The student staff hiring process looks very different today than it did just a few years ago. With each new generation of students comes new challenges and opportunities for how we recruit, interview, and select our resident assistants and other student leaders. Today’s college students live online. Their social circles, studies, and even job searches are mediated through screens. In response, many housing and residence life programs have begun to shift their hiring strategies to meet students where they are in these digital spaces.
What began as a temporary adjustment during the pandemic has evolved into a more lasting change. Video interviewing, in particular, has become a popular approach for many housing programs. The format aligns with how students already communicate. But beyond convenience, this method also responds to a growing challenge many housing programs face: a surge in applications. It’s not uncommon now to see 300 or more students apply for just 30 resident assistant positions; and not even 30 positions because that does not even include the resident assistants who will be returning. While that interest is exciting, it also creates a logistical and human challenge for professional staff who are trying to review, interview, and select while still maintaining ethics, balance, and care for themselves and their teams.
Video submissions, whether as pre-recorded interview questions or virtual interviews, offer one solution. They allow selection committees to review applications more efficiently while giving students the chance to express themselves creatively and authentically. It allows the opportunity for students to re-record something if they “mess-up” or start to ramble or lose confidence midway through their response (this gives them the opportunity to “correct” those “concerns”). Staff can schedule their review time more flexibly, and the format supports consistency in evaluating candidates. At the same time, these approaches still require thoughtful planning to ensure fairness and accessibility. Not every student feels comfortable on camera or has reliable technology, so offering alternative options and clear instructions remains key to equity in the process.
Yet as technology evolves, so do the complications that come with it. One of the newest and most unexpected challenges in student staff hiring has been the rise of artificial intelligence. Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, AI résumé builders, and even AI video generators are now part of the average student’s toolkit. On the surface, these tools can be helpful. They can help students organize their thoughts or polish their responses. But when misused, they can strip away authenticity and the developmental opportunity that the hiring process itself provides.
In recent hiring cycles, I’ve personally encountered applications where students forgot to remove AI placeholders like “[insert name here]” or “[make this sound more personal].” Others have used generic, overly polished phrasing that doesn’t reflect their real voice. In some virtual interviews, candidates have muted themselves, typed a question into an AI tool, and then read the generated response aloud (!!!) often without realizing how obvious it appeared. These moments aren’t just awkward; they reveal something deeper about how dependent some students have become on technology to think, write, and even speak for them.
The harm isn’t simply or solely about dishonesty. It’s about what gets lost in the process. Our goal in student staff hiring isn’t only to select the “best” applicants, it’s to help students reflect on their experiences, communicate their values, and grow through the process itself. When AI replaces that reflection, we lose a critical moment of learning. And in housing and residence life, where our focus is always on community, connection, and authentic engagement, that loss matters.
So how do we respond? As professionals, our challenge is not to reject technology but to engage it thoughtfully. Incorporating a short reflection question or integrity statement within the application can set clear expectations about authentic responses. During interviews, we can ask follow-up questions that encourage students to expand on their thoughts in real time, something an AI answer can’t easily replicate. We can also use these situations as teaching moments rather than punitive ones. When a student’s use of AI is apparent, there’s an opportunity to discuss professionalism, ethics, and the importance of authenticity in leadership roles.
Some programs are even turning this moment into a developmental opportunity. Before or during the hiring process, they host sessions about digital professionalism, AI literacy, and responsible technology use. Others build reflection into their process after selection, helping new staff understand how their communication and authenticity will shape the communities they serve. These efforts remind students that while technology can be a powerful support, it can’t replace human connection.
As technology continues to evolve, so must our approaches to hiring and developing student staff. Video interviews and AI are not inherently good or bad. They’re tools. What matters is how we use them to uphold the values of our profession: authenticity, integrity, care, and development. The true goal of student staff hiring isn’t just to fill positions efficiently, but to nurture future leaders who think critically, communicate honestly, and engage meaningfully with their communities. If we can keep that at the center of our processes, our use of technology will strengthen, rather than dilute, the heart of what we do.
Younna Gooden (she/her/hers) has worked in higher education, specifically Housing and Residence Life for for ten years and currently serves as the Senior Associate Director in the department of Housing and Residence Life at The University of Memphis. Younna completed her undergraduate studies at The University Mississippi, better known as Ole Miss, and her M.S.Ed. at California State University, Fullerton. She has a commitment to leadership, keen sense of duty, adept gift of kind-yet-effective communication, and unwavering ability to push on even when times are tough. Younna enjoys watching anime, building Legos, gaming, and at times reading a good book with some tea.
