The interview process shifted rapidly as the COVID-19 pandemic sent workers home. Stay-at-home orders put a sudden stop to all forms of travel, face-to-face gatherings were canceled and as a result, interviews moved online through Zoom. While it may seem like a downgrade from in-person meetings, Zoom interviews actually offered many benefits.

‍

The advantages of Zoom interviews became immediately apparent as business continued in 2020. All you needed was a good internet connection and a shirt that looks presentable from the waist up. We've all seen the hilarious videos of people who forgot the rest of the outfit, (there's now a filter for that) but I digress.

‍

Think of all the time and money that could be saved by eliminating travel, hotels, and other expenses that come with interviewing in person. Employers quickly saw the benefits of this transition, and now it's become a common part of the process.

‍

When done right, Zoom interviews can be just as effective in getting to know a candidate as an in-person interview. It allows you to get a more intimate feel for their personality by reading body language, facial expressions, and other subtle cues that may not come through when talking on the phone. This also helps to get an idea of how they may fit into the company culture.

‍

Also, Zoom interviews allowed multiple people to be involved. Making interviews more inclusive and less biased. The interview process no longer had to be a one-on-one conversation between the candidate and interviewer; panel interviews could include as many people as necessary.

‍

Zoom also allows employers to record interviews so they can be reviewed later. This is especially helpful when comparing multiple candidates and looking back on conversations to assess a potential employee’s skills, qualifications, and potential fit for the role.

‍

As virtual interviews on Zoom became the norm and an entire industry formed around them. Experts who offered virtual interview tips, interview intelligence software, apps, and other tools became available to hiring managers and recruiters to help assess potential candidates. These tools have empowered HR professionals with the ability to use Ai (artificial intelligence) to assess candidate speech patterns, pitch patterns, and micro-expressions to assess the quality of their responses.

‍

In short, Zoom interviews offer a more efficient and convenient way to conduct job interviews. Employers can easily connect with candidates from all around the world while saving on travel expenses and time. As we move into 2023, it’s likely that Zoom interviews will still be the standard for most employers, even though some may choose to include face-to-face interactions in their hiring process.

‍

Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Interviews

‍

As an interview intelligence platform, one of the questions we're asked at Pillar is, "are virtual interviews better than in-person interviews?"

‍

The answer depends on the situation, but there are both advantages and disadvantages to online interviews. However, we believe that online interviews offer many benefits that outweigh their drawbacks.

‍

Advantages:

The major benefit of online interviews is that they can take place anywhere with a decent internet connection. As we discusses in the previous section - this eliminates travel time and costs, while allowing hiring managers to access a broader pool of qualified candidates from all over the world.

‍

But there are many more advantages.

‍

Comfort and convenience are the two most important benefits of virtual interviews. Job seekers will feel at ease being interviewed from their own homes, while employers can access a greater number of potential candidates and gain multiple perspectives without having to coordinate everybody's availability in one place. By using video conferencing tools, companies have the chance to involve people who aren't even present in that room.

‍

In addition, online interviews also give hiring managers the opportunity to record every interview and review them whenever they please. This helps remove interview biases and ensures that every candidate is judged fairly and on their own merit.

‍

Disadvantages:

The most obvious disadvantage to virtual interviews is how clearly the camera can convey body language, facial expressions, and vocal queues. These are obviously harder to detect through a webcam as opposed to in person, which can make it difficult to properly assess a candidate. Now, we've created interview intelligence specifically to solve this problem, but some people are still more comfortable with face-to-face interviews as they like to connect emotionally.

‍

In addition, some candidates may not be comfortable with the technology or have access to the proper internet connection. This could put them at a disadvantage and make it harder for them to show off their best qualities.

‍

Finally, virtual interviews can lack the personal touch that comes with meeting someone in person. This is especially important for startups and companies with a strong culture - as employers will want to make sure the candidate has similar values and that their personality fits into their team.

‍

As you can see, there are pros and cons to both online interviews and face-to-face interviews. Ultimately, it's up to each HR team to decide what works best for them. With the help of tools like Pillar, it's possible to make virtual interviews a successful recruitment strategy and gain access to the best talent available.

‍

Benefits of Virtual Interviews

‍

Since we covered the pros and cons of virtual interviews in the previous section, let's shift gears to primarily focusing on the benefits.

‍

Over the past 12 months, we've studied our customers hiring practices, processes, tech integrations, and even the questions they ask in each interview. We've helped our customers lower employee turnover by over 50% while also saving hiring managers time and companies money.

‍

Last year, our customers who hired 50 - six-figure employees saved an astonishing $1.35 million and 225+ hours of company time. These are staggering results and have dramatically changed the way our customers have approached their recruitment strategy. But, we've also been able to increase company diversity and collaboration capabilities by connecting with talent all over the world - helping our customers increase their DEI impact.

‍

If you’d like to see how much you could save, check out our savings calculator to find out.

‍

We couldn't get these results without the power of Ai. One of the benefits of video interviews that make them dramatically different from in-person interviews is that we can use video and artificial intelligence to assess things that human eyes and ears would miss.

‍

For example, our technology is able to observe and analyze facial expressions, voice intonation, body language, and more - helping us accurately assess a candidate's suitability for the role. This removes bias from decision-making and ensures that each applicant is evaluated fairly on their own merit. Creating an objective hiring decision.

‍

We can also prompt an interviewer with semi-structured questions during the interview. Semi-structured interview questions are designed to let the candidate answer in their own way while still getting the information they're looking for. This helps reduce interviewer bias and create a more effective interview that allows the right candidates to shine through.

‍

At Pillar, we believe virtual interviews are an essential tool for successful recruitment strategies. Since AI-powered technology has made them so much more efficient and effective, they're becoming the go-to choice for a vast majority of companies today.

‍

In-Person Interview Advantages and Disadvantages

‍

Traditional interviews can be classified as in-person (or face-to-face) interviews and telephone interviews. While there are a few advantages to these traditional interview formats, we believe that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages when compared to the data-driven approach of virtual interviews.

‍

In-person interview advantages and disadvantages:

‍

One of the major advantages of in-person interviews is that you're able to "feel" the connection between yourself and the candidate. In-person interviews allow for a more personal connection than any other type of interview. They also give the employer an opportunity to observe body language and facial expressions, which can be helpful in determining if the candidate is a good fit for the job.

‍

On the other hand, in-person interviews are time-consuming and expensive. They require a significant investment of money and energy – both for the employer and the candidate. Additionally, they do not provide employers with as much data on a candidate's suitability for the job compared to virtual interviews.

‍

Telephone interview advantages and disadvantages:

‍

As far as telephone interviews go, they provide the same convenience of being able to conduct interviews remotely without having to invest as much money or energy. They also provide employers with an opportunity to ask direct questions that can help them get a better understanding of the candidate's qualifications and experiences.

‍

The downside of telephone interviews is that they rely heavily on verbal communication, which can be difficult to interpret. Additionally, it can be harder for employers to determine if the candidate is a good fit for the job without being able to observe body language and facial expressions.

‍

Ultimately, we believe that virtual interviews are a far superior option to in-person or telephone interviews when it comes to selecting top talent for your team. If you're currently reviewing your interview process and want to learn how our platform can assist you with creating an efficient unbiased hiring workflow that allows you to hire better, schedule a demo today.

‍