Pre-recorded video interviews are a great recruitment tool, but it still isn't very clear to everyone how it works and why it improves the hiring process. It all comes down to the fact that it allows to identify the best candidates early in the process, while also allowing companies to excel candidate experience. In today’s article we'll break this down and tell you how it works.
So, first things first. What is a pre-recorded video interview? In short, it’s an interview where the interviewer isn’t present when the candidate answers the questions. That’s why they’re also known as one-way interviews.
And how does it work? Recruiters pre-set the questions concerning a specific job and send candidates a link through which they can record their answers within a deadline. Once a candidate submits his video the recruiter can then review and evaluate it in order to assess if the candidate would be a good fit and decide whether to invite him to a face-to-face interview.
What it’s in it for both recruiters and candidates? Well, pre-recorded video interviews empower recruiters to make a better screening of the candidates, as the videos provide useful insights that you can’t find by looking at a CV. As for the candidates, they benefit from having a chance to show themselves beyond their CV and to convey their motivations in a more personal way, which can really help them to stand out from the rest of the candidates.
Now that we've established the basics, let's take a look at a list of important things regarding video interviews you should be aware of.
6 Things you must know about pre-recorded video interviews
1. They’re not meant to replace CV or face-to-face interviews
It’s important to bear in mind that pre-recorded video interviews are mainly used to improve the initial screening of candidates. After a CV is matched to specific job’s requirements, recruiters may still have some doubts regarding whether the candidate would be a good fit for the role. Of course, the recruiter can make a phone call to ask some questions and try to figure out who the candidate is and what his motivations are. But is the candidate going to pick up the phone at his first try? Or will the recruiter have to try to reach him a couple of times over the course of a few days? When the candidate does answer the phone, will the recruiter remember everything the candidate said after the call is over, so he can discuss it with other recruiters or hiring managers? Video interviews are a much easier and faster way to get additional data on the candidates.
2. They enable a more efficient and transparent recruitment process
Pre-recorded video interviews turn your [recruitment process]https://www.skeeled.com/blog/how-artificial-intelligence-improves-your-recruitment-process/) more efficient by allowing recruiters to screen more candidates when compared to phone calls. Recruiters also save a great amount of time because thanks to the insights from the video interviews they’ll only invite the best candidates to an interview at your office. As important as this, using video interviews enables a more transparent process, given that candidates are presented with a structured interview containing the exact same questions. There’s no external intervention that could change the course of the interview, so it also helps recruiters to more easily compare candidates and make fairer, data-driven decisions.
3. They break time and space barriers
To make it through this step of your recruitment process, all a candidate needs is to have access to the internet and a device (pc, tablet, smartphone) to record himself. Applicants can do the interview anywhere and whenever they see best fit (within the deadline). This flexibility allows to keep more applicants in your pipeline. Your candidates may be travelling, working, etc., and still manage to do the interview because they can do it autonomously, when it’s most convenient for them.
4. They promote collaboration within your HR team
Collaborative hiring is a big thing. Why? On one hand, having multiple views and opinions on candidates helps making fairer and more diverse hiring decisions. On the other, collaboration helps boost recruitment productivity and speeds up the process.
5. They help find the right candidates
In traditional recruitment processes, recruiters invite candidates to face-to-face interviews depending on their CV. Most times, what happens is that candidates don’t meet the expectations raised by their resumes, making recruiters wonder if they if any good candidates might have been left unnoticed in the applicant pool. But with the pre-recorded video interview recruiters can see the person behind the CV and make a more accurate pre-assessment.
6. They boost employer brand and candidate experience
Presenting a modern and agile recruitment process will surely cause a good impact on your candidates, strengthening your employer brand. Having a video interview step will make them feel they have more opportunity to showcase their skills and reinforce their application. This will also create a new level of engagement that contributes for a more positive candidate journey, helping recruiters to provide the best experience.
The bottom line about using pre-recorded video interviews is that recruiters will always end up meeting candidates in face-to-face interviews to conduct final rounds of selection and make a hiring decision.
But recruiters need to be more efficient and find the right candidates faster. The best way to uncover a candidate’s true potential definitely isn’t by simply looking at a CV. Video adds the insights that a CV lacks and helps recruiters identifying the most promising candidates, so that they only meet in-person those who are really suitable.
Skeeled offers you the perfect opportunity to bring innovation and digitalisation to your hiring. Check our website or our LinkedIn and Facebook pages for further information.
Thanks for reading and see you next time!
Your team here at skeeled
