The use of video can completely transform your hiring process. Making video a part of your recruitment strategy will help you attract, recruit and hire better candidates faster.

Discover 5 great ways to use video for recruiting!

Why should you use videos in recruitment?

The answer is simple: Because by 2020 85% of all internet traffic in the US will through videos! Using video in recruitment is no longer a competitive advantage in the war for talent – it is a necessity. 

If you don’t want to be left empty-handed, you should consider incorporating video into your recruiting and hiring process. Making video a part of your recruitment strategy will help you attract, recruit, and hire better candidates faster. Actually, the use of video can completely transform your hiring process!

Using video in recruitment has many benefits. Incorporating video in your hiring process will help you improve 3 most important recruiting metrics: cost per hire, time to hire, and quality of hire. With video, you can recruit better candidates faster and save money! 

How to use videos in recruitment?

There are numerous ways you can use video for recruiting. Video can be used in every stage of your hiring process: from attracting to selecting and hiring top candidates. For example, you can use video to amp up your recruiting brand, attract top talent’s attention, generate more applications, improve your candidate experience, interview long-distance candidates, and more.

To help you get started, we’ve put together a list of 5 key ways your company can leverage video for hiring top talent.   

5 ways to use video in recruitment

So, we’ve convinced you to implement the video in your recruiting process. But where should you start? What are the best ways to leverage the use of video in recruitment?

Start by using video to:

1. Advertise your open job positions

Use videos to advertise your open job positions. Candidates are sick of reading long job descriptions. Most employers still use the standard boring textual job descriptions. Make your job postings stand out by adding videos to yours! 

Use the video to show your potential candidates what their day would look like if they worked at your company. Show them your office and let them see their duties and everyday tasks – as well as benefits they would enjoy. 

By adding video to your job descriptions, you will attract the attention of top talent and receive more high-quality applications. A recent research conducted by Career Builder found that job postings with videos are viewed 12% more than postings without video and have a 34% greater application rate! 

2. Showcase your company culture

When it comes to company culture, video is worth more than a thousand words. By creating a company culture video, you can provide candidates with a glimpse into your company culture. Show (don’t tell) them what is it like to work at your company.

Start with a virtual office tour to showcase your beautiful space. Next, provide potential candidates with insight into everyday life at your office. Interview your happy and engaged employees and feature their authentic testimonials. Finally, highlight the benefits you offer. 

The best part? You can create a great company culture video on your own! And no, you don’t need expensive equipment and a professional filming team. You can use your own smartphone and still produce a fantastic company culture video. Don’t believe me? Check out this amazing company culture video by LinkedIn! 

3. Explain your hiring process

One of the most commonly cited frustrations candidates face during a hiring process is being kept in the dark. They don’t know what to expect, how long will your hiring process takes, how many stages there are, in which one they currently are, and what will happen next.

Top candidates won’t wait around to find out. Instead, they will accept another offer and you’ll lose them. But it doesn’t have to be that way! You can create a video in which you explain your hiring process to candidates. Provide a clear outline of every step in your hiring process, as well as the expected timeline.

That way, you’ll ensure that candidates have realistic expectations from the start. This will help you avoid frustrations on both sides, as well as ensure a smoother candidate experience for your candidates.  

4. Communicate with candidates

According to a CareerBuilder survey, an overwhelming 81% of candidates cite the one thing that would greatly improve their overall candidate experience is employers continuously communicating status updates to them. If you want to dazzle candidates and stand in their inbox, video is the way to go.

You can use videos to communicate with your candidates in each stage of your hiring process. For example, when you proactively source for prospective candidates, consider adding a video message to your cold outreach. You can a video link or even embed a video within your email. That way, you will give a special touch to your pitch and make it more compelling.

You can also use video to communicate with the candidates who have opted into your hiring process. Use video messages to provide relevant, timely updates of their status in your hiring process. 

You should also use video in the final stages of your recruiting process. Include a video message from your CEO in your offer email to selected candidates. This will help you make your offer attractive. Finally, don’t forget your silver medalists. They’ll appreciate receiving a rejection email with a personalized video message. 

5. Interview top candidates

Incorporating videos in your interviewing process is another great way to improve your whole hiring process. Video interviews can make your hiring process more efficient. Not only do they save you time and money, they also widen your talent pool and provide an effective way to screen candidates.

According to Aberdeen’s talent acquisition research, companies with video interviewing tools in place are 2.7 times more likely to improve (reduce) their cost per hire on a year-to-year basis, as compared with companies without such tools in place. The same study also reports that companies who use video interviewing improved (reduced) their time to hire by 60%.

Video interviews are irreplaceable for interviewing long-distance candidates, reducing the time per hire as well as the cost of travel expenses. With video interviews, candidates can answer your questions on their own time from anywhere in the world, and you can review the completed video interviews at your convenience. As a result, you’ll hear from more candidates, easily compare them, and never have to worry about scheduling early-round interviews again.

About the Author

Anja Zojčeska is an HR Manager and Content Marketing Specialist at the recruitment software company TalentLyft. She is passionate about researching all the latest recruitment and retention trends and ideas and happy for the opportunity to test them out in a great company like TalentLyft.