So What Exactly is Video Interviewing?

When you hear “video interviewing” – what comes to mind?

We are curious to better understand what recruiters, hiring managers and the general public think when they hear the term “video interviewing.” We think the pre-recorded questions in interviewstream can make for a unified set of responses, and pre-recorded video screening is another layer to the spectrum of the umbrella “video interviewing” – going beyond the “live video interview” experience.

Pre-recorded video interviews(sometimes referred to as on demand video interviews or asynchronous) involve the recruiter or hiring manager creating an interview using pre-recorded video questions, then distributing the set of questions to candidates online for video response. This provides convenience for both candidates and employers, as the interview can be created, responses recorded, and reviewed from anywhere at anytime – completely eliminating interview scheduling issues.

Our clients have discovered that the pre-recorded video interview process solves an entirely different set of recruiting needs than the live interview solution. The two can complement each other, but often they are used at entirely different stages in the recruiting process and deliver completely different results in terms of the stage of candidate selection.

Pre-recorded video interviewing can be an excellent way to screen large numbers of candidates quickly while offering a powerful “side-by-side” comparison of responses to uniform questions. This solution is often used as a phone screen alternative, where a recruiter is limited to business hours to schedule phone screening interviews with candidates. With more and more companies needing to reach deeper into the field of available candidates who are perhaps Millennials on-the-go and accustomed to being provided with “on-demand” technologies, or candidates overseas who may only be available at odd hours, the solution of the pre-recorded interview provides a boost in candidate experience.

On the other hand, live video interview solutions have been more widely used in any number of formats for some time. Whether recruiters are using Webex, an infrastructure-heavy video conferencing tool, Skype, or a solution like interviewstream’s (which has several built-in features to facilitate resume/CV review during the interview), these recruiters are primarily using the tool to save on travel costs before bringing the candidate into the office for an in-person interview. At this stage, much of the vetting and phone screening has already happened — sometimes two or three phone interviews have already taken place with the hiring manager or department head.

We hope anyone who is making a decision around incorporating video into their hiring process will make the most informed decisions possible. So, if you still think video can really only be of use as a less-than-ideal alternative to the in-person interview, we urge you to reach out to one of our Video Technology Consultants for a quick, 20 minute demo to demonstrate the full spectrum of what the InterviewStream suite of tools can do to revolutionize your hiring process!