The asynchronous interview glossary

An asynchronous interview is a hiring step where you record video or audio answers to set questions on your own time, with no interviewer on the call. A hiring team reviews your recordings later. One-way interview, on-demand interview, and pre-recorded interview all name the same thing. The differences are in tone, not in what happens.

This page is the dictionary. Every term below has its own full page. Start here when you want the short version and a link to the long one.

Why so many names

The format was never standardized, so the vocabulary never settled. A product builder once went to Reddit and asked candidates point-blank what to even call it: one-way, async, on-demand? That thread is proof the category has no agreed name. Vendors each branded it their own way. Candidates named it for how it feels, which is why “one-way” is the term they reach for far more than any vendor’s. So the same exact step gets four labels depending on who is talking. Knowing they are synonyms is most of the battle.

The core terms

• Asynchronous interview. The neutral, technically-correct name. “Asynchronous” just means not at the same time. The recruiter records the questions whenever; you record the answers whenever; they watch whenever. Preferred by vendors and HR teams.
• One-way interview. The same format, named for what bothers people about it: it only goes one direction. You talk, no one talks back. This is the dominant candidate term, and it usually carries a complaint. See one-way interview.
• On-demand interview. Emphasizes the scheduling win. You complete it whenever you want, no calendar coordination. Same format, friendlier framing.
• Pre-recorded interview. Emphasizes that your answers are recorded ahead of any human review. Common in healthcare and large-employer hiring.
• Asynchronous video interview. The specific case where answers are on video rather than audio or text. In practice this is what most people mean by all of the above.

Terms people confuse with it

• AI interview. Often used loosely for any recorded interview, but it means something narrower: software analyzing or scoring your answers, not just recording them. A one-way interview is not automatically an AI interview. If you are unsure which you are facing, see is it an AI interview?.
• Digital interview vs async. A vendor umbrella term that can mean a live video call or a recorded one. Async is specifically the recorded, no-one-on-the-call kind.
• Virtual interview vs async. “Virtual” almost always means a live call over video. Async is the opposite: nobody is there in real time.
• Self-paced interview. A softer marketing label for the same thing, leaning on the fact that you control the timing.
• Video screening vs video interview. “Screening” signals an early filter step; “interview” implies a fuller conversation. The async format is almost always a screen, whatever it is called.

For the format itself versus a real-time conversation, the full comparison is asynchronous vs synchronous interviews.

The tools you will meet

The category is discussed as a practice far more than as branded products, but a handful of names come up. HireVue is the one candidates mention most, usually with frustration. See the HireVue candidate guide, Spark Hire, Willo, VidCruiter, Jobma, and myInterview. For a neutral roundup, read best asynchronous interview software.

If you are a candidate

Start with how to prepare for an asynchronous interview. Then the common questions: do employers actually watch these?, how many retakes do you get?, can you use notes?, and what to wear.

If you are hiring

Start with how to run an asynchronous interview, then how to run one candidates don’t hate and how to score async interviews.

Want the numbers behind all of this? See asynchronous interview completion rates.