Video interviewing is growing in popularity with both hiring professionals and job candidates. But what sets the video interview apart from more traditional interview methods, such as the phone or in-person interview? Great question.
In a nutshell, video interviews create a convenient, innovative, and interesting way for hiring professionals to connect with job seekers. But, most importantly, video interviews cater to unique job interview situations — situations that phone calls or face-to-face meetings just won’t work for.
While video interviews are a great means to interview any time, here are four specific situations that are optimal for video interviewing:
When you have a high volume of candidates to screen.
For time-strapped hiring professionals, screening candidates is the necessary evil of the hiring process — especially when you have a high volume of candidates to screen.
When you have a large amount of candidates, spending a good 30 minutes on the phone with each is not an efficient use of time. Not when you can view 10 one-way video interviews in the time it takes to perform a single phone screen, according to a recent study by Aberdeen Group.
One-way video interviews, in which candidates record their responses to a series of pre-determined questions, give screening an entirely new meaning.
Not only do one-way video interviews give you an opportunity to connect with candidates visually, they’re also convenient. Instead of spending an extraordinary amount of time scheduling a phone call around everyone’s busy schedules, one-way video interviews can be recorded and viewed on your own time.
When you need to interview long-distance candidates.
When it comes to searching for top talent, sometimes it’s necessary to move beyond the confines of your own backyard. But attracting and connecting with faraway talent can be difficult, due to geographic and time zone barriers. That’s where video interviews come in to play.
Video interviews and long-distance candidates go hand-in-hand. In the very same way we use video chat platforms to connect with loved ones from afar, video interviews are the perfect tool to get in touch with long-distance job candidates. Two-way, or live, video interviews make face-to-face interviews possible with long-distance candidates, without either party having to spend an arm and a leg on travel costs.
By offering video interview options, you can expand your talent search to global waters and attract candidates who might not otherwise apply.
When you want to attract more passive candidates.
Passive candidates are in high demand. They appeal to companies because they’ve demonstrated their skills and expertise by thriving in similar positions (that and we always tend to want what we can’t have).
Did you know a whopping 75 percent of professionals categorize themselves as “passive” candidates? In other words, three-fourths of professionals aren’t actively looking for a new position — but that doesn’t mean they’re not open to other opportunities that might come their way. Getting in touch with the elusive passive candidate about a job opportunity can be tricky due to their busy schedule.
Fortunately, video interviews make it easy to appeal to and attract passive candidates. For starters, passive candidates may not want to commit to commuting for a full-on job interview, but might be willing to take a few minutes to participate in a video interview. Given their busy schedules, passive candidates will appreciate the convenience and time-saving factors of video interviews.
When you need to collaborate on hiring decisions.
Hiring should be a team effort. After all, two heads are better than one. And, considering a bad hire can cost companies upwards of $50,000, according to CareerBuilder, the more heads, the merrier. Unfortunately, not everyone needed during the hiring process can always be present during the interview.
Cue the video interview.
The nature of video interviews makes hiring collaboration easier than ever, as no one has to be physically present at the time of the interview. Colleagues and clients alike can be sent video interview recordings to view and assess well after the interview has taken place. These video recordings make it easy for everyone to collaborate, which ensures that you’re making more informed hiring decisions. Better collaboration means better hires.