While video interviews are not likely to completely replace in-person interviews, many employers are using them in combination with online hiring events to engage candidates at scale. In circumstances where on-site interviews just aren’t an option, or candidates who are currently working during your working hours, video interviews can be an excellent opportunity for recruiters to have face-to-face contact without the overhead cost associated with in-person interviews. This format is also extremely easy to scale.
Format for Your Video Interviews
There are many types of video interviewing options, but here we will focus on asynchronous and two-way video interviews.
Asynchronous video interviews
Asynchronous video interviews are fairly new and platforms for them (including with AI as a feature) are showing up all over. During these interviews, the candidate is guided through a structured interview process in which they answer text-based questions in front of a webcam. This allows you to develop standard screening questions for all candidates for a specific position and automate the actual interview. This is where you can really scale, as it not only allows you to hold these structured interviews without you or your team guiding them. It also makes the process of identifying candidates to move through to the next stage more collaborative, as the asynchronous video interview recordings of the candidate can be shared with all hiring managers at once.
Using asynchronous video interviewing technology is very simple and set up for the job seeker can take less than 10 minutes if installing an external webcam. Recruiters must prepare a series of interview questions in advance, which the job seeker must answer just like a face to face interview. Videos are recorded using the video interview technology and made available for the recruiters to review and evaluate when it is convenient for them.
Related: Drive attendance to your online hiring events.
Two-way video interviews
Two-way video interviews, or live interviews, are what we typically think about (FaceTime, Skype) and are face-to-face interviews between the candidate and hiring manager. These can even be conducted for panel-style interviews. Typically, companies use live video interviews as the step just before or as a replacement to the in-person interview for non-local candidates. However, these can also be scaled, as you’re eliminating drive time, overhead, office introductions, parking, and so on. You can also record these interviews and share them with other hiring managers, rather than having to schedule a second or third interview as the candidate progresses through your hiring funnel.
All video interviews offer the ability to record the interview allowing for side by side comparison of candidates and the opportunity to revisit the interviews at any time, saving you and the candidate time as well as money.
Scheduling Automation for Video Interviews
One of the most important ways video interviews can help you scale your recruiting efforts is through scheduling automation. Scheduling technology can help automate this process with tools like Calendly and there are a number of ATS integrations directly with scheduling tools that allow for easy video interviewing that fits the candidate, the recruiter and the hiring manager’s schedule. These tools eliminate the back and forth of email or phone calls to set up interviews, and you can even set up candidate (and hiring manager) reminders for the interview time. It also allows candidates to choose a time in your scheduling window that works best for them, which is important when you want to appeal to passive candidates who may have to work around their current job’s schedule. Video interviewing eliminates scheduling complications and delays, reducing the risk of losing candidates to faster moving companies.
Other Benefits of Video Interviews
Video interviewing can make your entire screening process more efficient and reduce time-to-hire significantly by reducing the number of your company’s hiring managers and your HR team that have to be present for interviews. Asynchronous interviews eliminate that need altogether, and two-way live interviews only need one person for the interview, which can be recorded and shared.
It can also improve candidate experience by allowing them to choose interview times that work the best and eliminate drive time, parking, and so on. Video interviewing makes it much easier for currently employed candidates to pursue new jobs since they can record their responses after hours or on the weekends instead of having to take time away from their current job.
Video interviews are not only highly scalable, they also allow for more consistency in the hiring process with questions and scoring methodology that is the same for all candidates across the board. This also helps with performance tracking post-hire. After implementing video interviews into the hiring process, managers can go back and review top performers and see if their video responses had anything in common.
Finally, using video technology sends a subtle message to candidates that your company is using cutting edge technology in general. They know if they accept a job offer from your company, they’re going to be part of a digital culture and won’t have to rely on outdated methods to get the job done.
