One-Way Videos: The Hidden Enemy of Employer Branding

In the world of hiring, speed and efficiency take precedence over everything. Companies see asynchronous (one-way) video interviews as a lifesaver for finding the right person among thousands of candidates. However, on the other side of the coin lies a reality where candidates "perform for silence" in front of a camera and quickly grow cold toward your brand. If you set up your AI strategy incorrectly, you might end up jeopardizing your greatest asset, your employer brand, while trying to save on costs. Scientific data and candidate experiences clearly reveal how this "cold" technology damages company image.

Candidates are tired of "performing for silence"

One-way video interviews are built on the premise of a candidate reading a question appearing on screen and recording their own video. However, this process creates a deep sense of "worthlessness" in candidates. The comprehensive study titled "Experience and Adaptation in AI-mediated Hiring Systems" conducted by Md Nazmus Sakib and colleagues notes that candidates describe this format as feeling like "talking to a security camera with a microphone." One participant summarized the experience as "no reaction, no presence; it's just me and my doubts" (Sakib et al., 2018/2024).

This situation causes candidates to feel like merely a data point or a cog in a machine rather than a valued talent. Sakib and team (2018/2024) emphasize that such interactions trigger a sense of "dehumanization" and that candidates develop significant distrust toward the system. Feeling like you're talking to a wall causes even the most talented candidates to abandon the interview midway or develop a negative perception of your company.

The damage to employer brand is proven by numbers

Many HR managers think AI-powered video interviews make the company look "innovative." But the reality points to the exact opposite. Nicole Jurado's (2025) thesis titled "The effects of artificial intelligence on shaping employer brand perception" shows that asynchronous video interviews are the AI tool candidates despise the most.

Some striking data shared in this research illustrates the severity of the issue:

The likelihood of candidates applying to a company using this type of interview stays at only 29%.
63% of candidates who experienced an AI interview describe the company brand with "negative" adjectives (cold, mechanical, unfair).
Candidates feel that video interviews make them feel like just a "statistic" and that the company avoids investing in people (Jurado, 2025).

Especially for roles requiring high competency, candidates expect a human to dedicate time to them. Jurado (2025) notes that completely removing human interaction from the interview process leads to the brand being perceived as "unprofessional and lazy." If the company responds to a candidate's effort with just a bot, the candidate codes this as "disrespect."

Expectation violation theory: Why disappointment occurs in the ChatGPT era

Modern candidates are now accustomed to intelligent and interactive AI systems like ChatGPT. When a candidate hears that a company will conduct an "AI-powered interview," they naturally expect an "intelligence" they can converse with and ask questions to. However, when they're met with just a static screen that records video, they experience a significant "expectation violation" (Expectation Violation Theory).

Sakib et al. (2018/2024) reveal that when candidates realize the AI interviewer falls far below the advertised level, their stress levels increase. Candidates express disappointment saying, "They said AI, but this is just a dressed-up recording form." This technological gap makes the company's use of technology appear "fake" or "superficial," fundamentally undermining candidate trust.

How to make AI interviews "brand-friendly"

So how can you use AI without damaging your brand? The solution lies in positioning technology not as a barrier replacing humans, but as a bridge supporting them. The most important recommendation from Nicole Jurado's (2025) and Jabarian & Henkel's (2026) studies is to adopt a "hybrid and transparent" model.

Here are the strategic steps to protect your brand:

Avoid asynchronous videos: communicate with candidates through real-time or interactive voice AI agents.
Be transparent: clearly explain to the candidate at the start of the interview what the AI measures and at which stage (Jurado, 2025).
Provide feedback: ensure the AI gives motivational responses during the interview such as "That was a great example, thank you" (Sakib et al., 2018/2024).
Maintain human oversight: give candidates the assurance that "A human will also watch and evaluate this" at the end of the interview.

The field experiment with 70,000 participants conducted by Jabarian and Henkel (2026) emphasizes that AI voice agents provide 60% efficiency gains for HR professionals, but the final decision must always be made by a human. AI should deliver speed during the initial screening, but human interviewers should continue to handle the "connection-building" aspect that is the soul of the interview.

Conclusion: Efficiency should not kill empathy

Employer brand is the sum of emotions a candidate feels during the interview process. If you condemn your candidates to silence through one-way videos, you don't just make them rejected candidates, you turn them into future enemies of your brand. As Poenaru and Diaconescu (2025) state in their research, ethical and human-centered priorities are more important to Gen Z candidates than the technology itself.

When choosing AI for your company, ask yourself: Is this tool automating the interview, or severing the connection between me and the candidate? The right AI interview tool is not one that reduces the candidate to a number, but one that listens to their story, responds in real time, and engages them in the process. The best talent doesn't just apply for the job; they apply to cultures where they feel valued.

References

Jabarian, B., & Henkel, L. (2026). Voice AI in Firms: A Natural Field Experiment on Automated Job Interviews. Booth School of Business, University of Chicago.
Jurado, N. (2025). The effects of artificial intelligence on shaping employer brand perception: insights from entry-level hiring practices. Master Thesis, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
Poenaru, L. F., & Diaconescu, V. (2025). Bridging Technology and Talent: Gen Z's Take on AI in Recruiting and Hiring. Bucharest University of Economic Studies.
Sakib, M. N., Rayasam, N. M., & Dey, S. (2018/2024). Experience and Adaptation in AI-mediated Hiring Systems: A Combined Analysis of Online Discourse and Interface Design. University of Maryland.
Lee, B. C., & Kim, B. Y. (2021). Development of an AI-based interview system for remote hiring. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), 12(3), 654-663.