Every business, regardless of size or industry, shares the goal of recruiting top talent. While some are successful in doing so, others continually miss the mark.
If you don’t have the manpower and resources to compete with the top dogs, it doesn’t mean you have to pick up their leftovers. As long as you take the right approach, you can still hire the best of the best.
In today’s day and age, this means using technology to your advantage. This is one of the best ways to even the playing field.
While video interviewing software may make sense for your company, you have to consider the other side of the equation: the candidates. Since this is a relatively new approach, many people may not be familiar (or comfortable) with the process. This is where you come into play.
It is your job to help candidates prepare for a video interview. This does not mean you have to spend hours on end coaching each person. What it does mean is this:
- Choose a high quality, reputable video interview platform.
- Provide helpful tips and advice for the interview.
- Be prepared yourself.
By doing these two things, all parties involved will feel better about the process and how it will progress.
Follow these Five Pointers
Here are five things you can do to ensure that candidates put their best foot forward in a video interview:
1. Explain the Process
Just because you understand the video interview process does not mean every candidate will have the same knowledge.
Your goal is simple: explain the process to ease the person’s mind and help him or her prepare in the appropriate manner.
This can include things such as:
- Explaining the benefits of a video interview.
- Letting the candidates know that this is just one step in the process.
- Providing advice based on your personal experience.
In other words, don’t assume that every candidate is as excited about video interviewing as you are. Most people fall in love with the system once they have a first hand experience, but until then they are a bit apprehensive. This is particularly true among those who have always interviewed in a traditional fashion.
2. Share the Most Important Tips
You don’t want to give any candidate a leg up on the competition. For this reason, provide the same tips with every person on your short list.
Here are some of the things you may want to tell them:
- Test your computer and webcam the day before the interview.
- Talk into your computer just the same as you would in a face-to-face setting.
- Clear the room of distractions.
For example, the last thing you want is for a candidate to run into technical trouble with their computer the day of the interview. Not only can this cause the person stress, but it could lead to lost time on your side as well. This is why you should help everybody prepare in advance.
3. Provide Top Technology
Let’s face it: there are a lot of online recruiting systems out there. Some are serious about their technology, but others fall short in this area.
If you are going to rely on technology to recruit and interview applicants, you don’t want to skimp. You must make sure that everybody involved is comfortable with the technology and confident that it will do its job.
When you choose the best technology, when you make this available to candidates, you are doing three things:
- Ensuring the most efficient interview process possible.
- Making things easier for yourself and other hiring managers.
- Making things easier for candidates.
The best technology is easy to operate, reliable, and full of features. Choosing the right provider could be the difference between online recruiting success and failure.
4. Let Them Know you are Available
In a face-to-face interview, everything is cut and dry. The candidate arrives at your office, you interview the person, you answer questions, and the process comes to an end.
While you are likely to meet with some candidates in person, once you chop your list, the video interview process comes first.
Since there is more gray area, since there is more room for error, you must make it clear that you are available should something go wrong.
Take for example a live video interview. If the candidate loses video for any reason, such as a poor internet connection, make sure they know what to do. Should they wait for the connection to be restored? Should they wait for a phone call? Should they reach out to you?
Well in advance of the interview, send the interviewee your contact information. Along with this, let them know you are available to answer any questions leading up to the interview or if something happens to go wrong.
With the right technology, everything is likely to proceed as planned. However, you never know when things will take a turn for the worst. As long as you are available to troubleshoot, everybody will have peace of mind.
5. Take Off the Pressure
It is easy for a person to feel pressured, especially if they are taking part in their first ever video interview.
You can take off some of the pressure by doing the following. First, give your candidate the option to re-record. This is something you can do if you aren’t conducting a live interview. Next, be sure to make it clear that the video interview is just one part of the hiring process.
You never know how a person will react when the “lights come on.” By putting a candidate at ease, you are helping that person as well as yourself. After all, you don’t want every interviewee to be a nervous wreck. When this happens, you may soon find that nobody stands out, thus making it more difficult to decide on the next step.
Final Thoughts
There is no denying the fact that video interviewing is picking up steam. This trend continues to grow, and there is no reason to believe it will slow down in the near future.
Companies can use this technology to save time and money. On the flip side, it is a benefit for candidates because they don’t have to leave home in order to meet with the hiring party.
As long as you are helpful in preparing candidates for the video interview process, you can expect things to go smoothly.
Do you have any other video interviewing tips to share? Have you ever interviewed somebody with the help of this technology?
Related articles:
- What are the pros and cons of group interviews
- Competency-based interview questions
- Exit interview questions
- Unique interview questions
- Best recruiter interview questions
- Executive interview questions
- Interview questions for program managers
- Rules to follow during phone and video interviews
- Often overlooked interview questions
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