Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Video Interviewing Best Practices For Hiring Pros

In order to make the most of your video interviewing utilization, you need to first establish your game plan by identifying your hiring goals. What are the types of jobs you need to fill within the next few months or year? After you determine this, you can then implement the following tips into your video interviewing strategy to bring in amazing talent to join your team.

Onboard your hiring team

By allowing your colleagues to view candidates’ interviews, you can rely on more than one person’s judgment on whether to move forward with a candidate or not. However, your colleagues won't be experts right away so don’t dismiss the importance of the onboarding process. Encourage your colleagues to take advantage of training sessions so that any questions or concerns they may have can be addressed. You can avoid delays to your hiring process by ensuring your colleagues have all the necessary information to be successful video interviewers.

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Be transparent about your hiring process with candidates

Although the popularity of video interviewing has grown significantly in the past few years, there are still companies not yet utilizing this technology. Therefore, there are job seekers out there who may not be familiar with this method of interviewing. You should take the time to inform your candidates about the role video interviews play in your hiring process.

Start off the interview process by asking the candidate if they have ever been interviewed over video. If it is their first time being interviewed in this manner, take some time to explain everything about the process and what they are to expect. Candidate experience must always be given priority during the interview process since it can affect your company’s ability to hire talented people. It would be a shame to have found the perfect person for your open position just to have them turn down the offer because they had a less than positive experience.

Be considerate of your candidates

The one-way interview offers candidates plenty of flexibility since they are the ones who decide when to get it done within a given timeframe. However, you don’t want to offset this advantage by giving too short of a deadline for the interview. You’ll want to give your candidates 5-7 days to record their responses. This is a sufficient amount of time for them to become familiar with the video interviewing platform and test out their equipment.

Take advantage of branding opportunities

The importance of candidate experience cannot be stressed enough. As you strive to hire top-notch talent, it is important to develop a positive appearance for your company as an employer. Be sure not to ignore branding opportunities while video interviewing. Seeing your company logo and color scheme will allow candidates to experience a consistent and branded video interview. They won’t be left wondering what organization they are interviewing with.

Additionally, video interviews can be one component of an overall company brand that conveys a considerate, innovative impression to potential employees and can significantly help with attracting great talent. A video interviewing initiative instantly shows candidates that your company is willing to embrace new technology. It also shows your company is both flexible and creative, two must-haves for both experienced and Millennial workers.

The remaining tips go into best practices for actually participating in a live interview. These tips are also relevant for your candidates taking part in an interview.

Best practices for conducting a live interview:

Check your Internet connection and equipment

Just as you would expect a candidate to prepare for a live interview, so should you. It’s important that you check your Internet connection, webcam, and mic beforehand so as to avoid any mishaps in the middle of the interview.

While you can carry out a successful live interview over wireless internet, we recommend connecting to the internet using an ethernet cable for better performance. You will also want to close any programs and web browsers that you won’t be needing to conduct your live video interview as these can take resources away and slow down your device.

Your webcam is obviously a crucial part of having a successful video interview. Make sure that it is connected to your computer and close out any programs that might be utilizing it (e.g. Skype or FaceTime). Most webcams come with a built-in microphone, however, if you decide to use a stand-alone mic or headset, double-check to make sure the mic is connected to your computer. Again, close out any programs that might be utilizing the mic prior to the interview.

Mind the surrounding noise, background, and lighting

Where you choose to conduct your video interview is very important. A video interview can be done pretty much anywhere, however, you need to keep in mind the surrounding noise. Find a quiet place to conduct your live video interview. If the candidate has to strain to hear you, they may become uncomfortable and frustrated. You’d be surprised how many sounds are picked up over the mic so be sure you are in a quiet and calm environment.

You should also make sure to have a clean and professional background. Take the time to tidy up your interviewing space. Your desk might have a ton of papers on it because you have a lot going on, but if that can be seen by the candidate it’ll look like you’re disorganized instead of busy.

Proper lighting is also essential to having a good video interview. If the lighting is too bright, you may be hurting the other person’s eyes. If the lighting is too dark, they will have to strain in order to see you. Avoid having any light behind you, even if it’s coming from a window. When light hits a webcam, it will compensate by going dark and you’ll end up looking like a faceless shadow, therefore, have light facing you. To ensure you have the best lighting, sit down before your interview and see what works best.

Look straight into the camera

You must fight the urge to look down at the candidate on your computer screen. Looking straight at your webcam while speaking gives the feeling of eye contact to the person on the other end. Additionally, you should position yourself so that you’re in the center of the webcam.

Choose appropriate attire

A video interview is not any less important than an in-person interview; therefore, you should dress in the same manner you would if you were having a candidate meet you in your office. Pick an outfit that won’t clash with, or match, the background of the video. Most people equate white clothing with looking clean and very presentable. That definitely works for in-person interviews, but on camera white is not a wise choice. White clothing will appear brighter on camera and may overpower your face. Instead, choose darker colors like navy and avoid bright colors and busy patterns, as they might not translate well on camera.

Video interviewing is a powerful tech tool, but you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to be successful with it. Implementing these simple tips into your video interviewing strategy will allow you to better connect with candidates that can help your company grow.


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