Interview Fatigue—Are You Struggling with it?

Interview fatigue is a real thing. Imagine, a candidate sits across from two interviewers, both looking at her with neutral expressions. She shifts in her seat, exhausted from the long day of interviews.

Back-to-back interviews are tiring and stressful. If you’re like a lot of recruiters, your calendar likely looks like a stack of color-coded bricks, full of digital interviews. 

Accommodating everyone’s busy schedules can be frustrating. You’re becoming fatigued by asking the same questions over and over again. You’re not the only one. Let’s begin by looking into what interview fatigue is, why it’s happening, and warning signs to watch out for.

Interview Fatigue: What it is and Why it’s Happening

Interview fatigue is a legitimate, growing problem that can sabotage even the best laid recruitment plans. With so many of us working behind screens, the phenomenon has become even more widespread. It’s extended beyond in-person interviews to include video interviewing, too.

Stanford University published the first peer-reviewed study on Zoom fatigue, which examined the psychological consequences of spending hours per day on video platforms.

Bailenson does not villainize the technology. He’s ‘thankful’ it has helped his research group stay productive and keeps friends and family connected. He believes the fatigue boils down to four factors:

• Excessive amounts of intense eye contact (ordinarily reserved for close relationships)
• Cognitive load (people need to work harder to send and receive signals)
• Increased self-evaluation from staring at video of oneself
• Constraints on physical mobility

At the end of the meeting, it makes sense why you’re so tired.

Interview Fatigue Has Many Downsides

Increased Job Dissatisfaction

The reason many talent acquisition professionals enter the field of recruitment is because they love working with people and possess high levels of emotional intelligence. They’re enthusiastic about making genuine connections with potential employees.

But, asking tens upon hundreds of monotonous questions can wear on your energy levels, and make you feel lethargic about your work. You may start to feel like you’re just another name on the screen when candidates’ body language suggest that they’re tuning out or disengaged.

Fuzzy Focus & Memory

When we’re tired, we tend to make more mistakes. Our memory gets hazy, which can develop into chronic work stress. Applicants blur together, and we struggle to remember important interview details.

This becomes problematic when trying to collaborate with colleagues, especially hiring managers. This can turn into a frustrating situation for both the hiring manager and the candidate when either party stumbles over a question or answer.

Lowered Expectations

If you’re overtired, you might unnecessarily (and usually unconsciously) lower your expectations—in your work and of candidates. This typically derives from a desire to finish your many rounds of video interviews quickly so you can extend a job offer.

Smart recruiters know speed should never come at the cost of your quality of hire. This can result in high turnover. But still, part of you just wants to get it over with already. Overtiredness leads to this kind of bad attitude and reactivity.

An Unfair Candidate Experience

The candidate you interview at 9:00 a.m. is more likely to have a better experience than the one you interview at 4:00 p.m. when you’re running out of steam and keen to call it a day. The interviewees simply don’t get the same level of attention because of interview fatigue.

Equal opportunity employers are actively trying to minimize hiring bias, but fatigue can get in the way of this objective. It can negatively influence your decision making and unintentionally create a poor candidate experience.

A Loss of Top Talent

If you come across as tired, disinterested, or distracted during job interviews (in-person or digital), you risk losing top talent. When interviewees pick up on your lack of enthusiasm, they often start mirroring your lack of interest.

They may shorten their interview responses, and become less interested in the position. Your top pick may decide they don’t want the job, even if they’re offered it.

The bottom line is that you don’t want to be fatigued, stressed out, or otherwise in a poor state of mind when hiring.

You’ve tried to shift this negative energy, but it feels stuck. Whether you’re recruiting online, in-person, or some combination—how can you achieve a better headspace when there are so many people to interview?

Tips on Preventing Interview Fatigue

For improved energy levels, you already know you should get enough sleep, take breaks when you need them, and clean up your diet.

Although all these tips can be very helpful, there’s one action you can take that can overcome interview fatigue now.

The Secret? Pre-Recorded Video Interviews.

Pre-recorded video interviews (also called on-demand, one-way, and asynchronous interviews) can help you finally beat the exhaustion that comes from a long day of interviewing.

With pre-recorded interviews, hiring teams and candidates have complete flexibility since interviewers do not need to meet with candidates in real-time. That means zero scheduling conflicts or time zone complications.

Simply upload your interview questions into the software once (either video-based or written questions). Job applicants can record their answers to your questions 24/7. Just press play to watch candidates’ videos whenever it works best for you.

Consider what times of the day you feel most efficient, and block off those chunks of time to review videos from candidates. Watch the recorded video responses whenever you are most alert.

If you’re tired, you can skip worrying about your appearance on camera. You don’t have to worry about lighting, camera angle, what you’re wearing, or making “eye contact” with candidates by looking into the camera lens. There’s no forced smiling, no small talk, and you can take breaks between interviews to refocus.

This approach to recruitment is extremely effective and guarantees that all candidates receive the same experience every time, minimizing unwanted bias. Sharing the recorded videos with other hiring stakeholders is as easy as sending them a secure web link.

The improved collaboration that comes from implementing a structured pre-recorded video interviewing process presents a clearer, unbiased view of your candidates—so you feel less fatigued and re-energized by your work.