How many re-takes should I use?

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How many re-takes should I use?

myInterview offers the option of customizing how many chances/takes that candidates can have when answering questions in asynchronous interviews.  The big question:

How many re-takes should I set-up? 

We do get asked this question by our clients, and the answer does require careful thought.  Factors you should be considering when choosing re-take options are:

1. How difficult do you want to make the interview -> less re-takes, the more the candidate is providing an unprepared answer.

2. How "kind" you want to be to candidates -> the more re-takes, the more the candidate gets comfortable with the camera and the technology.  This may be important when you know candidates are not familiar with this style of video interviewing. 

3. How many questions you compile in your interview.  If you have opted for many questions in the asynchronous interview, having many re-takes makes for a lengthly and disengaging candidate experience.  

4. What do other recruiters do? We looked at recruiter behavior research and found that the average number of takes candidates are provided range between 2 and 4 takes.  

In summary, to create a balanced approach which takes difficulty, kindness, a streamlined candidate experience into account, myInterview recommends at least 2 takes on each question in the interview.   If you want to be kinder to the candidate offer up to 4 takes.  We also noted, in a large study conducted in 2021, that the optimal number of questions to ask in an asynchronous video interview is 4 clear questions (Dunlop, Holtrop, & Wee, 2022).  So the rule of thumb: 2x4 = fair, challenging and engaging. 

A pro-tip: when you are building your interview questionnaire in the myInterview job creation process, remember that selecting 2 re-takes = the candidate will actually have 3 chances to record.  So if you want to create 2 takes -> select 1 re-take. 

Reference:

(Dunlop, P. D.,  Holtrop, D., & Wee, E. (2022). How asynchrononous video interview are used in practice: A study of an Australian-based AVI vendor. International Journal of Selection and Assessment 1(8). 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

Clayton Donnelly

Clayton Donnelly (Head of Professional Services) is an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist with 15 years of global assessment, hiring and talent experience. He also loves bringing the world of technology and people together through fair, robust and high-quality solutions.


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