The verb used would be ‘is’ because we’re talking about a group of people in the present tense. I feel we would use ‘are’ only if there were specific things were were talking about, like [we] are, [you] are, [jack and jill] are, etc. Though, this wouldn’t be the case with he and she, because they always need to be in present tense.
this is false. interviews are not only face to face
Yes that could be a survival reference