Asynchronous video interviews are pre-recorded video interviews (Pavlou, 2022). This means that interviewees and interviewers do not operate within the same timeframe, unlike in a face-to-face interview where both the interviewer and interviewee physically operate in the same timeframe and environment (Saarijärvi and Bratt, 2021). The asynchronous video interview, recorded by the interviewee, is only later viewed and reviewed by the interviewer. Synchronous online interviews alternatively enable people to engage virtually through technological tools, as the interview occurs (Clark et al., 2015; Themelis and Sime, 2020). Synchronous online interviews employ software like Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.

There are several advantages and reasons why HR professionals introduce virtual interviews (asynchronous and synchronous ones) into the workplace. For instance, (Davis 2021) and (Saurombe et al. 2022) indicate that virtual interviews are perfect for those currently working in remote working conditions, as they can be interviewed from any geographical location rather than having to travel to the prospective employers' premises. This is not just useful for remote working employees, but also for those who do not have the financial means to come in for face-to-face interviews, especially if the associated costs are not funded by the prospective employer (Fennell, 2021). For HR professionals who cannot attend the interviews of candidates for whatever reason, a virtual interview can be recorded for them to review later (Torres and Gregory, 2018). Enhancing the efficiency of virtual interviews can, therefore, help streamline the overall recruitment process. Another advantage is that the increased use of virtual interviews may contribute toward the continuous enhancement of the candidate experience through ongoing feedback regarding the user-interface of virtual interviewing software and practices (Deacon et al., 2023).

Notwithstanding the above-outlined advantages of virtual interviewing, it is also not free from shortcomings. For instance, although not strictly associated only with virtual interviewing, standardized interview templates can make it difficult to establish rapport with the interviewee, especially during asynchronous, pre-recorded interviews (Johnson et al., 2021). On the contrary, a study by (De Dijn and Van De Mieroop 2023) found that virtual interviewing mediums did not necessarily hamper rapport-building efforts; however, the authors of the current paper conjecture that the latter study's findings must be interpreted cautiously since they were particularly premised on the common experience, enhanced mutual understanding, and accommodative behaviors that the pandemic generally enabled between both interviewers and interviewees at the time. Another drawback of virtual interviewing is that some candidates drop out of the process due to them lacking the physical technology, while others lack the technological expertise to seamlessly participate in the virtual interview (Miller et al., 2018). Lastly, there is a lack of non-verbal cues in virtual interviewing (especially pre-recorded), compared to in face-to-face interviews, which makes it difficult to assess the situation regarding how well the interview is going and whether you are making a good impression on a person, i.e., the interviewer (Joshi et al., 2020.). While many of these disadvantages may not be exclusive to South Africa, as they are also applicable to global contexts, research suggests South Africa tends to grapple more with some of these challenges as a developing country, and thus, could glean insights from developed countries on how to possibly alleviate some of the shortcomings of virtual interviewing (see Khoza and Mukonza, 2025; Maurer, 2021; Steele et al., 2022; Gray et al., 2020).

During virtual interviews, candidates are not able to take a tour of their potential workplace and meet their prospective colleagues, an experience that a considerable number of people find invaluable (Joshi et al., 2020). There is also the difficulty of technological issues—if a candidate or the recruiter has a poor connection or experiences loadshedding (a South African term used to describe the nationwide rationing of electricity by the state due to a demand that exceeds the available supply, Goldberg, 2015), for example, bias can be created against the candidate and the interview can be negatively impacted. Another disadvantage is that some applicants are not fond of cameras and dislike being recorded, which could make for an uncomfortable interview experience (Swain, 2023). Also, the environment will not be the same as when the interviewee was present in person for an interview, since distractions such as background noise may occur, which could hamper the interview process (Davis, 2021).

It is essential to consider candidates' experience of virtual interviews in organizations, as these organizations continuously seek to brand themselves as preferable employers to attract superior candidates (Eskenazi, 2019; Saurombe, 2025). Considering that candidates' experience with e-recruitment technological solutions like virtual interviewing affects their confidence and buy-in concerning these solutions, it is worthwhile gaining insight into the current landscape when it comes to virtual interviewing in the South African context, where a gap currently exists (Naidu et al., 2025). Thus, this research aimed to explore the benefits and drawbacks of virtual interviewing (using both asynchronous and synchronous online techniques), with the objective of understanding candidates' experience of virtual interviews, as their experience ultimately affects the effective adoption of such recruitment technology.

In this study, the social information processing (SIPT) and media-richness (MRT) theories were chosen to constitute the theoretical framework. These theories provide a foundation for comprehending the variances between asynchronous and synchronous online interviews, compared to in-person, face-to-face interviews.

SIPT asserts that computer-mediated communication (CMC) helps form interpersonal impressions and the formation of interpersonal relationships (Haywood et al., 2020; Walther, 2015). (Saarijärvi and Bratt 2021) highlight pre-recorded (asynchronous), live online (synchronous), and telephonic interviews as being the three fundamental methods of virtual interviewing. (Saarijärvi and Bratt 2021) further note that each of these virtual interview types presents unique benefits, hence it would be prudent to appropriately exploit the strengths of each method at the best suited stage of the hiring process, as recommended by (Naidu et al. 2025). Specifically, synchronous interviews involve verbal cues, non-verbal cues (though these are typically more limited than in face-to-face interviews), as well as real-time virtual interaction between the interviewer and interviewee. Asynchronous interviews involve no verbal cues, no non-verbal cues, and no real-time interaction between interview parties but only one-sided interaction of the interviewer with the candidate's recording. Meanwhile, telephonic interviews involve verbal cues but no non-verbal cues, thus only enabling virtual, non-visual interaction between the interviewer and interviewee through real-time audio and speech. Consequently, as per the premises of SIPT, of all three virtual interviewing methods, synchronous interviews provide richer information for forming interpersonal impressions, while the information provided through asynchronous and telephonic interviews is more fragmented, thus presenting greater shortcomings compared to face-to-face interviewing. For the sake of the current research, the authors focused only on asynchronous and synchronous interviews.

(Walther 2015) particularly explains how the SIPT underpins how strangers form interpersonal impressions. For example, in the context of this research, these impressions would be based on how a candidate looks to the interviewer and how the interviewer initially perceives the person when reviewing and rating them during asynchronous video interviews (recorded and reviewed later) and synchronous online interviews (conducted in the present moment). During an in-person interview, body language, facial expressions, and the tone of voice are evident. Conversely, interviews involving CMC necessitate interviewers' adaptation of their language or communication methods to establish a stronger connection with the candidate (Hajjat and Miller, 2017; Hein et al., 2024). SIPT aids in understanding how limited non-verbal cues during virtual interviewing can hamper CMC. Physical interviews have the inherent advantage of richer social cues, as the more substantive perceivable cues and information available enable more profound interpretations of the candidate, their personality, and their suitability to the job (Miller et al., 2018). It is thus important to continuously review and revise CMC-based interviews to enhance their substance and effectiveness compared to physical interviews. Accordingly, SIPT enabled us to note the performance discrepancies associated with virtual interviewing in line with the candidates' experience.

The MRT assumes that communication media facilitates the transfer or reproduction of information (Shams et al., 2022). MRT further asserts that performance is enhanced when more profound media sources provide richer cues like the tone of voice and perceivable gestures (Miller et al., 2018). Four aspects encompass the richness of media, namely: immediate feedback, where two-way communication happens and replies are swiftly received; multiple cues, where information is filtered through different channels during communication; personal focus, where users can express their feelings to suit their receiver's preferences; and language variety, where users can express several language meanings (Daft et al., 1987).

(Daft et al. 1987) explain that media's richness can either be high or low. For instance, physical encounters as in face-to-face interviews include the richest media forms, facilitating immediate communication feedback and multiple cues like body gestures and the tone of voice. Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of virtual communication like virtual interviews has continued (Brian et al., 2023). In South Africa, virtual interviewing would be impossible without technological tools like video conferencing (Tseng et al., 2019). Nonetheless, many South African companies are insufficiently digitally prepared for seamless virtual interviewing, demonstrating how the media richness can inherently be affected by the specific environment's characteristics (Tseng et al., 2019). Thus, the MRT enabled us to determine the communication choices that would allow more seamless virtual interviewing based on the candidates' experience, particularly in the South African context.

This research employed a qualitative case-study approach. Since qualitative research generally allows the dissecting of narratives and experiences (Korstjens and Moser, 2018), it was considered the most appropriate for grasping the experience of the candidate in terms of the benefits and drawbacks of virtual interviews. The ontological approach of this research was to explore and comprehend the candidate experience of virtual interviews to ascertain participants' reality in this regard. Therefore, the research adopted a constructionist ontological approach. This research further used interpretivist epistemology, outlining the role of narratives and personal interpretations when it comes to understanding candidates' experience of virtual interviewing.

The case study strategy was adopted as the authors sought to understand the phenomenon of virtual interviewing within a specifically identified company group which had more rapidly and widely adopted virtual interviewing since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Case studies allow researchers to explore certain phenomena within real-life environments (Priya, 2021). Thus, a case study approach allowed an in-depth understanding of virtual interviewing within an organization where the use of such recruitment techniques was on the rise, giving the authors better insights into the Research Topic, specifically within the South African context.

This research's participants comprised candidates in a South African organization and a total of 14 participants were selected using purposive sampling. Purposive sampling has limitations like the inability to randomly sample participants, potentially resulting in researcher bias and subjectivity regarding participant selection (Etikan, 2016). Purposive sampling prompted the authors to select a specific organization and participants they felt were best suited to the experience of virtual interviewing, thus inherently excluding other potential participants who were not considered appropriate. This purposive sampling drawback was alleviated by applying multiple participant selection criteria like gender, age, race, and occupation level, thus helping curb any potentially biased or strongly subjective selection of the overall participants. The authors also admit the inherently reduced generalisability of the research findings because of purposive sampling, however; ensuring the trustworthiness of the data was as robust as possible helped curb this limitation (see later section on the techniques used to enhance the data quality and integrity).

The inclusion criteria granted participation eligibility to candidates within the South African HR recruitment industry, who participated in either asynchronous video or synchronous online interviews anytime between 2020 and 2022, specifically during the height of the use of virtual interviewing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous experience with face-to-face interviewing was also required for participation in this research. The rationale behind selecting participants from within the HR recruitment industry was to enhance the topic-related insights from key players within the recruitment field. It was also easier to access this organization through the main author's professional network, which was pivotal in gaining the necessary permission to conduct the research. Selecting participants ranging from the entry or intern level to the senior management level particularly ensured that the views and contributions of all occupational level recruitment personnel were sufficiently represented.

While the authors had initially targeted 21 participants, only the 14 that ultimately participated were willing and had time to do so, which nonetheless amounted to an acceptable qualitative sample size for research of this nature, as substantiated by (Guest et al. 2006). The research also considered data saturation, which became apparent at the sixth interview, however, the authors prioritized obtaining sincere and profound insights regarding the candidates' experiences over data saturation, as supported by (Marshall et al. 2013). Table 1 below indicates the characteristics of the participants specifically their gender, age, race, and occupational level.

This research was undertaken at a selected organization in the e-recruitment setting within the broader field of HR. The offices of the organization are located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The research obtained data through partly structured interviews which were conducted individually and in English. The authors prepared a semi-structured interview guide with questions to be addressed during the interview. Since there was no strict structure to the interview, this allowed for the conversation to be informal and for the main author to ask probing questions and encourage profound conversation. The interviews employed synchronous online tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet, as well as in-person (at the individual participants' offices), depending on both the preference of and convenience for the participants. The University of Johannesburg provided the authors with ethical clearance [IPPM-2022-697(M)] before the interviews could proceed, and ethical considerations were upheld throughout the research.

The authors first conducted a pilot interview to determine how suitable and understandable the questions were and whether would indeed help the authors obtain the relevant data. The pilot interview helped the authors to identify questions which needed reframing or rephrasing, thus improving the overall structure and flow of the subsequently conducted interviews. Examples of questions that were asked during the interview are as follows: “What was the nature of your experience using virtual interview systems and software?”; “Can you describe the advantages of using virtual interviews in comparison to face-to-face interviews, in your experience?” and what were the drawbacks you experienced while using virtual interviewing systems? During data collection, the main author had to reschedule three interviews due to challenges with reconciling work and personal schedules with the participants. No incentives were offered for participation in the research.

Both the physical and virtual interviews were captured on an external recording device; in the case of the virtual interviews, this was done to ensure there would be back-up if glitches occurred in the built-in recording on the virtual interviewing platforms employed. The authors also captured notes to ensure accurate representation of participants' perspectives in alignment with what was recorded.

(Forero et al. 2018) and (Korstjens and Moser 2018) noted that qualitative research uses credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability to establish whether the research is trustworthy. To ensure the transferability of the research, the authors provided thick descriptions of the research methods and procedures employed, allowing readers to make a more informed assessment of the applicability of the study's findings to other contexts (Kostova, 2017). The credibility of the research was ensured by conducting a pilot interview to ensure the content validity of the questions asked and by involving a qualitative data analyst during the coding process, whose analysis was compared and merged with independent analyzes by the authors to develop the ultimate research findings (Mabope, 2018). To ensure that the findings of this research were possibly repeatable, a detailed record of the data collection process was developed (Forero et al., 2018). Lastly, conformability was ensured by uncovering participants' reality in an objective, unbiased, and impartial manner without prejudice while remaining neutral (Forero et al., 2018).

Thematic analysis helps authors to make sense of the deeper meanings contained within qualitative research data (i.e., interview transcripts) by providing structured ways of summarizing and interpreting the various ideas represented (Clarke and Braun, 2016), hence, it was considered most appropriate for this study. Specifically, thematic analysis employing a deductive approach to coding was used, as the authors centered the themes on the candidates' overall experience with virtual interviewing, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of virtual interviewing from the candidates' experience, in accordance with the research objectives. The authors conducted a traditional thematic analysis, assisted by a data analyst who helped identify and highlight initial codes in the transcripts then finally grouped them according to relevant themes and subthemes in line with the research objectives (Eger and Hjerm, 2022; Linneberg and Korsgaard, 2019). The data analyst signed an agreement restraining them from sharing the participants' information and answers provided during the interviews.

(Clarke and Braun 2016) proffer six steps for thematic analysis and the same were adopted in this study. The authors initially familiarized themselves with the transcripts by replaying the recordings and noting any interesting aspects observed. The authors then considered key features and phrases pertinent to the research. The data was searched for themes which were organized by categorizing similar codes. The identified themes were then reviewed and organized among the authors, in consultation with the data analyst. The themes were then named, which guided the authors' systematic write up of the findings. The authors finally compared their independent data analyzes with that of the data analyst to organize and report the findings in alignment with the themes and subthemes identified. The subthemes were appropriately supported by direct quotes emanating from the interviews.

This study followed the following ethical guidelines: proper acknowledgment of the work of other authors through adequate referencing; full participant consent prior to the study; protection of the privacy of the participants; ensuring adequate confidentiality of the respondents; respect for participants' confidentiality; seeking ethics approval from the relevant institutional research ethics committee. After obtaining permission from the selected organization, ethical clearance was sought from and granted by the University of Johannesburg before the commencement of data collection. The authors were allocated the ethical clearance number: [IPPM-2022-697(M)]. Participation in the research was voluntary and if any selected participant refused to take part, or later decided to withdraw, there would be no consequences.

Virtual interviews take place through a video format and can involve one or two-way communication. One-way virtual interviews, that is, ones that are pre-recorded or “not live,” occur when the candidate receives a list of interview questions, so that their interview will appear as a pre-recorded video. In contrast, two-way (“live”) interviews occur when the interviewer and interviewee have a dialogue by means of real time video conferencing (Hagedorn et al., 2021). The theme primarily emerged from conversation with participants about their experience of live as opposed to pre-recorded virtual interviews. The subthemes that emerged under this main theme were lack of non-verbal cues, comfort associated with the interview format, and lack of human interaction.

There were certain advantages of live interviews as opposed to pre-asynchronous ones. The subthemes that emerged were fairness and global communication.

Some disadvantages were mentioned in the semi-structured interviews regarding both asynchronous video and synchronous online virtual interviews. The subthemes that emerged were one-way communication as well as technology.

The findings explored participant experiences of asynchronous video and synchronous online interviews. Participant views differed with respect to their experiences when it came to using the different modes of interviewing. The various subthemes that emerged under this main theme were lack of non-verbal cues, comfort associated with interview format, and lack of human interaction.

The subthemes of fairness and global communication emerged as the advantages of these interviews, each of which is briefly pitted against extant literature.

The drawbacks of virtual interviews encompassed one-way communication and technology as the pertinent subthemes.