Definitions
Digital interview vs asynchronous interview
Digital interview is an umbrella term that covers any interview run over the internet, live or recorded. An asynchronous interview is only the recorded kind. Here is where the two terms overlap and where they don't.
A digital interview is any job interview conducted over the internet instead of in person. The term covers two different things: live video calls where both sides are present at once, and recorded interviews where you answer set questions alone and a hiring team reviews them later. It describes the medium, not the timing.
That is the whole reason the word causes confusion. “Digital interview” tells you the interview is online. It does not tell you whether a person will be on the other end.
What the term actually spans
Plenty of job listings and vendor pages use “digital interview” alongside “one-way” and “on-demand” as if the words were interchangeable. They are not quite. Digital is the umbrella. Underneath it sit at least two formats that feel nothing alike:
- Live digital interviews. A scheduled video call, usually on Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet. Both sides are present. The conversation runs both ways and you can ask questions in the moment.
- Asynchronous digital interviews. A one-way interview you record by yourself. No live interviewer, no fixed time slot. You get a link, see the questions, and record your answers on your own schedule. The team watches later.
So every asynchronous interview is a digital interview. The reverse is not true. A live call is digital and very much not asynchronous.
Why the umbrella term exists
“Digital interview” caught on because it is broad and tidy. A company that runs live calls for some roles and recorded screens for others can put both under one heading on a careers page. Vendors like it for the same reason. It lets one product describe several formats without committing to the word candidates find off-putting.
That breadth is the catch. The label hides the one distinction that changes your whole experience: whether you are talking to a person or talking to a camera. A live call means rapport, follow-up questions, and a chance to read the room. A recorded screen means none of that. You prepare differently, and you should know which one you are walking into before you set up your room.
How to tell which one you got
The invitation almost always gives it away. A live digital interview names a specific time, a meeting link, and at least one interviewer. An asynchronous one gives you a window of several days, a set of questions, and an instruction to record. If the email mentions a deadline rather than a start time, it is recorded.
When it genuinely is not clear, ask. One line to the recruiter, “will this be a live call or a recording I submit,” settles it and signals nothing bad about you.
Where each term belongs
Use “digital interview” when you mean any online interview and the format does not matter to your point. Use “asynchronous interview,” “one-way,” or “on-demand” when you specifically mean the recorded kind, because those names carry the detail the umbrella term drops.
If you want the same comparison drawn against the other common umbrella word, see virtual interview vs async. To prepare once you know you are recording, read how to prepare for an asynchronous interview. For the full set of terms, the glossary defines each one in a line.