Should I take In-person or online interviews?
A recruiter is offering to interview with me in-person since they happen to be in the area, but they are happy to take the meeting online as well. I’m wondering what would be the better option? I’m leaning towards online but it seems that they’re pushing for an in-person interview.
In my case, I wouldn’t need to travel too far to meet with the recruiter. Wondering what the pros and cons to an in-person interview are, and how it compares to a virtual one?
![Senior Software Engineer [E5] at Meta company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fmeta.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3Da7a5bcc0-e178-4b5b-b71e-09bf6c6aefae&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
![Entry-Level Software Engineer [L3] at Google company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fgoogle.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3D780356ef-3efc-4728-9eb4-d909b75bb4a6&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Discussion
(2 comments)- 1
4 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroYou should definitely meet them in-person. I think this increases your chances of passing by at least 10%.
There are many reasons why:
- The fact that you're taking the time to meet them (i.e. giving them your most valuable resource) shows that you care about the opportunity
- It's way easier to build trust with in-person interaction for all the reasons I talk about in my communication course
- With an in-person interaction, it feels more natural and feasible to extend the duration, helping you even more. Let's say the interview is going really well and the recruiter doesn't have any meetings after - They might invite you out to coffee or something
If you have solid communication and social skills, all the reasons above will be amplified and can increase your chances of passing by +50%.
The benefits of doing the interview virtually are all related to remote work in general (no commute time, more comfortable, you don't have to care about your appearance as much), not interview pass rate.
Back when I was interviewing at Meta, I was given the choice of doing the technical phone screen in-person or virtually. I did it in-person, and it was totally worth it.
- 13 months agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
It's much, much easier to build trust in person. In a vacuum, I'd opt for that. However, it obviously takes more time and money to travel, so you need to judge the opportunity cost.
Check the commitment level from the other side before you meet them. This comes in two forms:
- How much decision-making power does the person have? If they're a newly-hired recruiter at the company, the answer is not very much. Then it may not be worth your time. The analog to this in the startup fundraising world is when you're doing tons of meetings with VC analysts who never have the authority to actually write you a check. You need to talk to the partners to make progress.
- How deep will your engagement be with the counterparty? If you're traveling for a 30 min coffee chat with the recruiter, it may not be worth it. If you're doing the final round interview with 5+ meetings, then you should absolutely travel to be there in-person.
