In a professional world where everyone is busier and processes are more dynamic, organizations are looking for – and finding – ways to streamline areas of the business that have potential for optimization. One such area is the job application and interview process. Human capital and talent onboarding is a vital, yet increasingly automated, area of operations, and one where innovations have enabled fewer human resource partners to do the job of many.
A prominent shift in the hiring and job application process is the use of video technology to streamline interviews. And progress has been quick in this area, too.
Many organizations have transitioned beyond scheduling video conferences over Skype, Zoom, or any other platform, and are now hosting job interviews with pre-recorded videos.
Candidates are required to watch a pre-recorded video, given a set amount of time (we’ve seen 15 seconds) to think about an appropriate response, and record a thoughtful answer to a prompt. And an entire job interview can progress in this way.
While the efficiencies and cost savings are easily recognizable with video technology, the pitfalls and negatives can be harder to see.
Pre-recorded video interviews – on both the employer and candidate sides – limit the amount of real-time engagement both parties experience during the vetting process. Without sitting in front of another human being, cadence and emotion – two incredibly important factors in the identification of culture – are nearly impossible to gauge. This makes it difficult for both the employer and candidate to determine whether the opportunity at hand is a good fit for both parties long term.
On the flip side, employers are able to control brand identity and quality by leveraging video interview questions. The questions chosen, emotion portrayed, and environment are more easily fine-tuned with creating a pre-recorded video – and the variables of the interview are more easily controlled. This allows the employer to truly hone in on the individuals who respond ideally to questions, without the subjectivity of an in-person conversation.
Pre-recorded video interviews allow both the employer and the candidate to partake in the interview at their own time. Candidates can leverage the pre-recorded nature of the interview to adjust their image, decide upon a location that enhances their identity, and engage in more preparation than a standard, in-person interview would allow. After all, no one will be in the room with them to check the notes they’ve taken or prepared for the interview.
Furthermore, employers are able to view interview answers at their own leisure. Having recorded answers to questions also fosters collaboration as needed on the hiring side. Talent evaluators and hiring managers are able to ask each other about feedback and opinions, removing a lot of the subjectivity that can arise during in-person interviews, where a limited number of individuals are able to interact with the candidate.
Pre-recorded video interviews are becoming more common during hiring processes, and the skills required to be successful during a pre-recorded video interview, and the shifting dynamics during the vetting process need to be accounted for by candidates and employers alike.