The predictive power of structured interviews is 5 times as high as the one of unstructured interviews – and yet, structured interviews remain the exception! Why is that? Studies say it is because of the effort it takes to maintain structure in a live interview. What many recruiters do not know is that there are tools and technologies that help them implement diagnostic principles (such as structure) very easily. Using recorded video interviewing for first round interviews, for example, helps you make valid decisions about which candidates should be shortlisted and invited to a personal interview. They provide structure and standardization which is the basis for evaluating candidates as objectively as possible. Or do you want to be one of those irrational recruiters that rely on their gut feeling?

What are recorded video interviews, actually?

Using recorded video interviewing, recruiters and hiring managers enhance the quality of their pre-selection. You gain an authentic and comparable impression of your candidates, even before the first personal meeting. Through short video sequences, where all candidates answer the same job-related questions, you obtain an objective overview of your candidates’ skills and abilities. Based on your and your hiring managers’ evaluation of each candidate, you can see which candidates are the most promising ones and invite them to a personal interview.

What does “recorded” mean?

It means that the recording of the interview by the applicant and its assessment by the recruiter occur independently. Both the company and the candidates are time and location independent of one another, meaning maximum flexibility for all involved. This is a real advantage if your applicants live abroad or are still employed somewhere else. Usually, they have a couple of days to do their video interview. Time consuming scheduling is no longer necessary. Fixed appointments don’t have to be made with applicants, managers and HR staff because everyone follows their own schedule.

What’s the outcome?

What’s the outcome? Using recorded video interviewing, your time is invested optimally, while keeping your costs low. You increase the quality of your recruiting by identifying the best applicants in the pre-selection stage. Your candidates appreciate the opportunity to present themselves with video interviewing.

What’s in it for the candidate? A lot!

Today’s candidates expect the recruiting process to be fast, fair, digital and personal. Well, video technology meets these expectations. Let’s dig deeper:

• 1. Applicants are completely time and location independent from the recruiter and can take the interview at their convenience.
• 2. As the evaluation of the candidates’ video answers is based on competencies and job requirements, the evaluations of video interview remain absolutely fair. For instance, the Free University of Berlin published a study to show that there is no distortion regarding the applicants’ gender nor migrational background.
• 3. They gain a personal impression of your organisation and the people behind: recruiters and hiring managers can introduce themselves with welcome videos. This is a unique chance for them to explain why their company and department are so outstanding from other companies!

If you want to learn more about the benefits of video interviews in personnel selection, check out our article about 4 key advantages of video interviews.