Are Virtual Interviews Better Than in Personal Interviews?<\/p>\n
Objectives:
\nTo find out the better and convenient mode of interview.
\nTo find out the reasons why specific mode of interview is better.<\/p>\n
Author:
\nSamruddhi Ajay Raul.
\nJDBIMS
\nHRM<\/p>\n
Introduction:
\nA personal interview is a meeting organized by a recruiter in which he evaluates a potential employee for prospective employment. However, this meeting should be considered a two-way process between the candidate and the interviewer.
\nVirtual interviewing became essential in 2020 for most businesses when in-person interviews were suddenly stopped, due to several lockdowns and a work from home policy. These days Zoom\/Ms Teams interviews have become commonplace with most first stage interviews continuing to be carried out this way.
\nNeed of this Research:
\nIn carrying out qualitative studies, the important issue is the quality of data collected, which is dependent on the mode of data collection used. The interview is one of the data collection techniques for qualitative researchers. Distinct from other methods, interviews have unique features that make them superior.
\nAs such, the current study explores relevant issues that are linked to interviews, especially aspects that make them central to qualitative data collection. Besides the historical appeal, the discussion covers the advantages a researcher experiences while using interviews to collect data. They require a personal commitment of both the participant and researcher.
\nSignificantly, time and resource allocation are also required. With the emerging technology, implementation of the interview process is becoming flexible thus moving away from the rigid face to face mode.
\nBesides their strengths, there are also challenges and ethical dilemmas that are linked to interviews. As a perfect qualitative data collection method, researchers have professional issues that they have a deal with throughout the process. The link between all these issues is the subject area of the current discussion, which tackles each factor separately.<\/p>\n
The Benefits of Virtual:
\nTime-Saving:
\nVideo interviewing can accelerate the hiring process. Setting up onsite interviews with candidates and hiring managers is a chore for recruiters and sometimes fraught with cancelled and rescheduled appointments (not that the same can\u2019t be said for virtual interviews). If you begin the first stage with a one-way video interview, this allows a quick filter-out stage, and if you\u2019re sitting on the fence with a candidate, it lets you revisit the videos.
\nWidens the Talent Pool:
\nVirtual interviewing allows for widening your talent pool. Your office location can deter candidates who live far away from applying, but a virtual interview means that neither you nor the candidate needs to travel for the meeting, and this opens up the possibility of hiring top talent from further afield. Also, applicants that are currently employed are more likely to find the time for a virtual interview, so this can boost the number of applications that you receive.
\nLogistics:
\nVirtual interviews have also alleviated many logistical problems that come with recruiting. Tiffany Ballve, a senior talent sourcing manager, leads a team that oversees interview events for engineers at Microsoft. \u201cBefore going virtual because of COVID-19, we were doing about 15 of these events per month, bringing in about 30 to 65 candidates per event, always in person, at the Seattle campus,\u201d she explained. \u201cWe always had space and logistics limitations to interview that many candidates at the same time. Logistics kept us from scaling bigger. But moving to 100 per cent virtual removed those logistical complications, so now we\u2019re running 30 to 35 events per month. We\u2019re saving so much money not having to pay travel costs.\u201d
\nVirtual interviews also allow more of the employer\u2019s stakeholders to sit in on the interview from wherever they are around the world. Another bonus, recorded interviews can be reviewed by more team members on their schedules or used for training purposes for new hiring managers and recruiters.
\nYou Can\u2019t Beat Face to Face:
\nWhile many would argue that it is possible to build up rapport and a connection via virtual interviews, meeting a candidate in person offers the best opportunity for genuine engagement.
\nIt is important to consider each role when deciding between face-to-face or virtual. For any job that requires strong social skills, such as client-facing or senior leadership roles, employers should at some point meet candidates face-to-face. In-person interviews offer a higher level of engagement. You can get a better read on body language and get a better sense of interpersonal skills. Interviewing for jobs that require skills demonstration would also benefit from in-person interviews.
\nTechnology itself can be another obstacle to overcome with virtual interviewing. Technology can be notoriously unpredictable, often different platforms can come with a swathe of glitches. Calls can often cut out, there can be internet\/bandwidth issues, video processing issues (stuttering) and camera\/mic issues. All things which can heavily frustrate the process on both sides.
\nThe advent of Zoom and MS Teams were intended for collaboration purposes rather than to interview. Certain improvements need to be made on these platforms to become a reliable recruitment tool.
\nThe shared pandemic experience has brought about a newfound empathy among recruiters and hiring managers, but new biases may have also been born, such as judgment of a candidate\u2019s ability to effectively do a video interview or judgment of a candidate\u2019s home surroundings, referred to as \u201cbackground bias.\u201d
\nConclusion:
\nLooking to the future, it is clear the recruiting process has changed, and for the positive. Whilst stumbling blocks exist with the current technologies used. Candidates and employers are becoming accustomed to the new ways of interviewing, the benefits outweigh any drawbacks. Technology will improve, from the platforms used to interview, to the reliability of people\u2019s connectivity.
\nHowever, this doesn\u2019t mean the days of face-to-face interviews are over, far from it. There will always be a need for in-person contact, for roles where management, client relations or manual skill is involved. Face-to-face is the only way to truly gauge a person\u2019s people skills and management style.
\nEach business will need to evaluate its own needs, evolve and embrace new ways of recruiting. An often-overused term in a post-pandemic world, but relevant, a business will need to consider a \u201chybrid approach\u201d to their recruitment process.<\/p>\n
References:
\nTY – JOUR
\nAU – Adhabi, Essa
\nAU – Anozie, Christina
\nPY – 2017\/09\/20
\nSP – 86
\nT1 – Literature Review for the Type of Interview in Qualitative Research
\nVL – 9
\nDO – 10.5296\/ije. v9i3.11483
\nJO – International Journal of Education
\nER \u2013<\/p>\n