Going Beyond the “Paper” Resume: Digital Interviews are the New Norm

The hiring landscape is full of change, yet some “traditional” hiring practices and approaches are still around – all of which can hinder effectiveness for recruiters, hiring managers, and even candidates. Electronic “piles” of resumes, a lack of quality candidates, and the seemingly endless back-and-forth to schedule: these challenges highlight why the hiring process needs a boost in efficiency.

A Time-Out for Resumes

A typical glance at a resume usually lasts only 6 seconds before a hiring manager makes a decision, on average. Even if only 24 more seconds were spent watching a candidate answering a question about the company culture or role, wouldn’t there be a more complete impression of the candidate for you as the hiring manager or recruiter?

According to Greg Dietz, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources at Maine Township High School District 207 (and a power user of interviewstream), the purpose of applicant screening is to find the outliers. You want to identify those who stand out and make you want to learn more about them and those who you want to avoid bringing in for an interview. Consider these possible scenarios:

1. Stellar candidates on paper might not fare as well in person – and everyone’s time was wasted. This is when a video would have saved you time by being able to screen them out.
2. Stellar candidates who could have rocked the interview were tossed aside in the resume sorting process – and you missed someone great. This is when you would have been able to screen someone in and not miss the opportunity to move them through the interview process.
3. Or, perhaps even more blatant, you get through an impressive-looking resume but the candidate is not who you expected them to be because a piece of paper just can’t tell the whole story.

This new, faster, technology-enabled screening approach to finding the right fit will not only save you time, but will also allow you to get a real-time, genuine-as-can-be view of your next middle school art teacher, product engineer or UX designer. The sheer volume of non-verbal cues you can “see” in an online video interview response to even a few questions will help you screen more than you bargained for. Thi is especially true if you used to think that reviewing a resume was the only thing that you needed to do before bringing someone in for a face-to-face introduction with your broader hiring team. 

One final thought for this blog: to say we live in a Digital Age is an understatement, especially right now.  In our digitally-driven environment, video platforms are a must-have, and the good news is that they were already refined and accessible before they became a necessary part of life. All candidates, especially the cream of the crop, expect a top-notch hiring experience that will ultimately separate you from your competitors. So – use one! – it will make a world of difference for you, your hiring teams, and your candidates.

About The Author

Amanda Palczynski is the Brand Program Manager at interviewstream. She is a perfectionist for accuracy; loves getting crafty with hand lettering and typography; and can speak strictly in quotes from The Office for any occasion.