In order to make an accurate analysis of the data I collected, it is important to first understand the demographics of the participants. Of the 34 people that participated in the survey, 16 were male and 18 were female. These numbers are slightly under representative of the male to female ratio of the United States labor force, which consists of 53.6% men and 46.4% women as of 2005 (http://www.dol.gov/wb/factsheets/Qf-ESWM05.htm). All of the potential employee respondents are currently students at Santa Clara University and all of the hiring employers are situated in the Bay Area. College students were an optimal study group because they comprise of the greatest age group currently seeking jobs. In terms of survey respondents, there were an even number of employees (17) and employers (17) (see graph for Question 2), assuring that there is not a misrepresentation of either employer or employee over the other. 34 survey and 6 interview participants, however, are too small of a sample to make any definitive conclusions about communication media in business preferences. Nonetheless, the convenient sample obtained through my Facebook and family friends provides a decent representation of the business world, at least in the Bay Area.
As seen in Question 3, which asks which type of media employers versus employees prefer to use during the interview process, there is a clear preference, between both hiring employers and employees, to using face to face communication since the majority of respondents responded face to face communication for this question. In general, the conclusion that can be drawn from this data is that both employers and employees would choose face to face communication during the interview process. There is also a general consistency between employer and employee preferences, with face to face being the most popular media, followed by phone, and lastly email. 
This data is very consistent with the qualitative data obtained from my interviews. Each interviewee that was an employer said that during the interview and hiring process, they would prefer face to face communication (Question 3 of interviews). Employees interviewed also showed a preference toward face to face communication, with only one interviewee (Interview 5) preferring phone calls during interviews. No employer or employee interviewed showed a preference for email. This shows that while, in general, both employers and employees prefer face to face communication, employees show more openness toward phone calls since more employees would prefer phone calls than employers.
Although the first part of my research question, “Between in person communication, phone conversation, and email, which medium of communication is more appealing to prospective employees and employers?”, has been successfully answered, the more interesting question is why differences in these preferences exist. Although employees and employers did not significantly differ in their preferences, there were clear differences in the reasons for their preferences. The results for Question 4 of the survey, regarding reasons for preferences, were as follows:
Based on these results, employers seemed to prefer mediums for their efficiency and because they were personable. 3 employers also stated ease of use as a reason for their preference. This is also consistent with the qualitative data collected from the interviews. Interviewees 1 and 2 stated that they would prefer face to face communication because they were personable and email offered less assess to understanding physical cues that help determine personality and skill. Interviewee 2 also added that face to face communication is easier in conducting behavioral interviews. Interviewee 3 also stated that face to face is the most efficient in gauging skill, and this analysis was more difficult to do through less personable modes of communication such as phone and email. Combined, data from surveys and interviews show that employers go for media of communication that most efficiently are able to measure personable-ness, which turns out to be face to face communication according to employers.
On the other hand, potential employees have very different reasons for reaching the same consensus of the preference of face to face communication. In the survey, employees’ main basis for preference of a media of communication was that is caused least pressure, followed closely by the ease of its use. 3 employees also cited the personable-ness of a media as a reason for preference. This is also consistent with data obtained through interviews. Interviewee 4 stated that it’s easier to be personable in person. Interviewee 5, who was the only interview candidate, said that there was less pressure felt with phone interviews than in person ones, which was a motivating factor for his preference of phone interviews. This could also explain the greater number of employees versus employers that choose less personal media of communication, such as phone and email, since employers do not consider pressure felt by a media as a reason for preferring one over the other. In general, it makes sense that interview candidates, employees, would feel pressure and be motivated by making a good first impression and choose a media that would best help them shine. To reinforce this, Interviewee 6 confirmed that their media of choice is phone calls because it best helps them showcase their personality and display their skills. Employers, who conduct interviews, are more concerned with learning fully about their candidate in the fastest and most efficient way possible. While both employers and employees prefer face to face communication over others, it is important to recognize that their reasons for doing so are quite different.
Based on past studies and research on communication in business, it seems that digital technology and virtual teams are becoming more widely used in the corporate world. Interestingly, Question 5 in the survey, which asked to what extent survey takers agreed with the statement that businesses today are switching to digital communication, generated a majority of employers that disagreed and employees that agreed. Data from the interviews consistently showed that both employers and employees, during interviews, however, use face to face communication the most. While previous studies show that businesses are now relying more heavily on virtual teams, it is interesting that business operation once jobs have started do not impact the interview process before the job starts. Also, despite employees recognizing or believing that there is a greater shift toward digital communication, the majority of employees still prefer face to face communication as opposed to digital communication media. The results of Question 4 also clearly indicate that neither employers or employees consider popular business trends in communication technology to be impactful in the selection of media to use during the interview process, since no employers or employees used popularity of the media in business today as the most relevant criteria for choosing a media on communication during interviews.
One of the final elements to consider while analyzing the data I collected is the ability to isolate variables. Although I was testing for differences between employers and employees, the variable of type of work and major came up. The graph below, from Question 6 of the survey, however, shows that the survey collected a fairly disperse sample of data from each main major, business, engineering, soft sciences, and hard sciences. It was slightly unrepresentative of the hard sciences, and very unrepresentative of “other” majors. This is an important factor to note because with some majors and careers, such as dance, it might be more imperative to conduct in person interviews to be able to physically see ones’ skill. However, with the main careers that people interview for as college students in the silicon valley, the data collected in the survey was pretty representative.
The data gathered through interviews also contained a good spread of career fields and majors since they covered business, engineering, and hard/soft sciences. Considering that the clear majority with both employers and employees preferred face to face communication, it does not seem that type of career majorly affected the results of the study. However, since my research question did not deal with analyzing differences in preference based on career choice, it cannot definitely conclude how this variable could have impacted my study.