Josh TolanClients love your staffing firm because your team isn’t afraid to dig in and do the dirty work. You hold nothing back when searching for candidates, finding their qualifications beneath massive piles of resumes, and matching only top candidates with clients’ demands.
The trust clients give your team to screen for candidate fit before sending selections to their inbox is both an honor and a burden. Unfortunately, the potential you see in a candidate may not always read loud and clear to clients.
When clients don’t clearly see why a candidate matches with their company, it slows the hiring process and creates a sense of dangerous uncertainty. The need to find clarity faster is likely why 55 percent of companies are increasing investment in virtual interviews, the fastest growing area of spending in talent acquisition, according to Deloitte’s HR Technology Disruptions 2018 Report.
In the report, Josh Bersin discloses, “Discussions I’ve had with many talent acquisition leaders indicate that video interviewing has moved beyond screening and is poised to become the next iteration of an assessment center…”
As the new ‘assessment centers,’ virtual interviews will give staffing firms the power to gain in-depth insights of candidates to share with clients. Clients who have videos of top candidates in their hands will have the power to make informed and effective hiring decisions.
To help you and your staffing team understand how to use virtual interviews to enable clients to better gauge for fit, we reached out to our experts. Here’s what they had to say:
Gain deeper insights into candidates’ skills
Our clients get access to a wider pool of candidates when we hire virtually. Virtual interviews are used in several ways during our screening process. We really sell the opportunity in job descriptions and candidates must jump through of a number of hoops demonstrating an ability to follow directions (rare), their attention to detail, and a desire for the job.
As we hire project managers to develop into operations managers, we need confident leaders with strong interpersonal skills. Candidates can talk a good game over the phone, but when we request video screen shares to walk through a skills test, we get a clear picture. It tests their ability to work with online tools and their confidence with skill fundamentals.
Mandi Ellefson, Founder of Hands-Off CEO
Discover professionalism early on
A live or recorded virtual interview will also show you and your clients if candidates present themselves professionally, and give you a look at their people skills. I scheduled an interview with someone who I initially thought was fantastic, then saw the disorderly messy office behind them.
I knew in the first minute that they weren’t the right fit.
Mandi Ellefson, Founder of Hands-Off CEO
Focus specifically on candidate fit
I used a two-way, live virtual interview to screen a candidate and gauge their fit for a client. During the interview, I could tell they were a good fit for my client. They spoke very eloquently, seemed like a positive person, and someone who would, overall, be a pleasure to be around. They also seemed smart and knowledgeable about the company and its goals.
I recorded our two-way virtual interview. This allowed me to later edit out the parts I felt my client wouldn’t need to see. I kept the parts that really highlighted the 
candidate’s strengths and qualities they could contribute to the position.
To further ensure my client was focused on gauging the candidate’s fit, I reminded them of the qualities they should be looking for in candidates. I also painted a picture of a candidate that seems perfect, but, in actuality, is not a good fit for the position.
Nate Masterson, HR Manager of Maple Holistics
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Learn how staffing firms just like yours are using video interviews to drive more placements.
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