Google Cancels In-Person Interviews, Moves Them All Online

Wait, they were still doing in-person interviews?

Between key word searches, algorithmic candidate assessments and online resume submission, this no longer seems espeically novel. JL

Jay Peters reports in The Verge:

Google has begun informing prospective job candidates that it will be moving all interviews globally to Google Hangouts or BlueJeans due to coronavirus.  Facebook said it would be canceling most in-person job interviews, and Amazon put on-site job interviews on hold indefinitely last week. Numerous (other) companies are taking measures, from canceling conferences and severely limiting employee travel to expanding work-from-home policies, in response.

Google has begun informing prospective job candidates that it will be moving all interviews globally to Google Hangouts or BlueJeans due to coronavirus, according to an email sent to one applicant from the Google staffing team.

“In light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and to protect our candidates’ and interviewers’ health and wellbeing, we will be conducting all Google interviews globally virtually via Google Hangout (or BlueJeans for applicable countries) for the foreseeable future,” Google says in the email, which The Verge has reviewed. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Google isn’t the first to cancel on-site interviews in light of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. On Monday, Facebook said it would be canceling most in-person job interviews, and Amazon put on-site job interviews on hold indefinitely last week.

Google has taken a number of additional actions to prevent the spread of coronavirus as well. Yesterday, the company canceled the in-person portion of Google I/O, its biggest event of the year. It is also giving away access to Hangouts Meet, canceled Google Cloud Next, and has limited employee travel.

There have been more than 94,000 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and over 3,200 deaths. Numerous companies are taking measures, from canceling conferences and severely limiting employee travel to expanding work-from-home policies, in response.