Josh TolanAsk anyone how they feel about interviewing for a new job and you’re likely to be met with, at least, a slight cringe. That’s because the job search is stressful. And while landing an interview is the goal, it’s also the hard part.
A remarkable 93% of people have experienced anxiety related to job interviews. And the job interview is one of the most nerve-racking experiences according to 29% of people in a 2020 JDP study.
The good news is, it doesn’t have to be! Better yet, as a staffing professional, you’re in a position to reduce candidate stress.
It’s essential talent is well-prepared and at ease for interviews to ensure the highest level of quality placements and the most positive candidate experience. Video interviewing is a great way to lessen candidates’ anxiety surrounding this process.
Let’s take a look at the eight ways you can use video interviewing during the staffing process to help candidates feel at ease:
1. Pregame jitters
Depending on a candidate’s personality, preparing to meet with a stranger can throw them off their game — even if they are more than qualified for the role. Knowing in advance they’ll be interacting via video can lesson many candidates’ worries.
Video messaging has been popular among younger generations for several years. However, since the start of the global pandemic, nearly everyone has used video to communicate and connect with employers, colleagues, doctors, family, and friends in some way.
More candidates have experience with video interviews than ever before. In their 2020 Hiring Benchmark Report, Criteria shows video interview usage went up 159%, from 22% in 2019 to 58% this year. Video technology is familiar to candidates and they can record in their element. This puts the ball more in their court when making a first impression.
While pre-interview jitters can sometimes make candidates sharp, you want your talent to feel confident — not on edge. Giving them access to tools and techniques for interviewing they feel comfortable with ensures they shake the nerves and let their potential shine through.
2. First impressions
There’s nothing worse than walking away from an interview feeling like you were a stranger in your own skin while meeting with the interviewer. Interview anxiety can make a shy candidate unusually chatty, or a confident candidate clam up.
Unfortunately, when it comes to making an impression, a candidate’s presence when interviewing the first time can determine if they get a second chance at showing your clients their true self. This is unnerving for many candidates. However, video interviewing allows candidates to only submit the video recording they feel reveals who they are when they’re at their best.
One-way video interviews generally provide the candidate the opportunity to rerecord if they felt off their game. It’s important candidates understand how many times they can record a response again. They should also be discouraged from trying too hard to perfect everything. They just need to aim to sound professional, authentic, and prepared (but not rehearsed).
3. Understanding expectations
There are plenty of ways a candidate can prepare for an interview, and they will likely show up having standard questions and responses memorized. But when it comes to understanding how the candidate is expected to dress or behave in accordance with the company culture, things can get trickier.
Some companies have a stronger brand presence online than others. And it’s simply not the same work world it was even a decade ago. Candidates are likely to be stressed by deciding how formal to dress for their interview, where they can park their car, or if they still need to bring a printed resume and pen.
Fortunately, video interviews come with instructions, or at the very least, clues that allow candidates to understand what is expected of them. Having access to clear details and expectations reduces interview jitters. You can prepare guides or even provide one-on-one coaching for candidates to help them prepare for video interviews with your clients.
You can start by creating a checklist for candidates to help them track where they are in the process and offer a timeline when they can expect communication. You’ll want to keep specific information from each client updated so you don’t misinform candidates. These resources will help keep candidates from stressing and sending unnecessary requests to your client’s hiring team or your inbox.
4. Chaotic commutes
Consider this: 14% of Americans in a study by Overheard On Conference Calls said their absolute favorite part of remote work options as a result of the 2020 pandemic was reduced or zero commute time. The same goes for top talent vying for your jobs.
Travel can be stressful for many reasons. Some candidates need to rely on public transportation; others could run into traffic no matter how early they leave. Even if the commute goes smoothly, the act of traveling gives candidates extra time to get into their own heads and get their stomachs tied up in knots.
Those unfortunate circumstances don’t even account for candidates who have to travel long distances and make additional arrangements to interview in far-off places. Video interviewing completely removes the element of travel for candidates. This reduces both stress and the costs associated with traveling for numerous interviews, putting candidates and clients at ease.
5. Fair assessments
Video interviews generally involve candidates receiving a set of structured questions. This creates a fair assessment process by ensuring decision-makers evaluate each candidate’s responses to the same questions. However, an added benefit of video interviews is they also reduce bias in the hiring process.
It’s discouraging and stressful for candidates to suspect they do not have a fair chance at a job. But with video interviews, questions and evaluations are consistent across all applicants. Decision-makers can conveniently review feedback along with the candidate’s original responses, cutting down on the back and forth and mistakes or misunderstandings in the evaluation process.
Creating a fair and streamlined process to assess talent boosts confidence for candidates in both themselves and your staffing team.
6. Convenience
Video interviews allow candidates to interview in whatever space works best for their current needs and circumstances. Not to mention, they also have the option to either record their responses or meet for a live video interview at their convenience.
One-way video interviews can be recorded and submitted at any time! This works great for passive candidates who need to record outside their typical working hours or for people who need to work around their family’s needs and other commitments.
Live video interviews can be scheduled through a convenient link to your calendar, where candidates can put themselves on your schedule at a time that works best for them. Anything you can do to alleviate scheduling stress for candidates means they will perform better in their interviews.
7. Time-savings
Of course, video interviewing allows candidates to interview at convenient times — but it also saves time! From eliminating the need to travel to reducing the time required to interview to cutting down on how long it takes for decision-makers to review and respond to talent, the process is faster and more efficient than relying on multiple in-person interviews.
Candidates get from the application and early screening to the final in-person interviews in less time, meaning you make faster placements more frequently. By saving your clients time, you improve their hiring and performance metrics like time to fill. And by saving candidates time, you improve their experience in the staffing and hiring process. Everyone comes away happy.
8. Personal connection
It may seem counterintuitive to say video interviews offer a more personal way for candidates to connect with your staffing team or clients. However, a dedicated video interview platform allows you to create branded welcome videos, custom video messages, and a more personal experience for candidates overall.
Top talent expects ongoing communication throughout the hiring process. However, Talentegy revealed in their 2019 Candidate Experience Report that after completing an application, more than half (55.1%) of job seekers said they were rarely or never kept informed about their status. As the first step on their job interview journey, you can open the door with video communication and enhance their candidate experience.
Use video to connect with talent at all stages of the interview process. Create brief welcome videos to introduce yourself or your team as candidates funnel into the staffing process. Custom videos can be used to explain how video interviewing will improve their experience and their interview outcomes. Your videos can also provide an example of the best lighting, surroundings, and amount of eye contact that candidates should mimic.
By seeing video communication put to use by you and your team, candidates will feel more at ease using video for their interviews.
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