Employers Prefer In-Person Interviews, but 40% Fold In Virtual Components

America Employed – Insights from Express Employment Professionals

Job seekers should prepare to meet with potential employers at least once during the hiring process, as 51% of U.S. hiring managers say they prefer to interview candidates face-to-face instead of through a screen or phone. 

However, the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still evident as 8% of hiring managers only conduct interviews virtually, while another 40% use a combination of in-person and virtual.

This is according to a recent survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.

If an applicant shows up at a business unannounced to secure employment, a majority of employers describe the tactic positively, saying it shows motivation (57%), initiative (46%) and that the candidate is driven (40%).

Only 35% view this behavior as negative with descriptions such as obsessive (19%), creepy (16%) or out-of-date (14%).

Technology was such a wonderful asset to keep the workforce connected during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Express Employment International CEO Bill Stoller.

“However, returning to in-person interviews or a virtual component at the start of the hiring process allows employers to assess soft skills that are hard to capture without meeting face-to-face,” he added. “Looking at these survey results, it seems companies agree.”

Survey Methodology

The Job Insights survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between June 13 and June 26, 2023, among 1,010 U.S. hiring decision-makers (defined as adults ages 18+ in the U.S. who are employed full-time or self-employed, work at companies with more than one employee, and have full/significant involvement in hiring decisions at their company). Data were weighted where necessary by company size to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 3.2 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.

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