What are the benefits of an in-person interview?
In-person interviews have many advantages when compared to virtual interview experiences. With an in-person interview, you have the opportunity to physically meet the candidate that could become your employee. This face-to-face interaction may give you a better sense of the individual’s demeanor, social skills, ability to dress for the job and overall affect. Naturally, there are some jobs where these aspects matter more than others.
An in-person interview also typically offers a higher level of engagement and allows you to read the person’s visible demeanor throughout your conversation. If they appear nervous, closed off or tense, you’ll instantly be able to tell. If you’re interviewing for a set of physical skills, such as an ability to perform a manual task, an in-person interview makes it easier to observe this accurately.
What are the benefits of a virtual interview?
A virtual interview offers many benefits that an in-person interview process cannot. Virtual interviews enable you to expand your search for applicants beyond the city where your business is located. With virtual interviews, your talent pool becomes global, and you can talk to qualified candidates from anywhere in the world before deciding if they’re a good fit for your company. Virtual interviews can also be more convenient and time effective. They don’t require you to book a physical meeting space in the workplace, and there’s no need to schedule the interview times during business hours. If you are able to conduct virtual interviews from a home office, your flexibility to chat with candidates when it’s convenient for them increases.
When to use a virtual vs. in-person interview
It’s important to know when to conduct an in-person interview and when to go virtual in order to get the most out of the interview process. Choosing the right format for your interview is key to understanding who is most qualified for the job. These are some of the most common clear-cut scenarios:
When you have a large pool of candidates: Virtual
When you have limited time to interview a vast selection of candidates, virtual interviews are more efficient than in-person meetings. They can be scheduled back to back in short 10-15 minute time slots, with no need to prepare a physical space in between meetings. If you want to review candidates on your own schedule, consider sending out a list of questions and ask candidates to record themselves answering them and send you the video. Then, you or your hiring manager can review these videos when it’s most convenient and narrow down your pool of applicants accordingly.
If a job requires a test, such as a written answer or edited video to demonstrate skill, you can also weed out unqualified applicants by hosting a group video interview as the first step in the process. It’s easier for multiple candidates to join a video call at the same time than coordinate an in-person meeting time. Then, you can relay to the group what the task is, answer questions they may have and await their materials before proceeding to the next round of interviews. This is a great method for maximizing everyone’s time during the hiring process.
When you have long-distance candidates: Virtual
When you open applications up to candidates from around the world, your interview process needs to accommodate them. In this case, it’s best to host virtual interviews that give all applicants an even playing field. You expand your search for talent beyond your city but also have a chance to talk with candidates to see if they’re a good fit for the role before asking them to travel to meet you. This is respectful of their time and yours.
Whenyou’re hiring for a remote position: Virtual
If the job you’re hiring for is permanently remote, there’s no need to ask candidates to interview in person. In this case, a virtual interview makes the most sense because it will give you an accurate depiction of what communicating with this person remotely will be like. You can assess their internet connection, whether they use a professional background, how they communicate verbally via video chat and what their written communication is like leading up to the video interview.
When you’re down to a few select candidates: In-person
While virtual interviews are suitable for many scenarios in the modern world, there are still specific instances where you’ll want to bring candidates in for in-person interviews. This is especially true when you’re down to a few select individuals who are vying for the role. For example, if you started your hiring search with more than 200 applicants, selected 50 of them for video interviews and then cut that number down to five people you’re seriously considering hiring, it can be a great idea to invite those individuals forin-person interviews as the final step in the process. This opportunity gives them a chance to see the physical workspace, meet the team and ask questions about the position after getting a feel for the company culture.
Of course, the need for in-person interviews will depend on several factors. Notably, if the position itself is entirely remote, you may wish to continue with video interviews.
When the job is customer-facing: In-person
Many jobs today are possible to do remotely, so there’s no longer a universal need for companies to occupy physical office space. However, some positions are naturally customer or patient-facing, making it critical for the employee to possess high-level interpersonal and communication skills. In these cases, it’s essential to conductin-person interviews where you meet the applicant and see what it’s like to speak with them face-to-face.
For sales jobs, such as retail associates or customer service representatives, the ability of an employee to communicate effectively in person is paramount to the company hitting its sales targets. Similarly, for patient-facing roles, assessing candidates’ bedside manner andskills first-hand is important to appoint the right person for the job.
Once again, choosing between an in-person or video interview will depend on how your company operates. For example, while sales representatives are client-facing, most can work remote. In such cases, you may choose to continue with video interviews.
When the job is freelance or contractual: Virtual
Many creatives, such as writers, graphic designers, marketing specialists and video editors, have fully functional home setups and work on a project-to-project basis rather than full-time for a company. If your business is looking to bring in freelancers or contract workers for short-term work on projects, you may be able to host virtual interviews that allow you to get to know the person without coordinating a time when they can physically visit your workplace. This is beneficial to you because it allows you to hire successful creative team members who are busy due to their talent and add them to your project teams.
Freelance workers often value their independence and freedom as self-employed individuals. Therefore, not requiring them to come into your workplace for a physical interview may appeal to a wider range of professionals with the skills you’re seeking.
