Human Resources Blog - Spark Hire

3 Reasons Why You Should Be Conducting Video Interviews

Watch One-Way Video Interview

This post was updated on 5/18/2020

Chances are you have had a phone interview and knew a candidate was wrong for the job within 90 seconds. The chances are that it’s at least one too many. 

Let’s take it a step further. Once you knew those phone interviews were headed in the wrong direction, how many times did you immediately hang up the phone? 

Unless you pulled a “[Cough], You’re breaking up! [Cough, Cough]”, I’m assuming it’s zero. And that is why phone screening is one of the most inefficient aspects of the hiring process. Fortunately, there’s a solution, and it’s called online video interviewing.

There are two main types of video interviews. The first is known as a one way, or asynchronous, video interview. It involves a candidate recording video answers to an employer’s text-based questions. The obvious benefit is that the hiring authority does not have to be physically present to ask the questions. 

The second type of video interview is a live video interview. In this interview, a candidate and employer connect face to face via webcam.

Now that we know the different types of video interviews, let’s dive into three reasons why you should be conducting video interviews:

1. You save an unbelievable amount of time

Remember those 20-30 minutes you spent on the phone with the candidate who wasn’t the right fit for the position? Conducting a one-way video interview could have saved you those precious minutes. 

Type up your questions, send them to your candidates, and they will respond with video recorded answers. Since you’re able to watch their answers at your convenience, you can close the interview if the candidate isn’t cutting it. 

Sure it seems a little harsh, but let’s face it. Our time is valuable, and we can’t afford to spend it on candidates who are not going to work out.

2. Video interviews offer amazing insight into the candidate

I would be willing to bet if you looked at the majority of job descriptions and the bajillions of lists on the “most desired skills by recruiters,” communication skills would be popping up everywhere. 

And this is no surprise! 

Companies want and need effective communicators with great personalities to advance their businesses. With video interviews, you hear and see a candidate’s communication skills and personality in action earlier in the hiring process. Furthermore, studies by UCLA professor, Albert Mehrabian, revealed that 55% of first impressions are based on body language, an impossible thing to measure on a phone interview.

3. You will make incredibly smarter hiring decisions

The main purpose of a phone interview is to quickly evaluate a candidate to decide whether they should advance further along in the hiring process. If your candidate search is nationwide or international, you will most likely be flying a candidate in for a final round of interviews. 

Make sure you’re investing in the right candidates. 

A live video interview allows you to have face-to-face conversations before you bring candidates in town. If you discover a candidate isn’t worth pursuing, you just saved your company a boatload of cash. 

Video interviews will also help you make smarter decisions with local candidates. When a candidate visits your office for an in-person interview, they are consuming your time. Conducting a video interview before the in-person interview enables you to spend your time more wisely by only inviting the best candidates for in-person interviews.

BONUS

You will have extremely happy candidates.

Video interviews aren’t only beneficial for employers; the benefits of video interviews for job seekers are plentiful. For one, candidates love participating in interviews from the comfort of their own home and with one-way video interviews, on their own time.

It’s easy to see how conducting video interviews is an effective way to save time, money, and make smarter hiring decisions. It’s no wonder three-quarters of Americans expect video to play a role in their upcoming job searches, according to Monster’s 2019 State of the Candidate Survey

So if you’re dreading all of the phone interviews you still have to conduct today (or if you’re reading this while on a phone interview), it’s time to consider making online video interviews a part of your hiring process.

 

video interviews

Josh Tolan

Josh Tolan is the Founder and CEO of Spark Hire, a video interviewing platform used by 6,000+ customers in over 100 countries.