Async Interviews: Better & Faster Hiring
Hiring Smarter in a High-Volume, Remote World
Hiring is one of the most critical functions in any business. You want a world-class team that sets your company apart, but you also don’t want to spend all your time filtering through resumes and conducting endless interviews. Traditional hiring processes often fail to efficiently surface the best candidates, especially in a global, remote-first workforce.
That’s where asynchronous (async) interviews come in. Pioneered by forward-thinking teams and platforms like Joule.video from Laura Sposato, async interviews provide a scalable, unbiased, and efficient hiring solution.
How the Async Interview Process Works
Initial Resume Screen
The first step is a standard resume review but with a lower bar. Instead of requiring “perfect” credentials, recruiters ask, “Is this candidate worth watching a 5-minute video from?”The Async Interview
Candidates answer 3-4 open-ended, role-specific questions in short video responses. These questions should allow for infinite depth—meaning experts can go deep while generalists can demonstrate problem-solving ability. Providing clear instructions and an easy submission process increases completion rates.Efficient Review & Decision-Making
Hiring managers can watch 5-10 candidate responses in the time it takes for one live interview. Only the strongest move forward to live discussions. This eliminates unnecessary interviews and speeds up the hiring process, improving candidate experience and employer efficiency.
Why Companies Are Moving to Async Interviews
Efficiency at Scale
Modern hiring tools like LinkedIn and Indeed generate hundreds, even thousands, of applications. Async interviews let hiring managers quickly filter for strong candidates without investing hours in preliminary phone calls. This ensures that the top talent isn’t overlooked due to the volume of applications.Fairer Candidate Evaluation
Many hiring filters—like Ivy League degrees or big-name employers—create biases. Async interviews let candidates showcase their thought processes, problem-solving skills, and communication style, often revealing high-potential candidates from non-traditional backgrounds. Employers can also review responses without the pressure of making snap judgments based on first impressions.Global Hiring Without Time Zone Hassles
As remote work grows, more teams operate asynchronously. Async interviews reflect this reality, allowing candidates to respond on their own time and demonstrate their ability to communicate effectively in an async work environment. This enables companies to access a wider talent pool and hire from diverse geographic locations.
Why Candidates Benefit from Async Interviews
Better Opportunity to Stand Out: Candidates with unconventional backgrounds can shine based on their actual skills, not just their resume.
Less Stressful & More Authentic: No awkward first impressions, timezone scheduling conflicts, or on-the-spot thinking. Candidates can thoughtfully prepare responses.
Faster Hiring Decisions: Async hiring moves candidates through the process quickly, often leading to faster offers.
The Future of Hiring is Async
Async interviews aren’t just a temporary trend; they represent the future of hiring for companies serious about building diverse, high-performing teams. Whether you're hiring for a technical role or a leadership position, an async-first approach can help you find the best talent in a fraction of the time. Async hiring is here to stay, and companies that adopt it early will gain a significant hiring advantage.
Hiring is a multi-faceted challenge, and we’re just getting started. In our next post, we’ll explore how companies should think about hiring and what to look for in a candidate. In the meantime, if you missed it, check out the intro post of this series.