Preparing for your dream job? Opt for an in-person interview

Washington: When it comes to facing a job interview, better go in-person instead of a video-based or other technology-mediated interviews, if you have the options, new research suggests.

"We live in a world where we increasingly rely on technology, but this study reminds us that personal interactions should never be underestimated," said study author Nikki Blacksmith, a doctoral candidate at George Washington University.

The study found that in-person interviews yielded better impressions for both the company and the candidate.

"Many times, the candidate does not have a choice in the format of the interview. However, the organization does have a choice and if they are not consistent with the type of interview they use across candidates, it could result in fairness issues and even possibly a lawsuit," Blacksmith noted.

To compare the effectiveness of in-person and technology-mediated interviews, Ms. Blacksmith and her co-authors examined 12 articles published from 2000-2007 that included interviewer and interviewee ratings, that is, assessment of how the company and the candidate performed during the interview.

The study found that, overall, technology-mediated interviews resulted in lower ratings for both the company and the candidate.

Within that category, video interviews received the most negative rankings, followed by telephone and computer interviews.

Face-to-face interviews received more favourable rankings.

Additionally, the study looked at the effect of time on the ratings, assuming that as people became more accustomed to the technology and it improved or advanced, they would rate it higher.

In fact, the opposite occurred, and ratings became more negative for more recent studies, showed the findings published in the journal Personnel Assessment and Decisions.