Guest PostAs hiring gets global with a more significant number of employees working remotely, video job interviews have become very common these days. This is because the ability to excel in a video interview entails competence and prowess for both candidates and hiring teams.
A survey of 506 firms discovered that 47% use video interviews to reduce the timeframe for hiring, while 22% conducted such interviews for remote candidates. The reason is that there are a whole lot of benefits of carrying out online video interviews than interviewing over the phone.
Video interviews are more personalized compared to phone interviews and give you a bigger talent pool. At the same time, they cut down travel costs. Besides, it allows you and your prospective employee to have a better sense of each other’s communication style. You can also get to know each other’s personality, confidence, and many other nonverbal cues that are absent during phone interviews.
Candidates between ages 22 and 36 years now comprise one of the largest generations in the workforce, and most of the time they use their mobile devices to land their dream jobs. With 92% of organizations using social media for hiring, it has become the perfect avenue to boost job search.
Social media is growing by leaps and bounds. And this is where video interviewing plays a key role compared to obsolete methods.
According to the Harvard Business Review, 80% of retention issues are because of poor hiring decisions. Interviewing on the web assists teams improves recruiting efficiency, which in turn enhances the quality of hire. As AI and automation become more prevalent, a large portion of recruiters has now started to recognize the importance of hiring through online videos.
Famous companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, Dropbox, and Apple have all started using videos during the recruitment process to rope in the best talents. Given all these factors, video interviewing is becoming a huge factor in the best hiring processes.
What’s the Big Thing About Video Interviewing?
In a world where it’s difficult to get qualified talent, recruiters face a challenge to come up with innovative and captivating recruiting strategies. Video interviewing allows organizations to engage with candidates easily. Many hiring managers are now slowly adopting this approach for a number of great reasons.
Below are some of the important reasons to implement video interviewing in the current hiring environment.
Enhance the candidate’s experience
Top talent loves the idea of working for cutting-edge organizations that embrace new technology. Keeping this in mind, recruiters using videos in the interviewing process create a positive impression compared to those who rely only on conventional techniques. Additionally, hosting a webinar before starting the interview process is a great idea! It is great to give candidates a look into your organization and help you find candidates interested in your organization.
Even though phone interviews seem helpful, video recruitment encourages confidence among your candidates and boosts transparency. Allowing your candidates to answer questions from the comfort of their homes and provides them with the time and space required to present themselves naturally in a familiar environment.
While we are on the topic of enhancing the candidate experience, here’s an additional tip to improve it. Personalized emails are an excellent idea. Checkout these Mailchimp alternatives to easily create attractive emails and much more!
Enhance the candidate experience by calming nerves and improving your connection. Use branded video messages to explain the video interview process, share tips and tricks, and layout a hiring process timeline.
Ease the burden of scheduling
Say you’re screening 50 candidates for one-on-one interviews. Scheduling those interviews can pose a massive challenge. When you’re hiring even more candidates, the problem only gets worse. However, with video interviews, you can ask the candidates to complete them whenever they find a convenient time. The hiring manager and their team can analyze candidate responses as and when their own time permits.
Create a positive interview experience
One-way video interviews can help you attract passive candidates, which they would have otherwise ignored due to time constraints. Candidates can quickly shell out 15 to 20 minutes of their time to record their answers at any given moment. By adopting this practice, you can attract the best talent with bare minimum efforts.
Cutting your hire time
The key to keeping your candidates interested in the hiring process is to sustain momentum. You can keep up this momentum by reducing your time to hire so candidates don’t lose interest in your role. Also, leveraging live chat software to quickly pre-interview candidates is a good practice. It helps you ask more relevant questions during the interview.
If you choose to go with a pre-recorded video interview, it becomes effortless to determine candidates’ suitability only a few minutes after they apply. You can skip on to the next candidate if the former’s answers don’t convince you.
Improve your hire quality
The most beneficial feature of embracing this technology is you can review interviews multiple times. Once a candidate completes their interview, you can ask your hiring managers to make a comparison between the best candidates. If you’re unsure of certain aspects, get input from your superiors and colleagues.
Candidates may look brighter on paper but disappoint you following a video interview. Instead of scrutinizing each CV which eats away your time, you can get a clearer picture of whether they are fit for the role via their video responses. Additionally, video interviews offer you an opportunity to interact better with the candidates and help you uncover diamond-in-the-rough candidates!
Time to hire and quality of hire are just two important hiring process KPIs video interviews improve. Download our whitepaper to learn how video interviews can improve the KPIs most valuable to your company.
Present your company’s values
When you opt for a pre-recorded video message, video questions, or a live video interview, the technology allows you to showcase the values of your company intimately. It also offers candidates a feeling of engagement with your company at this early stage. Once you give them an idea of your culture, their enthusiasm and answers can show you why they are a good fit for the role or not.
Expanding your talent pool
If you want to source the most exceptional candidates, limiting your reach to only the local talent pool will cripple your chances of securing the best talent. Video interviews allow your organization to choose from a diverse range of candidates located all across the globe. You can easily connect with the best talent you may never find otherwise.
Video Interviewing Best Practices
Once you decide to include video interviews in your recruitment process, here are some essential pointers to consider:
Create a consistent interview process
With minimal exceptions, like accommodating a great candidate, try creating the same hiring process for everyone in a given role. This may include using a video interview at the same point during the recruitment process. You should also pose the same questions to all the candidates during the interview. By practicing this, you’ll be evaluating them on an even playing field.
Make the entire interview process structured to improve evaluation efficiency and decrease bias.
Embrace appropriate technology
You might like the idea of using Skype while interviewing. However, once you’ve become regular with your video interviews, try using video interviewing software instead, as it comes with multiple benefits. Most software integrates with your existing workflows and technology, resulting in a seamless process for both you and your candidates.
When trying to find the ideal software, consider what you want your technology to accomplish besides the features you’d love to see. You can get all the details during a live demo and ensure that the technology assists you to optimize the interviewing process.
Check your setup
Ensure your live video interviews go easily by completing a live interview concierge appointment with your video interviewing platform. This may include using an external microphone and headphones to avoid unwanted echoes or sounds from speakers. Be sure also to focus on your clarity and vocal volume.
Train your eyes
When it comes to eye contact, it can feel tempting to gape at your image on the screen or the candidate. It’s fine to do that to some extent. However, learn to train your eyes on the camera. Remember that while conducting an interview, the candidate is also interviewing you. So don’t send out any negative vibes or make the candidate feel uncomfortable while staring at them. If you create an awkward environment, you may sometimes miss out on an ideal candidate.
Choose a professional setting
The place where you conduct the interview highlights your company’s values, work ethic, and culture. You may choose an indoor or outdoor location, but ensure that it represents your organization in the best possible way. Be sure to put yourself in a professional environment and do your best to limit background distractions. Choose a serene place.
Use both pre-recorded and live videos
Everything has its own time and place. In a pre-recorded video, you give candidates a set of questions. The interview then has to be completed in a stipulated time frame. You can use this technique in situations where you’ve got a lot of qualified candidates and want help in saving time during the screening process. On the other hand, live video interviews are appropriate for roles that are heavily competitive. In such instances, you may want a personal touch to pick the choicest candidates.
Prepare correctly
Send yourself an invitation to interview and complete the process yourself. That ensures that you are not making your candidates go through a complicated procedure. If you choose to do live interviews, test your equipment ahead of the scheduled time. If you plan to run a pre-recorded interview, record an enticing introduction to let your candidates know about you and your organization.
Prepare a list of questions to remain organized so that you don’t miss out on any critical points. And don’t ask questions randomly as this will indicate you aren’t listening to candidates’ answers. It also restricts you from digging deeper into the candidate. Be a good listener before you respond or ask another question.
Preparing correctly is just one of the ways top hiring pros find success using video interviews. Consider applying these other strategies to become a power user.
End the interview the right way
Once you’ve finished interviewing, tell your candidates about the next essential steps and give them a tentative date when they can expect to hear from you.
Summing Up
What works for one company may not work for another. You have to evaluate your video interviewing process to ensure everything works out well. Learning to conduct video interviews may be high on hiring managers’ lists because many people like to work remotely. It’s time to up your ante and learn the intricacies of conducting video interviews.
Author Bio
Urmi is a content writer at SocialPilot. She pens down compelling blogs about social media and explores new verticals related to it. When not slinging ink, she indulges in some serious binge-watching!
Josh Tolan
