(Graphic | Courtesy of Express Employment)
How They Should Handle Virtual Interviews Entering the Workforce — Latest Results from The Harris Poll
With 86 percent of U.S. companies looking to hire employees in key departments this year, more than half (52 percent) say they intend to hire recent college graduates. This is according to a recent survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.
College graduates have continually been on the radar for hiring decision-makers since 2020 (48 percent in the first half of 2021, 43 percent in the second half of 2020 and 38 percent in the first half of 2020). Further, more than 1 in 3 say they plan to hire vocational/career tech graduates (42 percent) and/or college students (36 percent) in 2022.
As these college and career tech grads apply for jobs, they may face at least an initial virtual interview as 61 percent of businesses say they have conducted remote video interviews. However, these remote interviews come with their own challenges for interviewees.
More than two in five hiring decision-makers (43 percent) say they are tougher with candidates in remote interviews as compared to in-person. Specifically, if interviewees are seen wearing unprofessional dress (e.g., loungewear, spaghetti straps, etc.) (41 percent), hiring decision-makers report it would cause them not to hire the candidate.
The state of the interviewees’ background is also under watch as a visible mess (36 percent), a TV on (35 percent) and/or people in the background (31 percent) could be cause for the candidate to be denied the position.
“It is critical to treat a virtual interview with the same professionalism and preparation that you would if it was an in-person interview,” said Chris Petty, franchise manager of the Central Oregon Express franchise office. “While through the pandemic we have all become more comfortable with the virtual interview technology, we still encourage candidates to practice interviewing with friends and family ahead of time.”
The labor market is ideal for these new graduates, and they should take advantage of this kickstart in their career paths, according to Express Employment International CEO Bill Stoller.
“With higher wages and more demand for their talent than many previous generations, we congratulate the Class of 2022 and look forward to seeing their impact on the workforce,” he said.
Survey Methodology
The survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between November 10 and December 2, 2021, among 1,009 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.
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