How to Run a Successful Virtual Interview Process

In the “normal” hiring process, an in-person interview is the perfect time to invite candidates into your office, shake hands, tour the space and envision the day-to-day of the open position. Now the challenge is to demonstrate, virtually, your awesome company and team. 

These personal connections are possible in a virtual interviewing environment. When using a video interviewing platform, the virtual interviewing experiences you create check all but the handshake box for demonstrating the value an organization brings to potential employees.

Incorporate the Team

Through one-way video interviews, intro and outro videos bookend the candidate’s interview. Use these as opportunities for the hiring manager to speak directly to candidates, and maybe include future teammates in video questions, helping guide the candidate through the experience. These two elements make the autonomous experience feel more like a conversation, and brings candidates out of their shells.

Show, Don’t Tell

Consider video as a creative opportunity. Recent new hires or team leads can create “day in the life” videos of the open position, or executive team members explain the company values. Your team can even consider laying out the onboarding schedule through a video message, or giving a tour of the office, for when your team plans to transition to office work.

Hiring Team Alignment

For every stage of the video interview experience, it is critical all members of the hiring team are on the same page. This means clear expectations on candidate and interviewer dress, conduct, tone, and, of course, the criteria for judging candidate qualifications. If multiple members of the hiring team will complete live video interviews with candidates, create a bank of questions candidates may ask so every interviewer has consistent answers to common questions. Another helpful point of alignment is on practices that otherwise might go unspoken. This means make sure the expectation is clear to be on time for interviews, and conduct ones’ self professionally because candidates’ impressions of the organization are based on even fewer points of interaction in a virtual experience. 

Preparation is Still Key

The last crucial element to a successful virtual interviewing process is to prepare. The hiring team must prepare for a live video interview the same way they would prepare for an in-person one. This also means providing candidates with the resources and information they need to appropriately prepare for the interview. Candidate resources can include offering a live concierge with the video interviewing platform, help articles, or the top suggestions from the platform itself. On the hiring team side, this means doing candidate research, reviewing past interviews or interview notes, fully understanding the position requirements and the candidate’s resume.

While creating a virtual interviewing process is intimidating, it is possible to promote your employer brand, show off the intangibly unique aspects of your team, and demonstrate your organization is one candidates want to join. Using a video interviewing platform built for recruitment with all the needed features unlocks an easy route to the best virtual interviewing process you can provide.