RIVS Apply Reviews

by Radosti

This was my first digital interview. I had allotted the appropriate amount of time for the interview, but did not anticipate the awful upload speeds in the building. I practiced and did not realize that the lack of practice questions left me simply fumbling to talk to myself while recording. Then, I stumbled a few times and re-recorded the first question. It was what it was, but it then proceeded to drain my phone battery while slowly uploading the answer. This necessitated me running back to my desk for a charging cable. I cannot record at my desk. So, during the first chance for the second question, I was looking for a closer room to record in. Needless to say, when I found a room and recorded an answer, I was not at my best. Then the slow upload again! At this point I got kicked out of that room due to a meeting. I was able to get back to my original room and record the last answer to the third question. Again, not at my best. Third question took less time to upload because I was flustered and short with my answer. If I am successful in securing an interview, it will be in spite of RIVSApply rather than because of it.

by Laurenamanda1996

First time using RIVSApply for an interview. I like that fact that you can re-record as many times as you want. But since the practice video didn’t work and didn’t give me the practice questions I had to do the real one over and over again. I have an iPhone 10. I don’t have a home button. I also didn’t realize that once the timer went off for the question that it started recording. Once I found out I was recording I stopped the video. I had to exit out of RIVSApply real quick and to do that I have to swipe up. When I swiped up it hit next question on accident and I was unable to go back and fix it. Which I’m already nervous when it comes to interviews. Not being able to fix it and give an actual answer gave me an anxiety attack. I’m really good with technology but I just feel like y’all should look over a few things and maybe give the option to go back or at least to view all videos at the end and make changes as needed. Especially since you use this for interviews and we want them to be perfect.

by FoamingSquirrel

I was only able to record my answer 3 times. Not knowing what they were going to ask me I was forced to load the question in order to see what they were asking me, then canceling it so that I had time to formulate my response. This is unlike a normal face to face interview where you have time to discuss different things with your interviewer and you’re not restricted to 90 seconds to formulate and present your response in a clear and concise manner. I felt like I was forced to waste one attempt every time I answered a question because there would be a 10 second timer counting down for me to begin my response and I had no time to really get my thoughts together. I would have much rather had a face to face interview or at least time to present my response since it is limited to at most 3 minute responses.

by Coreylee41

Watching the timer, and knowing that the answers you are giving can’t exactly turn into a conversation is a little embarrassing. Getting 2 minutes to describe your biggest successes seems like a rush. I ended up barely saying anything coherent at all in my opinion because that timer is ticking away and I’m in a silent room talking to myself. Onsite in person interviews go so much better for me, I think I was actually more nervous for this than I was in a room with 5 executives because like I said, at least then it’s conversational and not just me trying to fill an empty void with my words. I don’t feel my answers were very good at all in this situation but they are usually full of detail and I can provide multiple answers rather than trying to think of something that will fit in a 2 minute window or trying to think of which of your examples you want to cut from the conversation. Totally not my style.

by Account Just For Review

RIVSApply just ruined my entire interview process for a position I’ve Been waiting for. App lagging during my second recording of my first question in my interview. I press stop to record because don’t want to send a choppy video and reduce my chances. Low and behold takes the cut of me reaching for the camera, trying to close app and uploads it as my response to first question. Makes interviews more of a headache than they already are..... nobody getting interviewed would prefer this over person to person interaction (coming from someone with social anxiety that speaks volumes on how bad it is). Just adds unnecessary stress and anxiety process that should be relatively smooth. Would rather have a panel of 8 people interviewing me at once than use this god forsake app again.

by TeachesPeaches

In the friendliest possible way, may I remind the authors of this software program that many people will be experiencing this digital interview methodology for the very first time and some - certainly myself, will be ill at ease and unfamiliar with this sort of technology. Having the opportunity to practice is very welcome, that is, checking the recording levels and ensuring that one's face is pretty much centered in the frame. However, when the message appeared that "your practice question will appear here" and the question in fact does not appear I found disconcerting and it made me question whether the software was operating correctly. This sudden jolt of doubt or uncertainty, moments before the interview is quite unhelpful when what one needs most is sense of calmness and tranquility. I suppose my interview was 'good enough' but the performance would have been stronger without that unexpected surprise. Then one of my answers got 'stuck' when uploading, caused the program to freeze up and it was necessary to call the helpdesk to get assistance in order to continue (and I used the latest model iPhone, so I don't think the device can be blamed). It's in the nature of interviews that they are unnerving, but formats such as these for use by the general public need to assume zero computing experience on the part of its users.

by Chula .

So, the website said an hour is plenty of time to do this. The interviewer in RIVSApply said 6-8 minutes. I was able to answer the questions in 6-8 minutes but to upload each short video took upwards of 10 minutes. It took 13 minutes to upload a video that was under 2 minutes long. I tried putting my device near the router to make it faster. But then I had no time to prepare for the next question. I was just flustered the whole time. What’s more, I applied for 3 similar positions, each of which requires a separate interview. This will take closer to 2-3 hours. My house is not a quiet house. I had to shoo the cat out of the room each time I went to put the device closer to the router. I think I’ll have to check out a study room at the library but I can only have it for an hour at a time so, then what? I’m also not a fan of the quick turn around and not knowing what is involved.

by Vvvinterview

I had to use my cellphone as my computer wasn’t working well with their settings and recorded question couldn’t be uploaded for whatever reason. I wrote to help desk and to assigned recruiter, however, I haven’t received any response back. Time was running out and I had to do interview over the phone app. Digital interview was very uncomfortable for me as I am a technical professional and wasn’t really applying to be an actor. It appears not to be so easy to look at yourself and answer questions. I do much better in real interviews where human interaction is possible. I am glad I practiced a lot and went through with all questions but I rather prefer interview over the phone or in person. It felt robotic and not personal to talk to myself on the screen. However, questions were standard and using RIVSApply was very easy.

by Bloogel

So I had a digital interview for a position within my company. When I started the practice question, all it said was that the question would be displayed here. I was expecting a practice question and it started recording for what ever reason. So I decided that best thing to do is just go ahead and do the interview. When I started my interview, I listened to my recording and decided to re-record to make sure I did it right. When I started, the video recording before was playing over my recording. So when I tried to listen to it again. It messed up my question all together. I also couldn’t re-record because RIVSApply only allowed for one more recording. This doesn’t help anyone that needs to do the interview because it’s unprofessional to have hiccups in recording the interview. I don’t like using RIVSApply for this reason.

by Skydiverbrian

In order to avoid meeting a prospective employer in "selfie-pose" with my arm outstretched, I had to fashion a stand of sorts and delicately balance my phone on it for best camera effect. Not RIVSApply 's fault, for sure, but definitely something that should be considered when designing an app is how the user will use it.

There was one technical glitch when using RIVSApply ... after finishing my first question, RIVSApply shut down and I had to restart it. I'm not certain whether the answer to my first question was recorded and there is no feature to review your answers/recordings.

The primary benefit offered by the Rivs product is its convenience: the candidate can answer questions any time of day/night, and the employer is freed from having to coordinate a videoconference. But for a system that uses both audio and video, the process is quite cold and impersonal. I'd suggest that they find a way to make the process more interactive. Perhaps the employer could video record themselves asking each question. Perhaps the person who's asking the question could vary from one question to the next. Maybe the employer could assemble a panel for the purposes of recording the questions the candidate will answer.

My harshest criticism is that the Rivs product does not allow the interview to go both ways. The candidate is deprived the opportunity to interview the organization.

by Emmziez95

Digital screenings for interviews have become more popular lately so it makes sense apps like this one have become popular as well. However, I feel that RIVSApply ’s usability and user-friendliness leave a lot to be desired. As someone with a lot of experience using technology in my day-to-day, I found RIVSApply to be a little confusing in regards to its various screens and how questions are posed in RIVSApply . Interviewing for jobs is nerve-wracking enough, this should be as simple and pain-free as possible. I also think all interviews should allow you multiple takes. The “test” didn’t help whatsoever and I was then thrown into the real interview and struggled to know whether or not RIVSApply was working correctly. I could not go back in and re-record my answer when I realized that it was already recording.

by OHMYGOD 1959

As we embrace technology we try to use gadgets to make our lives easier and more efficient. My company has decided to eliminate the middle (person) and in the process removed the personal touch. If the intention was to test a persons ability to handle a strange system(s) this interview process did just that. The HR people are now hundreds of miles away, sorting applicants without knowing who they really are. Now this Digital interview can qualify (or Disqualify) souls based on how the camera sees them. Luckily the hiring manager knows me (may not be really to my benefit ) but now a manager can discriminate based on gender, race, and age and claim the applicant did not interview well. Then the recruiter can claim the manager selected the best candidates from a large pool, while the manager says nearly the same exact words (yes this happens), while hiring a pretty 20-something for a job.

by OperaBeth

This was my first experience with an online interview of this type, and I would say it was pretty good, although the upload speed was painfully slow. I was sitting right next to my router, but it still took at least 5 to 10 minutes to upload each video. What I expected to take about 30 minutes Took me about an hour and a half. One video upload got stuck at 93% for several minutes, so I finally turned off Wi-Fi and used my cellular data, and the subsequent uploads seemed to go faster. The print on the screen is extremely tiny, and the fact that it is in yellow print on the recording screen made it even worse. Please make it larger and in a better color that will be more legible.

by 1macdonut

I think doing an interview with no face-to-face contact is a little strange. I’ve interviewed many people as Director of engineering for Emerson and always found it quite comfortable but this was all, say, “different”. I also think that the software could be written such that it could be handled in either orientation, vertical or horizontal for an iPad or even an iPhone for that matter it made me have to look around for things to prop up my iPhone and I could not use my iPad because it doesn’t have a and easel or a way to prop it up in the vertical mode. I also think the software responses and uploading could be quicker.

by Cookie Jammer Family

I just used RIVSApply for the first time to complete a preliminary interview. It was fun and interesting. I screwed up the first two questions because I didn't realize that the timer that starts when the question is asked is allowing you time to prepare your answer, LIKE IT CLEARLY SAYS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN! In any case I hope that's not held against me. What I would recommend is that in the opening instructions, it spells out the practice timer. Yes, even though it says "prepare your answer" in green at the bottom. Sheesh! In any case it was fun and if I'm not invited for a face to face, at least I have a new recruiting weapon to offer my current employer!

by 6910569999990

This was my first digital interview and while I was stressing it, I was pretty relaxed as we went along and I became more comfortable with it. I guess if I could change anything it would be to allow us to see our video responses before moving to the next question. However, maybe that could be construed as the candidate not really being him/herself so I guess I get it. There was one question that had misspellings and weird characters within the sentence but I was able to make out the jist of the question and respond. This was a positive experience and I’m sure it will get better over time.

by APPLE🍎 + BANANA🍌 = BAPPLE

Using RIVSApply itself was easy to understand, however when I was watching one of my attempts back I decided I wanted to re-record the answer and hit the “Record Question” button. When I did, the audio from my previous attempt kept playing and the recording captured the last 5-10 seconds of it, thus wasting that time from the attempt I was actually recording (it was my last attempt too). I would suggest that if someone does what I did that the audio from the previous attempt turns off so those precious seconds aren’t wasted by a previous attempt.

by Omgnonya

The program is easy to use. It wasn’t rocket science. It’s just a little uncomfortable when you are staring at yourself on screen for the first couple of questions. I get that they don’t want you to have any time to take and do retakes. They want the initial response and unable to edit. But when you are doing this for the first time and you are nervous because you can not put a face to the other side of this. You aren’t talking to anyone. It’s just you so you may want to do at least one retake. Talking with people and in front of people is easy for me. Talking to myself and trying to prepare to talk to other people is much more difficult. A real practice interview would be nice.

by Ashleyshaf

I was a little skeptical and nervous to go into this recorded video not necessarily having an office in my home where I could record it in a super professional setting- but I found a neutral spot in my home and I just decided to be me, talk about all the questions genuinely that they had asked and give them my Feedback in the best way possible. I feel like this software is very modernized and I think it’s a wonderful idea especially saving people time and hassle to be able to have the privilege to do it on their own time in their own environment! I think the questions were perfect I think the amount of time taken to do the interview was perfect it was not overdrawn and all in all I believe that it was very professional! I enjoyed this!