How to conduct a job interview with the help of a voicebot?

Many recruiters wonder how to conduct a job interview to find the best candidates. The problem in many recruitments, especially mass ones, is the limited time to find new people to work and, at the same time, a lot of CVs received from candidates.

The recruiter would like to check all applications, but this is not always physically possible. In such a situation, the ideal solution may be to use the HR voicebot. It is an automatic voice consultant powered by artificial intelligence that communicates with interlocutors in natural language – which is similar to how people talk to each other.

You can speak to it in different sentences, and the voicebot will understand them without any problems. Thanks to this, a job interview conducted with a voicebot can replace a personal conversation with a recruiter at the initial stage of recruitment – the questions at this stage are quite standard, so there is no need to engage a human for this tedious work. What does such a job interview look like?

How to conduct a job interview with the help of a voicebot?

What exactly can a voicebot do? First of all, it will call all candidates – and not after a few days, but immediately, which increases the chances of the campaign’s success. What would take many hours for a human, takes a few or a dozen minutes for a voice bot because it can call many people at the same time. Voicebot will also try to call people at the previously agreed times – so there is a good chance that it will reach as many candidates as possible. It will reject those who do not answer despite numerous attempts or who provided fictitious data. This is a very mechanical and repetitive stage, that’s why by engaging a voicebot to perform this task, the recruiter avoids fatigue and frustration.

Once the voicebot has reached the candidate, it can thank them for their participation in the recruitment process, acting as the first point of contact with the company. Thanks to this, the candidate makes sure that their application has safely reached the potential employer.

Then it’s time to ask specific questions. How to conduct a job interview and what can a voicebot get to know? Above all, a voicebot can check whether a candidate meets the initial conditions necessary to apply for a given position. The following should be taken into account:

• Motivation: whether the candidate wants to work in a given position and whether they accept the given conditions, such as office location, working hours and the offered salary (voicebot can provide them or ask the candidate about the expected amount). The voicebot can also ask an open question about specific motivation to work in a given position.
• Qualifications: whether the candidate has the necessary qualifications for work, such as a driving license of a specific category, or a completed field of study. Voicebot can also ask about the length of professional experience in a given industry.
• Other questions: the voicebot can ask the candidate about anything – for example what form of contract they prefer or whether they are ready to work in the office or hybrid. It can also ask any open question.

Voicebot can also inform the candidate about the next stages of recruitment, giving them an overview of the entire process. Moreover, because it has been automatically programmed, it will not forget any important information and will always maintain polite expression. In this way, it builds a positive image of the company.

The effect of the voicebot’s work? A pre-prepared database of selected candidates who can be contacted by the recruiter at further stages. But what if the user is not sure whether the voicebot made the right choice? Well, all interviews are saved in the CRM system (additional benefit: you don’t have to fill in the data manually!) and the recruiter can view their transcription at any time and change the initial qualification, although usually – because the questions are standard and the voicebot understands them very well – there is no such need. If the interview included open-ended questions, the recruiter can also check the answers in their CRM and rate them.

These are not all the voicebot’s functions – it knows more than just how to conduct a job interview. Every recruiter realizes how important it is to manage the meeting calendar and send feedback to candidates. The voicebot will automatically arrange meetings with candidates, using available dates in the recruiter’s calendar, and will also call all participating candidates to provide them with information about the recruitment result – regardless of whether they will proceed to the next stage or finish the adventure at the beginning. Thanks to this, the voicebot once again relieves the recruiter of repetitive and tedious tasks.

What should a job interview with a voicebot look like?

Let’s move on to a specific example of a conversation between an HR voicebot and a candidate. What might such a recruitment interview look like? It is worth remembering that its scenarios may be different – each time tailored to the specific needs of the client. It may also have different lengths and be performed using different voices, female or male. Here is an example of a short job interview done with the help of a voicebot.

Voicebot: Good morning, Anna. This is a virtual recruiter of Apifonica speaking. Thank you for applying for the position of Customer Service Specialist. I would like to give you some information about working conditions and talk to you about your application. Will you find some time now?
Candidate: Yes, I have a moment now.
Voicebot: So let’s get started! The job involves solving customer problems over the phone in our call center located in the center of Warsaw, Poland. This is shift work, from Monday to Saturday from 6 am to 2 pm or from 2 pm to 10 pm. Do you like the location of our office and working hours?
Candidate: Yes, they suit me, although I would prefer to work the evening shift.
Voicebot: I see. Details regarding working hours will be agreed directly with your supervisor. Now I would like to ask you, how many years of customer service experience do you have?
Candidate: I worked in a call center for two years and then in a mobile phone showroom for a year.
Voicebot: Do I understand correctly that you have a total of three years of customer service experience?
Candidate: That's right.
Voicebot: Thank you. And the last question – please tell me something about your motivation to work in the customer service department.
Candidate: I really enjoy talking to people and feel satisfied when I manage to solve a client’s problem, especially if it is complicated.
Voicebot: Thank you for your response! All your answers have been saved. The next stage of recruitment is an interview with your direct superior. Regardless of the recruitment result, I will contact you soon. Is there anything else you'd like to ask me?
Candidate: Yes, when can I expect a call?
Voicebot: You should receive information about the next stage of recruitment within two weeks. Do you have any further questions?
Candidate: No, that's all, thank you very much.
Voicebot: I also thank you for the nice conversation and the time you devoted to me. Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Also note what we have already mentioned – voicebot understands various forms of human responses. For example, when asked whether a candidate prefers remote or office work, the person asked may answer, for example:

• “I prefer remote work”
• “I prefer working from home”
• “I would prefer to work remotely”
• “My choice is remote work”
• “I choose remote work”
• “Of course, work from home!”
• “Home office only”
• And so on…

Voicebot reads human intention every time – regardless of the words used to say it. Therefore, talking to it is very natural.

Job interview with a voicebot – effects

So you now know how to conduct a recruitment interview using a voicebot. So let’s summarize the benefits that “hiring” a voicebot has for the recruiter and the company.

Recruiter: more time and less frustration

Thanks to the voicebot, the recruiter can breathe a sigh of relief – they get rid of all the tedious and repetitive tasks, which can be easily automated. Thanks to this, their morale increases and they can devote themselves to more important and creative activities, such as planning a recruitment strategy or in-depth interviews with selected candidates at later stages of the process. 

Company: more money and faster employment

The recruiter’s time costs money – and it costs a lot. What would take many weeks for a human, will take much less time for an automated voicebot. This means savings for the company – let’s look at the example of our client Decathlon.

We should also not forget about candidate experience and the company’s reputation – the voicebot will make sure to respond to all candidates, which in many cases would be impossible for the recruiting team due to lack of time or possible oversight.

Do you want to learn how to conduct a job interview with the help of a voicebot in your company? Check more info about our recruitment voicebot.