The UK’s Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, recently sparked debate by urging employers to rethink virtual interviews, arguing that video screens prevent young candidates from showing their true personality and passion.
Speaking on Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future podcast, Burnham questioned the practice of virtual interviews, commenting: “One thing I really don’t like is this culture now of interviewing via Zoom or Teams, that just doesn’t seem right to me. I know it’s convenient for the organisations that do it, but how does a young person shine in that situation?”
Burnham also raised concerns over fairness when employers use AI to screen job applicants. In our recent coverage of CVs in the age of AI, we found that despite its growing presence in recruitment, most HR professionals still prioritise human judgment and use AI as a more supportive tool.
In this blog, we explore the various challenges facing young workers in today’s climate and examine how virtual interviews might actually offer key advantages to inexperienced candidates amid rising UK youth unemployment.
Tough market for early-career job seekers
Burnham’s comments reflect a tough climate for early-career professionals. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently reported that unemployment for ages 16–24 has reached a decade high of 14.7%. At the same time, graduate job vacancies have fallen to their lowest level in ten years, according to Adzuna, which has been tracking these listings since 2016.
This drop in opportunities makes the entry-level job market far more competitive, placing more emphasis on every interview, both for candidates striving to stand out and hiring managers tasked with making fair, effective decisions.
The impact of hybrid working on junior staff
Beyond job shortages, remote working continues to pose challenges for early professional development and workplace integration. ONS data shows that factors such as age, income, and qualification level heavily influence access to remote and hybrid work.
For instance, those earning £50k or more are the demographic most likely to hybrid work (45%), whereas over half (52%) of those earning £20k–£30k work primarily on-site. This aligns closely with age demographics: workers aged 16–29 spend significantly more time in the office compared to those aged 30–49, who represent the highest proportion of hybrid workers.
This suggests that younger, less experienced and lower-earning employees spend significantly more time in the office than their senior colleagues. While this aligns with the view that junior staff benefit from being on-site to learn their roles, in-person development and culture can only thrive if experienced mentors are present to learn from.
This also highlights a major drawback of virtual interviews for junior candidates; remote hiring deprives them of seeing the physical workspace and observing team dynamics firsthand. For example, if an office is largely empty during peak hours, it may not offer the social, collaborative environment a young professional expects.
The reality of remote hiring
Virtual interviews proved essential for job seekers and hiring organisations during the pandemic. Today, they are routine across hybrid-heavy sectors. Data from Distinct (August 2025 – August 2026) shows that hybrid working dominates in finance (77%), HR (79%) and marketing (89%), suggesting that virtual interviewing has effectively become the norm within these disciplines.
For employers, video interviews offer enhanced flexibility during the hiring process:
- They save time: Cutting out travel makes scheduling far more convenient for hiring managers who may also be working remotely
- They are low risk: Particularly for high-volume hiring, first-stage interviews can be as short as 30 minutes – if one doesn’t go well, little time is wasted.
For young professionals entering the workforce, talking to someone through a screen is second nature. In addition:
- Logging on just a few minutes before the call with “safety net” notes on screen can help ease their early-stage nerves
- Being in familiar surroundings eliminates the stress of navigating to an unfamiliar location or battling traffic
- There is far less pressure to buy a brand-new outfit or wear a full suit when the stakes are still relatively low.
Virtual interviews naturally have logistical drawbacks. Logistical glitches and audio delays can make it far harder for candidates and interviewers to build a genuine rapport compared to an in-person setting.
Expert perspective
Distinct’s Divisional Director, Claire Fletcher, commented on the complexity of virtual interviews, noting that digital screening is rarely the whole story:
“In reality, virtual interviews are mostly used as a first-stage interview, and even for junior positions, hiring processes are rarely just one stage. Our clients typically want to see shortlisted candidates in person before making their final decision, which means in-person setups do still happen.
Of course, good candidates, or those who might be a better cultural fit, can slip through the cracks during video calls. But in our experience, that can happen with face-to-face interviews too.
Candidates are also often far more authentically themselves when communicating with their recruiter. For us, ensuring a good culture fit is a priority when putting candidates forward, so clients can rest assured everyone they see has already been through that initial filter.”
Ultimately, regardless of the interview format, hiring organisations have a responsibility to make the selection process as fair as possible, especially for early-career candidates who lack professional experience, for instance:
1. Uncover passion: Ask directly about personal hobbies and interests to help personality shine through a screen.
2. Showcase the workspace: For office-based roles, bring shortlisted candidates on-site so they can experience the workplace culture before accepting an offer.
Interview resources for hiring managers & job seekers:
How to conduct a job interview
How to prepare for your online video interview
How to use the STAR interview technique
Job interview questions and how to prepare for them
At Distinct, we support professionals and organisations across Finance & Accounting, HR, Marketing, Office & IT Support, and Procurement. If you require assistance in any of these areas, please visit our jobs board or contact our team to get started.
