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14 Viral Recruitment Videos And Why They’re The Best We’ve Ever Seen

A recent Ragan survey found that 31% of HR professionals struggle to tell engaging stories about “boring topics.” Enter: the recruitment video. 

The best recruitment videos will grab the attention of top talent because they’re inspiring and aspirational. They tell a story that speaks directly to the potential candidates, inviting them to imagine what it might be like to work for that organization. 

Why are employee recruitment videos so important?

There are several reasons why leveraging video for recruitment is a great idea for your recruitment strategy.

Video attracts top talent

Video has the power to capture the attention of those super talented. Video is also great at reaching passive candidates – the ones who weren’t even on the lookout for a new job until they saw your fantastic recruitment commercial.

Video gets shared on social media

Existing employees and prospective candidates are far more likely to share a creative recruitment video via their social media channels than they are with a generic job listing. Video content on social media typically achieves 1200% more shares than text and image content. Going that extra mile to produce a killer recruitment video ultimately means you’ll achieve far greater reach.

Video ranks better on job boards and Google

Some recruitment firms claim that job postings with video embedded receive 800% more engagement. As a result, these adverts will rank higher and appear at the top of candidates’ search results. Companies that embed video content on their career pages will also rank more highly on Google searches.

Video increases the number of applicants

Candidates are more likely to click on and apply for a job posting that features video content. A CareerBuilder survey found that job postings with videos had a 34% greater application rate. Gen Z, in particular, considers employer brand videos to be a key factor for enabling brand discovery. 

The best recruitment videos of all time

So, what’s the winning formula for a recruitment video? In the list below, we analyze 14 videos from brands that are getting it right.

  1. Google
  2. Founders Brewing Co.
  3. BambooHR
  4. Fiverr
  5. Zendesk
  6. Apple
  7. Sodastream
  8. The U.S. Space Force
  9. Dropbox
  10. Appian
  11. GrubHub
  12. H&M
  13. Heineken
  14. Heineken again

1. Google

Google was founded in 1998 in Menlo Park, California. Today, the company provides various internet-related services and products and has a net worth of just under $223 billion.

The company has repeatedly won awards for its outstanding company culture, so it figures it would know a thing or two about making a creative recruitment video.

If we’re judging the success of a recruitment video on the statistics alone, Google takes the biscuit. This recruitment video, which has more than 11.5 million views, follows the journey of five of Google’s summer interns as they discuss what inspires them, why they were motivated to work at Google, how they’ve contributed, and what they’ve enjoyed most about the experience.

The video highlights many of the things you already think you know about working at Google – it’s aspirational, progressive, highly collaborative, and there are tons of employee perks. You watch it, and you instantly want in.

2. Founders Brewing Co.

Founders Brewing Co. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Today, the company is a well-recognized brewery in the U.S. and has been cited by Ratebeer.com as one of the top breweries in the world for the past five years.

Founders Brewing is committed to creating unique, barrier-breaking products through a company mindset that champions a “lifestyle of no regrets”.

There are no bells and whistles in this super-authentic recruitment video. Co-founders Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers are relatable and vulnerable as they discuss the hurdles they overcame on their pathway to success. After coming perilously close to failure, they reached an important decision: “Let’s brew beers that we want to drink.”

Their story is one of passion and drive – if you put your heart and soul into something, you can create great things. It’s a good message for prospective employees who want to leave work at the end of every day feeling proud of what they have achieved.

3. BambooHR

BambooHR is a Utah-based tech company founded by Ben Peterson and Ryan Sanders in 2008. Today, the company’s HR software caters to more than a million employees.

BambooHR likens its workforce to Justice League or the Avengers. Their employees, each with their own set of unique specialist skills, band together to save the world – one HR professional at a time.

This feel-good recruitment video from 2014 is fun and engaging. In the opening shot, a giant stuffed panda sits on a BambooHR sofa, where it is quickly joined by a group of pepped-up employees.

Why is this workforce so happy, I hear you ask? Because, as the video makes very clear, BambooHR isn’t like other tech startups. “If you’re working 78 hours a week, something is wrong.” The video assures candidates that they can be creative, successful, and committed in their career at BambooHR while finding plenty of time to enjoy a personal life – and that’s something every employee loves to hear.

4. Fiverr

Founded in 2010, Fiverr is an Israeli-based online marketplace that provides a platform for freelancers to offer their services to customers around the world.

The company is committed to building the world’s largest digital marketplace through an employee culture that celebrates personal growth and empowers curious and committed doers.

This tongue-in-cheek offering from Fiverr delivers a good-humored parody of the typical and much-overdone recruitment video.  A movie-trailer-worthy voiceover highlights some of the generic features you’d expect to see in such a video – including the office corridors full of busy employees, stylish conference rooms, and a “laid-back guy” cruising through the workplace on his skateboard.

As far as funny hiring videos go, this is probably one of the best. It shows a level of self-awareness and individuality that is sure to appeal to prospective employees.

5. Zendesk

Zendesk is an American customer service software company. Headquartered in San Francisco, the company develops software products to help organizations improve their customer service.

As far as company culture goes, Zendesk is committed to building a workforce of “really nice people.” The company believes in work-life balance, giving back to the local community, and fostering an environment where everybody belongs.

This Zendesk recruiting video is an oldie but a goodie. Released in 2012, it has since racked up more than 350,000 views, outperforming several major brands.

In the three-minute video, the viewer experiences a whistle-stop tour of all things Zendesk, from the neighborhood in San Francisco where the company is headquartered to a pop-up office basketball net, and the Zendesk engineering team. “Some people on this team are managers and some are not. It doesn’t matter. It is all one team,” a voiceover says. The video gives a clear sense of the warm and inclusive workplace culture Zendesk is creating.

6. Apple

Apple is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California. Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, the company sold its first computer later that same year for $666.66. Since then, Apple has enjoyed unparalleled revenue growth and its iPhone is thought to be the most profitable product in the world. 

Although Apple is renowned for maintaining high levels of secrecy regarding its day-to-day operations and workplace culture, it is extremely forthcoming about the importance of innovation. The company is focused on building a workforce of innovators and creators – those who aren’t afraid to push boundaries or give up when the going gets tough.

With almost 750,000 views, this is the second-most-viewed recruitment video of all time. The video successfully reflects the company’s dedication to producing the very best products. The message is loud and clear: come and work for us if you’re amazing at what you do and determined to prove it.

7. SodaStream

It might come as a surprise to learn that SodaStream was founded in London all the way back in 1903.

Today, the organization is headquartered in Airport City, Israel, and is best known for its soda machines which enable consumers to carbonate water at home, and its reusable bottle, which replaces up to 3000 single-use plastic ones.

SodaStream’s goal is to recruit a workforce of “rainmakers.” Employees will have the opportunity to make their mark by disrupting the plastics industry and ridding the world of billions of single-use plastic bottles.

The SodaStream recruitment video is fast-paced and innovative, much like the brand itself. It cleverly highlights SodaStream’s credentials as a leading sustainable brand, which is sure to speak to the many candidates with a green conscience. The video invites prospective candidates to join a workforce that encourages risk-taking and business courage while embracing the inevitability of failures along the way. 

8. The U.S. Space Force

The U.S. Space Force, founded in 2019, is the latest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and is currently the only independent space force in the world. Its primary mission is to maintain, protect, and expand the U.S. fleet of advanced military satellites that form the backbone of U.S. global military operations.

This recruitment video is short, but it’s hugely impactful. Released in July 2020, the video has already amassed more than 15 million views, and it’s not hard to see why.

Firstly, there is a series of compelling shots – a rocket launch, a time-lapse video of a starry sky, and a group of astronauts embarking on their latest mission. The narrator feeds into our fascination with space and the mysteries that are yet to be solved. It’s a tad dramatic, but it does evoke a sense of excitement. The narration ends with the words “the future is where I’ll make history.” The implication being that a successful applicant will have the unique opportunity to be a part of something that is much bigger than them.

9. Dropbox

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Dropbox provides cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and client software.

Since 2007, Dropbox’s mission has been to build the world’s first smart workspace. Always quick to embrace the latest future of work trends, Dropbox recently shifted to a “Virtual First” workplace model, which means remote working will be the default experience for every employee, giving them the autonomy to decide how they work best.

Recruitment videos featuring a montage of employee interviews can sometimes come across as a little contrived. Dropbox expertly avoids this by employing a vibrant cast of puppets to communicate the company’s key messaging.

They’re adorable, cheeky, and pretty funny. “There’s not a bad apple in the whole building,” one puppet says proudly, while another suspiciously inspects a rotting piece of fruit.

Humour aside, the puppets effectively communicate many of the benefits of working at Dropbox including its positive workforce, down-to-earth and diverse culture,  “tea and scone” cart, on-site gym, and music room.

10. Appian

Appian was founded in 1999 and has its headquarters in Tysons, Virginia. Its low-code automation platform helps companies to quickly build apps and workflows to drive better business results. 

Appian prides itself on its agile and collaborative environment. Employees are empowered to continually learn, take ownership, and drive hands-on impact.  It’s an approach that seems to be working – for seven consecutive years, Washington Post recognized Appian as a Top Workplace.

Fans of Vogue’s 73 Questions (and let’s face it, that’s a lot of people) will instantly identify with this parody version of the hit interview series. It might not feature interviews with Kim Kardashian or Zac Efron, but Appian’s Business Development Reps do a fantastic job of emulating the interview style. It’s familiar, it’s conversational, and each interview is shot in a single take while the interviewee moves around the office, much like the original Vogue interviews.

11. GrubHub

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, GrubHub is an online and mobile food-ordering and delivery marketplace. The company has a 300,000-strong network of restaurant partners across 4000 U.S. cities and processes more than 658,000 orders per day.

Above all, the company’s workforce reflects its diverse customer base and the communities it serves.

“What do you bring to the table?” is the question posed to a handful of GrubHub employees in this uplifting recruitment video. Each employee sits down at a table with a chosen dish. They begin by stating their top contribution to the GrubHub workplace before describing the food in front of them. One employee brings his passion for software development and a plate of sushi to the table while another brings a passion for clean and efficient code and a truffle BLT.

The format is personal and serves to reflect both the company’s culture and the core nature of its business: delivering good food.

12. H&M

Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) is a multinational retail company with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Founded back in 1947, the company now boasts more than 5,000 stores across the globe, employs more than 120,000 people, and is considered the fourth most valuable apparel brand in the world.

H&M’s workforce is united by a shared passion for creativity and style. In this dynamic industry, employees are encouraged to be themselves and bring their individuality to the table to challenge the norm and “color outside the lines.”

This recruitment video reflects the brand’s inherent creativity. As you’d expect from a fashion brand, it’s extremely well shot, moving, and aesthetically pleasing.

“We see our values like a red thread, woven into the fabric of our company and an important part of our story,” the voiceover begins.

The aforementioned red thread begins to unravel and becomes the central focus of this three-minute video. It’s incorporated into fashion shoots, sewn into the design process, and used to illustrate the company’s core values of diversity and inclusion, collaboration, sustainability, and teamwork.

13. Heineken

Heineken is a brewing company headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken, the company now owns 165 breweries in more than 70 countries, employs 84,000 people, and produces over 300 international, regional, local, and specialty beers and ciders.

Heineken’s core values include a passion for quality, enjoyment of life, and respect for people and the planet. The company has also committed to “Brewing a Better World” through the protection of water resources, reducing carbon emissions, sustainable sourcing, responsible consumption, and supporting local communities. Heineken is known for its informal and progressive workplace culture with a flat hierarchy and accessible leadership team.

This 2016 recruitment video forms part of Heineken’s Go Places initiative, which was designed to engage future talent. The video takes the format of an interactive interview. The viewer is asked 12 questions, such as “would you rather a surprise menu at a new restaurant or a classic dish at your local eatery?” As the interview progresses, the interactive video showcases the huge range of exciting opportunities available to Heineken employees and highlights some of the brand’s best attributes.

14. Heineken again

Heineken also released a viral recruitment video in 2013 showing a series of job candidates being put through unconventional challenges to see how they will react. The message was that all job interviews are the same; with the same questions and same prepared answers. Heineken created an interview process that no candidate could possibly prepare for.  

The scenarios included a weird hand-holding experience, an interviewer suffering a fake heart attack, and a man jumping from an apparently burning building. One candidate sails smoothly through all the challenges and wins the job.   

Create a winning recruitment video

As evidenced by this eclectic assortment of recruitment videos, there are many ways to produce video content that compliments your brand and company culture.

Think about what you’re trying to achieve, the sort of talent you’re hoping to attract, and how to communicate your key messaging in an engaging and entertaining manner.

A recruitment video is one of the best ways to showcase your organization’s core values, which will ultimately ensure you attract a diverse range of top talent.

Finally, don’t forget to include a clear call to action at the end … (like this one):

Vervoe predicts job performance using skills assessments that showcase the talent of every candidate. Start your free trial now.

Picture of Laura Ross

Laura Ross

Equally at home with content creation and curation, Laura has several years of experience in writing, editing, and publishing a variety of content. Her top interests include recruitment, HR, and diversity and inclusion. Laura is currently based in London, UK. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, Laura is adept at crafting compelling narratives that resonate with audiences and drive tangible results.

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