, you may want to consult with your internal legal department. The AI Interview Companion is also a valuable resource, but most customers use it primarily for internal confirmation.
Q. Who receives the interview recap email?
A. When the recap automation fires, it loops through the interviewerIds field on that specific interview and emails only those people. So, if five people are listed on the job’s hiring team but only three were scheduled/run as interviewers (i.e., their IDs are on the interview record), only those three get the recap email.
The Interviewer’s Experience
Q. How will the AI Interview Companion impact my interview preparation?
A. Generally, you can continue to prep for an interview as usual. However, we suggest reviewing the interview guide in advance (if using), especially if it’s for a role you haven't conducted before.
Q. Should I still be taking notes during interviews?
A. It's up to you! Out of habit, most people continue to take notes for the first few interviews with the AI Interview Companion. However, the note-taking decreases quickly as confidence with the AI Interview Companion grows.
Q. I’m a little nervous/uncomfortable about my interviews being recorded. Is that normal?
A. It’s perfectly normal! While many take the recording in stride, for others it can bring a hint of anxiety, much like hearing your own voice for the first time! However, experience has shown that the discomfort tends to pass quickly, even after a few interviews. Who knows? You might even wow yourself!
Q. Can I share my interviews with co-workers?
A. A key piece of the AI Interview Companion's functionality is the ability to share the contents of candidate interviews. Whether you want to share the entire interview or just the highlights, the process is straightforward and intuitive.
Q. Can I stop the recording from within the interview experience?
A. Yes! You can stop the recording at any time. For example, if there are specific questions or answers you’d prefer not to be recorded, you can save them for the end and turn off the recording before proceeding.
Q. Can I export the interview transcript?
A. Yes! You can easily export the entire transcript with a single click. Look for the Export button at the top right of the transcript in the AI Interview Companion web app.
Q. When can I review an interview in the AI Interview Companion once it ends?
A. Generally, the interview takes about half the time to process in the AI Interview Companion. A 40-minute interview should be ready in about 20 minutes.
Q. How does AI Interview Companion (Pillar) process Candidate Sentiment?
A. AI Interview Companion (Pillar) analyzes phrasing throughout the interview to determine when the candidate's sentiment seems to change. This sentiment, then, is correlated with topic changes, providing insight into the reasons for any changes.
Q. Can I sync phone interviews into the AI Interview Companion?
A. Phone interviews scheduled via Lever will not transfer or sync into the AI Interview Companion. For this to sync successfully, interviews must be scheduled in the AI Interview Companion standalone application. This means phone interviews will not sync when scheduled via the free AI Interview Companion application included with a Lever purchase.
Q. How do I get access to the standalone application?
A. The Interview Companion standalone application is an extra add-on. Please reach out to your AM/CSM for pricing on the AI Interview Companion. If you're unsure who that is, please reach out to our support team.