Trial Shifts Instead of Interviews >> Advent Policy Brief #10

I'm happy to platform the circulating opinion that job interviews should be paid; let's require an employer pay their interviewee(s) 3 hours of minimum wage. Time is a limited resource and some hiring processes include multiple interviews, testing, and investigations. Where work is unspecialized, scheduled interviews don't really make sense anymore. My tenth Advent Policy Brief suggests that entry-level jobs skip interviews and evaluate applicants who sign up for a trial shift. 

If payment became mandatory, it would be come clear quickly that interviewing isn't as valuable as it seems; it's just been that applicant time is freely available for employers to exploit. In a cultural powershift, hiring managers are reconsidering value of time interviewing takes up. Employers are getting ghosted by qualified applicants who they want to speak further with. There are 2 points when ghosting happens: not showing up for the interview and not showing up for the first shift. 

Why not make the first shift the interview?

An applicant would fill out a form online. They'd get a get a confirmation/information phone call and be scheduled to come in for a paid trial day. At the end of that day, there's a job offer or there's not. After 3 months, they become employed indefinitely. 

I don't have data to quote, but anecdotally, this hiring model would help (dis)abled and racialized applicants avoid interview bias. 

It's "try it before you buy it", but for employees.

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