3 Ways to Get Creative With Video Interviewing
Video interviewing sounds self-explanatory, right? It enables recruiters and hiring teams to screen candidates remotely rather than in person. But, there’s much more to it than meets the eye!
As you look deeper into live and pre-recorded video interviews, you’ll begin to see opportunities far beyond what a basic video chat can provide. Then factor in scoring and collaboration, and the technology becomes even more powerful, driving the selection process from scheduling to decision making and everything in between. But that’s not all video interviewing is capable of – in fact, it’s not limited to selection at all!
Depending on the source, anywhere between 49 and 60 percent of employers rely on video interviewing, which means that roughly half of hiring teams have the technology at their disposal. So, it comes as no surprise that companies are thinking outside the frame and finding innovative uses for video interviewing, beyond interviewing.
Really, the applications are limitless. Here are a few ways we’ve seen companies get creative with video interviewing:
Connecting mentors and mentees
One early adopter of video interviewing almost immediately identified a unique use case for the platform. In addition to using on-demand interviews in place of time-consuming phone screens, this organization also uses the technology to match its high potential employees with mentorship opportunities.
It works like this: Using the video interview platform, hi-po’s answer a few questions about themselves, in essence, generating a personal profile, which HR then shares with its executives for selection purposes. Doing this, the organization sees higher engagement and a faster response rate from mentors. At the same time, hi-po’s are given a touchpoint with senior leaders and the support they need to advance their careers, which in turn boosts employee retention and satisfaction rates.
Getting instant feedback after onsite interviews
Another organization, focusing on the onsite candidate experience, set up video interview ‘stations’ to collect feedback from candidates immediately after their onsite interviews. Previously, this hiring team relied on surveys to measure sentiment about its onsite interviews, sending these out to candidates after their meeting. To avoid any delay, this organization began using live video interviews to capture how candidates feel before they leave the building. Thanks to video, candidates are given the chance to fully express themselves while the onsite experience is fresh in their mind.
For candidates, this reinforces the organization’s commitment to them while offering an immediate outlet for any thoughts following an interview. At the same time, the organization benefits from an increased completion rate on feedback forms and an additional reference point for each candidate – all in all, improving both the candidate and recruiter experiences.
Introducing candidates and employees
There’s always the opportunity to innovate within the selection process, too, as we’ve seen happen at several forward-thinking organizations. One in particular, with a two-person campus recruiting team, uses video interviewing to introduce current employees to student job seekers.
To do so, they have various employees – from hiring managers to custodians – share their role and a little about themselves before recording an interview question for the candidate to answer. When these interviews are sent out, they deliver an inside look at the organization that showcases the breadth and diversity of its workforce. So, in a seven-minute interview, candidates get to ‘meet’ seven different people in seven different positions and really get to know them – and the organization – better. This is especially important in today’s candidate-driven market, where many job seekers have their pick of potential employers.
Finding your use
Until the advent of video, it was tough to get creative with interviews (outside of asking odd-ball questions like, “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why?”) Now, with technology fueling the way, interviewing has become inventive and immensely flexible, opening up a host of use cases.
As a platform to pitch community outreach ideas or help keep remote workforces engaged, video is the best medium for connecting with an audience, whether that’s job seekers, employees, or both. And, if you’re already using video interviewing, or considering it, why not share the love with other parts of the business and get as much value from the tool as possible? There are no hard and fast rules with this technology, and the best part is, it’s incredibly easy to implement, adapt, and experiment.
Where you go with video interviewing is completely up to you. It all depends on what you’re looking to accomplish – and how creative you want to get!