Online Or Face-To-Face Interviews?

Interviewing job candidates is one of the most critical steps in the hiring process. It's the opportunity for the employer to get to know the candidates, their qualifications and evaluate if they are a good fit for the company. We are all used to the traditional face-to-face interviews, but with the rise of technology and remote work, online interviews have become increasingly popular. Both methods have their own unique benefits and disadvantages, and it's essential to understand the difference to make the best decision for your organisation and for the candidates to choose the right organisation.

F2F interview is still the best way of gathering information on candidates to make sure that they are the right fit for the company. We get a chance to observe the?body language and non-verbal behaviour?of the candidate. During F2F interviews candidates tend to give more spontaneous answers and feel more comfortable and relaxed.??

Apparently, meeting the candidate in person is beneficial both on the part of the interviewer and on the part of the interviewee. As companies compete for talent, personal evaluations may convince an applicant to accept an offer. On another hand,?it is time consuming and requires much preparation.

Let’s take a look at the benefits and drawbacks of F2F interviewing.

For interviewers:?

• Better evaluation of the body language, confidence, and eye contact which is very important.?Any discomfort, stress, and problems that the respondent experiences can be detected through frowns, nervous taping and other body language, unconsciously exhibited by any person.
• It is easier to?indicate a level of enthusiasm for the topics being discussed in the interview.
• There are no gaps in communication or understanding of a problem statement.?
• It is easier to evaluate and capture emotions and behaviours of a person.
• However, face-to-face interviews can be affected by unconscious biases, the interviewer's first impressions can lead to less objective decisions.

For interviewees:?

• It’s the best way to make the right impression. Face-to-face conversation allows candidates to be creative and spontaneous in their answers and to present themselves in the best way.?
• The candidate will know how well the interview is going.
• Face-to-face interviews allow candidates to take full advantage of body language. It is easier to follow the interviewer’s reaction to correct the answers accordingly.
• The candidate has an opportunity to see the office and understand the culture.
• The style of communication, dress code, the atmosphere in the office, happy or unhappy employees – all the above can help the candidate to know if the organisation is actually a good fit.

Disadvantages:

• It requires much preparation
• You’ll spend a lot of time preparing for the interview – much more than on the interview itself. You’ll have to learn about the company, find out how to dress properly for the interview.
• It’s stressful. The candidate is physically present in front of the interviewer, which can lead to feelings of nervousness and anxiety. The pressure to make a good impression and the fear of being judged can also contribute to the stress experienced by the candidate.
• The necessity to be on time at the place you’ve probably never been to before, look for the company’s office in a huge business center, let alone the various surprises.For example, you can suddenly find yourself in a stress interview which is quite different from the regular one, or get interviewed in a group.
• If you work full-time, it won’t be an easy task to find time for an interview in another organisation. The earlier they interview you, the better; but if you’re fully engaged with the current work, they might offer a job to someone who had more free time and was interviewed faster.
• It’s time-consuming.Imagine that you got an interview invitation from a company that’s located in another city. You’ll have to spend hours traveling, and the whole process can take days. On their side, the employer will need to pay for your travel and accommodation (most reputable companies do). Provided that an interview doesn’t guarantee a job, it’s a significant investment, isn’t it?

Online interviews, on the other hand, offer a number of benefits.

• It saves time.When you pass the interview on Zoom, you only spend time on the interview itself. You don’t need to commute, wait in queues, and carefully choose outwear to impress the interviewer. The hiring manager, in his turn, can conduct an interview from any place convenient for him. This allows both of you to save time.
• Interviews can be recorded. The advantage of Zoom is that it allows you to record the interview and later show the recording to other team members and department heads so they could evaluate you. This practice can replace several rounds of interviews.
• You can talk from a place where you’re comfortable. The place you’ve never been to is another source of stress during the interview. However, if you receive a video call at home in the environment which is comfortable and familiar, it reduces stress and makes you feel more comfortable. Moreover, you can prepare a list with clues and use them during the conversation.

However, online interviews also have some disadvantages. They often lack the personal interaction and non-verbal cues compare to the face-to-face interviews, which can make it harder to get a sense of the candidate's personality and communication skills. Online interviews may be affected by technical issues such as poor internet connection or problems with the video conferencing software, which can disrupt the interview and make it harder to evaluate the candidate and for the candidates?to showcase their best qualifications.?

In conclusion, the mode of interview, whether it be face-to-face or online, is a matter of organizational strategy and objective. Factors such as the nature of the role, company culture, accessibility, and the purpose of the interview should be taken into account to determine the most suitable option. Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and the decision should be made based on what aligns best with the organization's goals and needs.