The Effect of Interview Method on Self-Presentation Strategies and Self-Disclosure Level in Job Interviews
Manami Hori (AY 2023)
The spread of the new coronavirus in 2020 has changed the way people communicate. Among these, the spread of online communication in the form of video calls via Zoom and other means has been remarkable, and job interviews are now conducted online as well. Even today, when infection control measures have faded, some companies still conduct online interviews because of the advantages of not having to choose the time and place, but there are also reported disadvantages in communication, such as the difficulty in grasping the mood of the other party. In this study, we examined the effects of differences in interview formats on self-presentation strategies and self-disclosure levels by comparing applicant behavior in face-to-face and online interviews. Specifically, two hypotheses were formulated and tested: "The proportion of applicants who use proactivity strategies is higher in face-to-face interviews than in online interviews" and "The level of self-disclosure is lower in online interviews than in face-to-face interviews.
The experiment was conducted in a between-subjects design with two conditions: face-to-face interviews and online interviews. Subjects were 36 undergraduate and graduate students (18 males and 18 females) from National T University, with a male to female ratio of 1:1 in both conditions. Subjects were first asked to respond to a "Questionnaire on Attitudes toward Job Interviews," which asked about their job interview experiences, etc., followed by a 30-minute interview experiment. The questions used in the interview were the same for all subjects. The two questionnaires were designed to investigate subjects' self-presentation strategies based on previous research. The interviews were also recorded and audio-recorded for analysis.
Based on the interview experiment, questionnaire content analysis, facial expression analysis, behavior analysis, and speech content analysis were conducted. The results of the questionnaire content analysis and behavior analysis showed significant differences by interview format. Questionnaire content analysis revealed a higher tendency to use the proactivity strategy in face-to-face interviews than in online interviews. Behavioral analysis revealed a tendency to nod more during the interview in face-to-face interviews than in online interviews. The speech content analysis also revealed that in-person interviews were more likely than online interviews to actively engage in self-disclosure. Based on these results, the hypothesis that "face-to-face interviews are more likely than online interviews to adopt a strategy of assertiveness" was accepted in terms of awareness and behavior (nodding), but not in terms of facial expressions. On the other hand, the hypothesis that "online interviews result in less self-disclosure than face-to-face interviews" was not significantly different across interview formats. As a future direction of research, we may be able to find suitable self-presentation strategies for each interview format by investigating the effects of the differences in applicant behavior by interview format observed in this study on the interviewer's evaluation.
(Translated by DeepL)