When it comes to using video interviews as part of your recruiting strategy, some thoughtful planning can go a long way in ensuring their success.
The trend of video interviews continues to strengthen and almost every type of company is on-board with the idea. It’s easy to see why – no travel costs, recorded interviews allow you to review the responses after the fact, and, if you use the purely recorded video (as opposed to live video) variety, there’s no need to find that magical time that works for both the Candidate and the Hiring Manager, which was always my most dreaded part of scheduling interviews.
My first experiences with video interviews were from the Candidate’s perspective.
In one case, I was applying to be an Employee Relations Manager for a company that had aced the company culture video on their website and had the reputation to match. (It’s still one of my favorite places to spend my lunch hour.) When I got the email to interview, I was ecstatic! I fell in love with the idea of that opportunity all over again and started to imagine traveling through their retail locations making a positive impact on the people who publicly represented this very well-loved brand.
Then I saw that not only was it an automatically generated invitation, which is quite legitimately necessary for large companies, it was also a video interview. I would be recording my responses to questions for the Recruiter and Hiring Manager to review later. This didn’t match my image of the brand.
I was already quite familiar with the second company, and “large” doesn’t begin to describe its size. As a global brand in the consumer goods market, they did a million things perfectly and I was thrilled with the possibility of working with one of their Engineering teams. In this case, the Recruiter sent me a more personalized email with the link I’d follow to record my responses, again, for her and the Hiring Manager to review later. This was a little off-putting to me, but easier to accept, because the Recruiter had taken a little more care with my invitation.
In both cases, I put on a suit (yes, even the pants, not a more comfortable counterpart) and make-up, set-up in front of a blank wall in my dining room, tested my computer, put hard copies of my resume and the job description in front of me, made a list of my top accomplishments, and used each system’s practice question to further confirm my computer’s compatibility. I was ready.
In both cases, the technology failed and I had to perform the interview a second time. With one company, the technology failed that time too and my video interview was replaced with a quick phone interview with the Recruiter taking notes on the other end.
With each glitch, I lost a little bit of optimism for what it would be like to get the job. The good and exciting things I had when I applied sat next to my real-life experience and there was an obvious disconnect.
I share these stories not to discourage use of video interviews, but to say there’s a better way to use them.
After researching this post, I know that at least some companies are doing things a bit differently. I also found lots of “How to” articles for acing a video interview, making the most out of your first (digital) impression, etc.
I didn’t find a lot of help for companies, so here are some ideas to optimize efficiency without sacrificing your brand in the process.
View the new interview process from the Candidate’s perspective and compare it to what your brand stands for. Reconcile the two before your new process goes live. (This is a good exercise in general, not only for video interviews.)
Use a live video interview rather than the purely recorded option, whenever possible, to ensure that the Candidate gets a chance to ask questions too. This will also ensure that the technology works at the time, rather than finding out the next day that it didn’t. It is more difficult to schedule this, but will almost guarantee a better experience for everyone, especially if the connection is tested right before the interview.
Do periodic tests with the software to maintain an accurate understanding of the Candidate’s experience, especially after software upgrades. I'd recommend going in through a test Candidate account rather than a simulation.
Get confidential, aggregated Candidate feedback from the software provider. Some people may not be honest about a lackluster experience and if you notice that you’re getting all high marks, this data may not be the best for improving your process, but it’s worth asking at least in the beginning. The provider may be able to give you insight on previous feedback reports and how useful they were.
Remember that your Hiring Managers and Interview Teams may be hesitant to be recorded, even if there’s nothing wrong with how they interview. Depending on their personalities, they may need more information, a simulation, first-hand experience as a Candidate, or testimonials from the beta group. It’s important to get everyone on board, as much as possible.
I believe that video interviews are here to stay and that they can be a very effective tool. Like anything else, they just need to pass the branding test.
