5 Valuable Steps for employers and candidates
The rapidly changing work environment is pivoting towards processes that involve video based interviews. Finding top talent and landing desired positions means both employers and candidates need to lean in towards video interviewing techniques. There are bountiful benefits of utilizing virtual interviews–cost effectiveness and flexibility being two outstanding advantages alone. Below are 5 valuable steps to identify top talent through the virtual interview process:
- Pick your platform: The market is saturated with options for holding video conferences or virtual meetings. Select a program that your hiring managers and leadership team will be able to use across departments and organizational levels. Zoom meetings allow the benefit of webinars and meetings while allowing all email domains to participate without requiring users to download programs or establish accounts. Google Hangouts dovetail seamlessly into G-Suite organizations and provide consistency for those who google in the other aspects of their company communication. Investing time to consider what platform your team will use for all video conferencing needs is important. You and your team will use the platform ever more frequently in this adapting work environment.
- Allow for candidate choice: Provide interviewing candidates with the aspect of choice in their video interview time. This will increase the opportunity for successful, uninterrupted interview experiences for both sides. Building in a back up interview time for all scheduled interviews can also reduce follow-up work if any party encounters a technological difficulty at the scheduled interview time.
- Set up the space: It may feel odd for your department managers to be bothering with lighting, sound checks, or background visuals; tasks often reserved for television only. However, video interviews are limited to only the impression provided on the screen, so take the time to represent your organization and yourself positively. Check the lighting, acoustics, and the height of the camera or screen to be positioned in a beneficial way. Develop a set up that your team can use frequently for interviews or meetings.
- Identify the top competencies you are seeking BEFORE the interview: Virtual meetings may limit your ability to get a full sense of an individual as holistically as in person conversations. Thus, it is vital that your hiring team is crystal clear on the most important competencies or characteristics you are seeking in the hire. That way, you can be looking for those characteristics with a laser focus during the interview.
- Build in a second video meeting: In order to seek a positive fit for both the organization and the candidate through a virtual meeting, it is important to meet more than once. Once you have identified the final two candidates, build into your hiring timeline the time to hold a second video interview. This will allow both parties to continue the relationship building process that can be limited when interviews are not in person. Taking the time to meet virtually once more will allow you and the candidate to have more than one opportunity to connect and allows your final hiring decision to be well informed.
The benefits of virtual interviews abound. Adapting as an employer and a candidate to this process will provide exponential opportunities to match talent with great opportunities!