Moral Support plays musical chairs

More support, more morality

We’re switching up Moral Support from fortnightly to weekly. It looks like a fortnightly newsletter isn’t ideal for distribution. Weekly editions put us in sync with Zendesk release notes and other cycles.

You might also notice less formality and more personal views here. If there’s one goal I have for the rest of 2025 it’s to play my part in bringing the humanity back to what we all do. I think everyone in the support or customer experience trade does understand and believe in the importance of being there for the humans who use the products and services we represent.

When the music stops

Transfer deadline day in the football world has been and gone but over here in business operations tooling it feels like an ever accelerating game of musical chairs.

One trend I can’t get behind is the pre-recorded video “interview” people keep discussing. If you’re not familiar, basically you are sent some questions and told to film yourself answering them. There are even new SaaS products like Hirevue which pour AI over the asymmetrical hiring process.

Here is the thing they are trying to eradicate. Good hiring is when both parties make a positive decision to collaborate. The best outcomes happen when goals align. No good relationship starts with imbalance.

The interview format exists because the candidate is auditioning the employer just as much as the reverse. A good interview has thoughtful questions and detailed responses on each side and the candidate leaves with a strong sense of the processes and values at the business as well as good understanding of their role and the structure around them.

The video recording step presumes that the candidate has no agency and they do not have the right to answers at this stage. It filters for applicants who will jump through hoops when ordered. It is a demonstration that the company wants you to know from the very first interaction that they hold all the cards. If you’re not happy with it, someone else probably will be.

Webcam shot. Not the look I’d choose for an interview.

It’s almost certainly a waste of time anyway. Cold applications are so rarely successful now. There is usually already a preferred candidate known to the decision maker and they will skip this stage or be told it’s a formality. The role of the people who cold apply is to be a yardstick, benchmarking for the salary of the chosen person and a reference point in terms of skills and ability and experience.

My strong recommendation is to always say “thanks but I don’t do these, but let us book in a conversation about the position.” Avoid going through the application process at all until you’ve identified the person who this role would report to and asked them for an informal chat about the position. Never send a CV until you are specifically asked to provide a CV.

If you’re taking time to line up your next opportunity, consider changing your approach to put yourself in a more balanced position.

Latest with Zendesk

It’s an in-between time for product updates and there is precisely one item this week: Copilot intelligent triage for voice calls.

We have been made aware of new developments in the ongoing conflict between former stockholders and the board of Zendesk inc. I’m no legal expert and certainly won’t be making any attempt to explain the report from the Delaware Supreme Court last week but I link to an article here (soft paywall) for those who want to keep an eye on these things.

We also have the end date for Zendesk Sell reported as the 31st August 2027. If you’re a Sell user you are probably well aware that it is being wound down and you need to have plans in place to migrate. My feeling is that a more focused approach from Zendesk will be the correct choice.