As social distancing measures have put a stop to face-to-face meetings, interviews for all roles – from C-suite to entry level – have gone virtual.
While it is borne of necessity in the current environment, this new reality can present challenges for both the interviewer and the candidate, as well as potentially lengthening the interview and onboarding process. Some examples:
- In the absence of the non-verbal cues that are exchanged when sitting in the same room as another person, it can be hard to gauge how a conversation and exchange might proceed;
- For panels, multiple interviewers sitting in different locations will be more likely to step on each other’s words;
- Technology issues and audio lags can be detrimental to the flow and ease of conversation;
- If you’re working from a household with other people, outside distractions and interruptions are more likely to occur.
Does any of this sound familiar?
There can also be challenges when the interviewer and candidate do not have the same approach to conducting video interviews. With an in-person interview, erring towards formality and conventionality are typically natural. Over video however, there is no standard on interview conduct or attire (although pants should be a basic expectation!), so approach can vary wildly between different generations or industries. Add to this the physical environment – lighting, camera positioning and background clutter – all of which can create a negative perception and detract from the perceived quality of the candidate.
The question of how to assess and when/if to judge leaders via video interviews is now rightly top of hiring managers’ minds. Fortunately, there are simple tactical opportunities to mitigate for these issues:
- Hiring managers should be aware of, and flexible when it comes to, potential interruptions that arise from working in a shared environment, as well as any technological predicaments candidates may face outside the office.
- As much as possible, the interviewer should focus on the content of the candidate’s professional experience and answers, as opposed to any background clutter and outside noise.
- Interview questions should be consistent with what would be asked during an in-person interview.
- If it is a panel interview, all interviewers should try to be on the call a few minutes before the candidate – reducing the chances of a late start and presenting a united front, even when everyone is in different physical locations
- For the candidate, preparing the interview location by testing technology, view, lighting and background (possibly utilizing a simple virtual background) in advance will appear more professional.
- Interviewees should assume the level of formality to be the same as an in-person interview, and be sure to dress, behave and prepare for a virtual conversation in the same way.
- Interviewees also ought to familiarize themselves with the different video conferencing platforms – Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams and Google Hangouts all run differently, and getting to know the platform beforehand will minimize the risk of technology mishaps on their end.
Even before COVID-19, more and more companies had been switching to virtual interviews (at Bridge Partners we have conducted them effectively for years) but the do require an adjustment. As remote work becomes more commonplace, so will online interviewing. By knowing how to prepare and carry these out, both interviewers and candidates can get just as much (if not more) out of the experience.
