Video Vs. Phone Interviews: How Do They Compare?

Your talent acquisition tech stack is the tool kit for your recruitment team. Each piece plays an important role in your hiring process. Ideally, each tools makes life a little easier for you and your team.

One of the keystone pieces in a talent acquisition tech stack is how you interview your candidates. Let’s evaluate what kind of interview tool is best for you. 

There are a few things we know. 
‍

💥 Virtual recruitment is here to stay and is used by 70% of employers, according to a LinkedIn survey. 

😴 The interview stage is the longest part of the hiring cycle.  

The first round of interviews doesn’t need to be conducted one at a time. 

👏 Asynchronous interviewing can increase screening efficiency by 80%.

Recruiters today need to have automated interviews as part of their hiring process. You have two options to gather your interview responses — self-guided phone interviews or on-demand video recordings. 

Here are the pros and cons of each: 

Phone Interviews

☑️ Mitigate Bias

☑️ Accessibility

☑️ Human Connection

☑️ Consistency

☑️ Fast Reviews

☑️ High-Volume Hiring

‍

Video Interviews

❌ Mitigate Bias

❌ Accessibility

☑️ Human Connection

☑️ Consistency

❌ Fast Reviews

❌ High-Volume Hiring

Mitigate Bias

Video interviews do provide candidates more of a chance to make a visual impression. However, removing the visual aspect of an initial interview (by using an on-demand phone interview tool) is proven to reduce biased decisions and subconscious discrimination. 

Accessibility 

Phone interviews are more accessible in terms of technological access and for neurodivergent applicants. Video interviews also require candidates to get dressed up and create a “professional” or “neutral” background — both of which are less accessible for every economic class to achieve equally. 

Human Connection 

Automated video and phone interviews can allow your team to record your questions in the tone and style of your brand voice. Both options can maintain a “human touch” in virtual interviewing. 

Consistency 

Because one-way phone interviews require recruiters to pre-record their questions, each candidate receives the same experience. 

Fast Review 

Automated phone interviews using Qualifi allow recruiters to send out interview invites, gather all of the responses simultaneously, then listen to answers like a playlist while multitasking, filtering answers by relevant keywords. Video interviews require a time-consuming manual review of each response. 

High-Volume Hiring 

Volume recruiting requires a speedy time-to-hire. Filling a lot of open roles is nearly impossible with interview tools that bog down the review time. 

There are pros and cons to both types of one-way interviewing. Self-guided phone interviews allow candidates to: 

• Respond at any time of day
• Removes the opportunity for subconscious bias from recruiters
• Has all of the benefits of on-demand video interviews, plus a few