Phone Interviews

I recently completed a phone interview for a company I am interested in interning at for next summer, and after the phone call I couldn't help but wonder what the purpose a phone interview served.  Yes it is an easy way to get information about a potential employee, and the employer doesn't need to receive the candidate at the door of the company.  However I believe phone interviews fail to provide a fraction of the feedback an employer would get through an in person interview.

On the phone, the two participants in the interview do not get to see each other, or shake hands, or any kind of body language or facial expressions.  Some humor is lost, and light jokes cracked over the phone go over awkwardly and without much feedback.  Jokes like this usually lead to a silence with the interviewer trying to ask another question, not fun.  By receiving physical feedback via body language and facial expressions etc. the interviewee can better gauge how they are doing and adapt to meet the interviewer's feedback.  The interviewer can also better gauge who would fit in their company better or who they would rather take on board.

This got me thinking, what other aspects of life do we miss out on by choosing to conduct our social interaction via devices and various mediums of technology.  Conversations between loved ones and significant others can be conducted via text messages or social media messaging.  Technology is not completely new to the social interaction scene however.  Telephones have been around for a long time and have served couples well.  This does not only apply to significant others chatting with each other though, friend groups and even in the work place can be affected as well.  Friends will sometimes not hang out as much in favor of communication online or through a video game.  Getting together to hang out seems less appealing than sitting comfortably in your home watching Netflix or something.  Even collaborating for work, whether it be school or in a company, can get tricky with the presence of technology.  Group members might not want to meet up to work on a project, and instead simply message each other whenever they run into a problem, electing to work alone.

A phone call to get to know an interview candidate isn't always a bad thing, it can be used to gauge initial interest in an individual and learn their skill set.  However, in person interviews should always be conducted, they are easier for both parties.  As for communication between significant others, friends, coworkers or fellow students, technology does help with getting in touch, but it could also take away from the value of meeting one another in person.