Enhancing Employment: Speed Interviewing Model by Andrew Soliz, San Diego State University

Candidates participate in a fast-paced speed interview session

Career Services offices are among the strongest advocates for employment, offering free services designed to meet job seekers' evolving needs. One standout service is called “Speed Interviews” which provides participants with the opportunity to gain employment or develop critical job-seeking skills, such as interviewing and résumé building, in a flexible and accessible format quickly. This model is excellent for high-volume recruiting and for increasing employment outcomes for entry-level part-time, seasonal, or other work opportunities with minimal eligibility requirements. It can be adapted to serve internships and other opportunities too.

Speed Interviewing is a game-changer for job seekers and employers, offering on-demand assistance to refine essential job-seeking skills while placing qualified candidates in front of a recruiter without the black hole of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) or form submissions. This service has proven to be a practical, personalized, and highly accessible tool for quick, efficient, job seeker and recruiter connections.

The name "Speed Interviews" was selected to clearly convey the service’s nature: participants interview with potential employers quickly. Speed interviews are modeled after speed networking. They are 15-minute sessions designed to connect candidates with potential employers every 15 minutes, earning a participant four interviews per hour! Whether an employer is seeking to hire a few candidates or many, these sessions are streamlined to ensure efficiency at scale. Career Services teams often prescreen candidates to confirm they meet basic qualifications, simplifying the hiring process for employers and facilitating quicker job offers. The prescreening can also be accomplished by having candidates register for the event online and asking them a series of qualifying questions, automating the prescreening process.

This service has proven especially effective for employers with large recruitments. Some ideal industries include the service sector, entertainment, and hospitality. By providing a low-pressure alternative to formal interview appointments, speed interviews can reduce the barriers to applying for positions and scheduling allowing candidates to obtain an introductory interview at their convenience. Adapted versions of this model have included allowing participants to register for timeslots, then, when they show up for the event, they have little to no wait and can meet with an employer on-demand, with ease.

How it Works

• Recruit Employers: Secure four employers who offer the same or similar job opportunities for a 2-3 hour Speed Interviewing session.

• Candidate Registration and Screening: Encourage candidates to register for a timeslot in advance, answer qualifying questions, and ensure they meet minimum qualifications before connecting them with an employer. Alternatively, candidates can drop in, but having a preregistration process often works best.

• Candidate Verification: When a candidate arrives, verify that they meet the minimum qualifications. Once confirmed, refer them to one of the four employers.

• Timely Transitions: Every 15 minutes, prompt the employer to move to the next candidate, keeping the schedule on track.

• Account for No-Shows: To maintain a steady flow of candidates, over-schedule the event. Overscheduling 2–3 candidates for one recruiter every 15 minutes seems to work well.

• Handle Overflow Candidates: If there are more candidates than expected, let employers conduct a group interview at the end of the event. Ask the employer to schedule all candidates from the group interview for follow-up meetings to ensure everyone has a chance to connect with a recruiter if possible.

The model has also earned notable recognition for its effectiveness. It was praised by former San Jose City Mayor, now U.S. Congressman Sam Liccardo through the city’s SJ Works program, a partnership between a university career center, a Public/WIOA-affiliated career center, the city, and a joint university-city library. The program served job seekers aged 16–29, hosting numerous successful events that connected thousands of candidates to meaningful employment. By providing access to diverse populations, the Speed Interview program became a critical resource, improving employment outcomes. Employers have also experienced significant benefits, finding the drop-in format an efficient way to engage with prequalified candidates who meet their needs. While the service was initially free, a modest fee was later introduced to cover staffing and promotional costs, an investment that employers were more than willing to make due to the program’s clear value and streamlined process.

This process is designed to connect candidates with multiple recruiters in a short amount of time, placing a strong emphasis on securing immediate job opportunities. Recruiters understand the competitive nature of these sessions; if they fail to secure a candidate or schedule a follow-up interview, another employer may do so within minutes, potentially losing the chance to hire a valuable candidate. Employers who bring more recruiters gain a significant advantage, as they can conduct more interviews per hour, increasing their chances of finding the right fit. This creates a time-sensitive environment for employers to act quickly, making timely offers or scheduling follow-ups, as every moment counts. This service ended up being an ideal option for all sizes of employers but also provided a cost-effective alternative to career fairs for small companies.

Employment Outcomes: Metrics and Data

The program’s success is reflected in its high job-seeker participation and strong employer engagement. On average, each event scheduled approximately 200 interviews, with approximately 150 attendees accounting for a 25% no-show rate, half of the typical 50% no-show rate from other events. Over time, the program expanded its employer involvement, growing from four participating employers per session at launch to six in later stages, further enhancing opportunities for both candidates and recruiters.

Challenges & Solutions

The program successfully navigated several key challenges by implementing practical solutions. Initially, space limitations posed a problem, as the program struggled to provide sufficient interview and waiting areas. This was resolved by expanding into local libraries and other community locations, ensuring a more accommodating setup. Candidate no-shows presented another hurdle, which the team addressed by overbooking interviews to maintain a steady flow of attendees. Additionally, charging employers for participation helped to reduce their absence rates. Technical issues, such as reliance on Eventbrite for scheduling, created occasional risks due to system outages. To mitigate this, the program began downloading scheduled interview lists ahead of event dates, ensuring operations continued smoothly even if the platform experienced downtime.

A Real Success Story

One of the most powerful stories from the Speed Interview program features a candidate who had been released from incarceration for about a year, struggling to find a foothold in the job market. With doors closing before they could even open, application after application dismissed by faceless applicant tracking systems the odds seemed stacked against them. Then they walked into the Speed Interview event.

This wasn’t just another impersonal hiring process. Here, they sat face-to-face with a recruiter from a well-known local stadium, a place offering not just fair wages, but a pathway to growth. For the first time, their background didn’t predetermine their future. No automated filters, no quick disqualifications just a genuine conversation.

When the interview ended, the candidate stepped out, eyes brimming with tears and a wide smile spreading across their face. They exclaimed, “I got the job!” In that moment, their history was no longer a barrier, and the employer saw them for who they were now: someone deserving of a chance, someone ready to prove they could succeed. That single encounter was more than just a job offer, it was a new beginning, a demonstration of the transformative power of removing bias and giving people a real opportunity to start fresh.

Looking Ahead – What’s Next? Internships!

Looking ahead, the program plans to expand its drop-in interview model to focus on business and computer science industries, targeting internship-level opportunities. Enhanced data tracking through tools like Monday.com and Handshake will provide more comprehensive program metrics, enabling better decision-making and continuous improvement. Additionally, the introduction of virtual Speed Interviews is expected to increase flexibility and scalability, making the program accessible to an even broader range of participants and employers.

About the Author

Andrew Soliz is the Associate Director of Industry Relations at San Diego State University, bringing nearly 15 years of expertise in employment, workforce, and economic development. As a first-generation LatinX college student, Andrew is passionate about creating opportunities for underrepresented groups in the workforce. Under his leadership, SDSU’s Industry Relations team has flourished, offering employers 20+ career fairs annually, deploying a comprehensive, multi-tiered industry menu of services, and setting the department on a trajectory of generating $600k+ in revenues by the end of FY24/25.

References

City of San Jose. (n.d.). SJWorks Program. Retrieved December 18, 2024, from https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/office-of-the-city-manager/economic-development/san-jos-works