One way video interviewing is a popular method used by organizations keen to engage with more candidates without the use of phone and resume screening. One way video interviewing can make hiring a lot quicker, with candidates being able to complete interviews in their free time and not just during office hours when a representative from your company is available to engage them.
It can be tempting to get your candidates to put themselves out there through one way video interviewing so that you can “see” them. However, with the following tips you can gain more out of your video interviewing software and offer your candidates a more engaging experience:
Provide candidates with clear instructions
Candidates are often nervous when engaging in any interview experience, online or otherwise, so make sure you provide them with clear instructions and manage their expectations. Ensure they know how long the interview will take, any software guidance and how much time they have to submit their responses to avoid any last minute panic.
Use timers sparingly
Interviews can be a nerve-wracking experience. Adding in restrictions which will inevitably coincide with the day a candidate has weak internet connectivity or device glitches, is a recipe for an interview meltdown.
A good example of an appropriate use of timers is when employees would be required to multitask on the job and need to act quickly – such as in a contact centre, or in a role managing multiple deadlines, such as project management or leadership. Unless the timer is replicating your work environment leave them out, candidates don’t need the added stress during interview when that doesn’t reflect your daily expectations of them.
At Vervoe we often have clients tell us that they would like to put timers on all questions and restrict the potential for candidates to edit their answers and others like to put their candidates under pressure “just because”. We advise against this for a number of reasons, the main one being that your search is to find a new employee, so treat candidates the way you treat your employees all the way through the hiring process. This way they are brand advocates for you if they don’t get the job, and the ones you hire are engaged and passionate from day one.
Give to get
While one way video interview is designed to be “one way” you can also use it as an opportunity to showcase your brand and the role you are recruiting so that candidates feel invested. Including a video of the hiring manager or employees talking about your company or their future job can be a great way to manage the expectations of your candidates and create positive feelings about your brand.
Providing personal or employee brand content for candidates helps them to feel more invested in their application which results in higher completion rates for you. This way you are “giving” candidates something and helping them to feel comfortable to do the same in their response.
Vervoe candidates report enjoying employer brand videos and personal clips from real employees which give them insight into what it is like to work at your organisation.
Consider skills
Video can be great to demonstrate communication style, but what else can your candidates demonstrate for you that is critical for the role. So how can you get their video response to demonstrate the skills you need?
Some examples successfully used by Vervoe clients include getting candidates to engage with a mock cold-call, respond to a complaining customer or even a key stakeholder. Try avoiding questions that can’t be validated through a video response, such as “Tell me about a time when…” and instead focus on replicating scenarios the candidate will be faced with on the job, such as “Respond to this scenario…”
Limit how many questions you ask
Video interviewing sounds like fun to start with; you get to “see” and be engaged with your candidates…and then you realize that you asked them 7 questions and they recorded 10 minutes answers to every one of them… goodbye time saved with video interviewing.
With this in mind, keep your questions to critical information that you want to know about your candidates that will help you set your top performers out from the crowd.
In addition, Vervoe data demonstrates a significant drop-off of candidates at the fourth video answer. Because of this we recommend limiting video questions to 2-3 in total.
Collect candidate feedback
Like anything, qualitative and quantitative data is critical to knowing if your process is successful in meeting your objectives. With this in mind, monitor your completion rates, seek feedback from candidates where possible and amend your one way video interview process to suit.
Wrapping up…
One way video interviewing has the potential to save your hiring team countless hours of time at the top of your hiring funnel, particularly when used effectively. By keeping these tips in mind, we know you will find the best candidates from your candidate pool to continue to engage with in your evaluation process.
