Remote Interviews are the types of interviews that are taken virtually usually through video conferencing or over telephone. They are convenient, flexible and economic.
Table of content
What is a Remote Interview?
Do you remember how hard it was to land a job when we had to go from office to office for giving interviews with CV in our hands!
But today, we can give as many interviews as possible just with our desktop and comfort of our home. These kinds of interviews can be termed as remote interview.
Remote interview is the process where the employers connect with the candidate virtually, through telephone or video conferencing, to interview them for hiring. Usually, when the applicant and the interviewer are based on different locations, they prefer remote interview for the process.
Although, the idea of Remote jobs was in trend since early 00’, it came to a rise in 2010 by 59% and reached its peak during the COVID Pandemic. The world stopped but the job hunting was never at the pause. People started to apply for a remote job and, they were selected through a remote interview.
Why are Remote Interviews Preferred?
Nine out of ten company prefers virtual interviews over in-person interviews but why? Remote interviews are preferred due to many reasons. A few of them are,
- Comfort: Who doesn’t want comfort? When everything today is available in our hands and that too in a very reasonable time, why would someone opt for such a rigorous process. Similarly, remote interviews are preferred over in-person interviews due to the comfort of both, the employer and the applicant.
- Availability: Everyone is always available on their mobile phones, laptop and almost everyone has a good internet connectivity. This leads to justification of this point that applicants and interviewer are available all the time and there is least possibility to delay.
- Flexibility: Greater the use of technology, greater the flexibility! It is flexible since a remote interview can be taken anywhere irrespective of the location.
- Cost-saving: Remote interview is highly efficient for the organization and the applicant since is saves time, money and efforts of both the sides.
Let’s dive into the Process of Remote Interviews
The process of remote interview is as follows:
- The interviewer posts about the job description. In this step, as an HR you are required to fill in all the details regarding the requirements.
- Once all the applications are received, the recruitment starts.
- In the next step, the suitable candidates are filtered out from the pool of applicants, and they are intimated with the further process.
- This step leads us to communicating with the applicant through the process of remote interview. This could be via video conferencing using varied platforms like zoom, google meet, skype or over the telephone.
- Selected candidates are hired, and they are welcomed onboard.
Types of Remote Interviews we Should Know
Majorly there are two types of the remote interviews,
1. Telephonic Interview: This is a type of remote interview, interviewer conduct the interview process on call. It is the most commodious way of knowing the candidate and easing the complex interview process. Some companies even go for a pre-recorded question interview process.
2. Video Conferencing: Video conferencing or online two-way live interview is a process where the interview is conducted virtually via live video conferencing platforms like Skype, Google Meet, Teams. It is slightly different from the telephonic interview as it offers the experience of face-to-face interviews.
Factors to be Remembered while Taking a Remote Interview
Major factors that can help you to ace as a remote Interviewer!
- Have a good internet connection and check for all the technical aspects to avoid any glitch.
- Put a smile on your face so that the interviewee does not hesitate to have a good start.
- Always greet the interviewee and ask about their day.
- Wear microphone during the interview so that your voice is clear.
- Put a reminder before the actual call/interview.
Conclusion
There are millions of factors to pave the way for a successful and peaceful career in an organization. During the pandemic when whole world was at pause, we only had devices to make our presence to be felt somewhere.
As per a report by gartner 86% of the organizations conducted virtual interviews to hire the candidates during the corona virus pandemic.
This shows how an extreme job like taking an interview in-person, turned into a simplified task.
As we come towards the end of this very knowledgeable and insightful write-up, I hope that we helped you to make your HR experience better for the next time. Now you can confidently come up in front for taking up remote interviews’ responsibilities in your hands.
We’ll keep bringing more in for you! Till then keep reading, keep thinking and keep HRing!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How to prepare for remote interview?
To prepare for the remote interview you should,
-Have a good internet connection.
-Go through the candidate’s Resume before taking the actual interview.
-If it’s your first interview as an HR, ask your fellow mates or seniors about the questions that you should ask them.
2. How a remote interview different from an in-person interview?
Remote interview and an In-person Interview differ a lot from each other. In a remote interview the basic purpose is to avoid the actual presence of the human interaction and to do everything virtually. While in an In-person interview, the person is called to the office for the process.
3. How to succeed in a remote interview?
To succeed in a remote interview, you must focus on a few points,
- As an interviewer always know what to ask to the candidate.
- Break the ice! Ask about their background and other interests.
- Make your points clear to the candidate.
- Clear the doubts of the interviewee.
- Mention all the important points before ending the call.
- Wait for the candidate to cut the call or ask them to leave the call once you are done.