Why conduct On-Demand Video Interviews?
Why should you as a recruiter consider an on-demand video interview?
The answer is simple.
Reduce your time to hire, save recruitment costs and get the best talent for your company.
Companies that use on-demand video interviews are viewed as more innovative by candidates. Resulting in a much more improved candidate experience.
As well as this, on-demand video interviews provide an excellent and practical framework that reduces the hiring bias sometimes experienced in recruitment. All candidates are asked a standardised set of interview questions. Ultimately making the recruitment process a fairer experience for all candidates.
The format of video Interviews
On-demand video interviews work by a recruiter providing candidates with a list of interview questions through an interviewing app. Then candidates video themselves responding to the interview questions using a webcam or mobile device. Their recorded answers are then shared with the recruiter via the interviewing tool.
You may also hear of on-demand video interviews being called one-way video interviews, pre-recorded and even asynchronous.
How to prepare for the On-Demand Video Interview
For candidates preparing for an on-demand video interview we recommend the following tips:
- Get the right setup.
From where you choose to record your interview to what device you use, to your lighting. All these little details are important to showcase to your recruiter how much attention you pay to detail. This will also demonstrate how serious you are about the role.
2. Practice video recording your interview before the real on-demand video interview.
Whether you record yourself talking on your mobile or webcam, you should do a trial run yourself with a list of made-up interview questions. Then review your footage to see how you presented yourself. You may be shocked at how little you smile, or how poor your posture is. Recording yourself and reviewing it before the interview will allow you to work on anything that could be taken negatively.
3. Keep a relaxed and calm demeanour even if you're nervous and sweating buckets.
There are loads of techniques you can try to lower your anxiety and nerves during an interview. We recently wrote a blog post using unnoticeable tips and tricks to regain control and not let the nerves get the better of you.
For employers preparing for an on-demand video interview we recommend the following tips:
- Create question packs that include behaviour-based interview questions.
Behaviour-based interview questions are important as they’ll give recruiters a good idea about how competent the candidate will be in the role. Behaviour-based interview questions use past experiences to answer interview questions for a new role.
2. Expect to be notified as each candidate completes their video interview.
Recruiters will receive either an email, app notification or group notification as each candidate completes their interview. You can watch immediately or wait until all the interviews are completed to view them all in one go.
3. Respond in real-time to candidates.
As you make your way through the interviews via the Reworking app, you can respond in real-time whether the candidate was successful or not. You don’t have to complete this on one watch- watch interviews as many times as you like and send them to other hiring managers for a united decision.
For a more in-depth explanation of how you should prepare for an on-demand video interview see a past post of ours: How to prepare for a virtual interview?
What is Reworking?
Reworking is a video interview application that recruiters can use to provide a seamless and simple virtual interview.
How to use it?
We deliver our on-demand video interviewing experience in a three-stage process.
Step 1: Create your easy-to-tailor question packs.
When you launch our video interviewing tool your first step is to create the specific question packs for each job vacancy. Choose from our structured guide and tweak your questions to suit the role. This saves hiring manager’s hours and hours as they won't need to write up each question from scratch.
Step 2: Recording the video
When the interview questions are ready, all recruiters need to do is send out the unique URL link to applicants via text, email, social media or even the apply now button on the company website.
Applicants who want to use their mobile to record their interviews will be directed to the app store to download the ReWorking app. Otherwise, they'll be directed to the Reworking website to sign in via desktop.
Signing in to the app is seamless as the Reworking app remembers the link click and automatically fills in the applicants into the interview designed by the recruiter.
Recording the video is easy.
Before the interview begins, applicants are given a quick tutorial. They are also given interview tips on setting up, recording, and sending the interview to the recruiter.
When the interview is over, applicants receive an email to notify them the recruiter has received it. It will let the applicants know that the recruiters will be in touch soon to notify them if they are successful or not.
Step 3: Accessing the recorded interviews
Recruiters love the Reworking app because it makes reviewing video interviews very easy and quick.
Questions can be skipped, candidates can be shortlisted, interviews can be shared with other managers (securely with a password) and interviews can be watched multiple times.
Recruiters can work through candidate after candidate without ever needing to back out of the video review screen.
But best of all, candidates can be accepted or rejected from the video review screen within the platform.
Reviewing candidate profiles is easy from within the Reworking app too.
All CVs, LinkedIn profiles and emails of candidates can be accessed directly from the platform.
Other uses for Reworking
The Reworking platform is also used among HR departments for reviewing and connecting with the current workforce- not just new hires.
Employee surveys and questionnaires can be downloaded and filled out by staff for a deeper insight into the satisfaction of employees.
Why we are different to other virtual interviewing tools out there
Our company is structured a little differently from other virtual tools already out there. We are primarily a technology company, this makes our full in-house technological team ideal for adding and customising features to enhance the product and listen to our customers' needs.
Currently, we are in the process of adding a fully integrated background checking tool. This tool allows employers to run background checks within the app. This massively reduces the recruitment process.
Why it is important to choose a good video host
A good video host will transform your recruiting experience.
With the traditional recruiting process, interviews can be difficult to arrange, many candidates are no shows and there is a considerable amount of time wasted for managers and recruiters to take time away from their main roles to interview people.
A mediocre video host can enable a video interview to be conducted at the candidates’ home but lacks all the feature-rich tools available to speed up and make the selection process efficient and quick.
The best video interviewing hosts carry out most of the work on behalf of the recruiters, and they also make the experience seamless and simple to use for the candidates too.
Creating a positive candidate experience is a vital part of the recruitment process. So much of a company’s brand, identity and reputation rests in the hands of its employees and candidates.
With review companies such as Glassdoor making waves in the recruitment world, many job applicants are highly influenced by other peoples experiences and will stay away from a company that is known for their poor candidate experience.
Reworking vs. Screenflow
For recruiters considering going digital, there's a lot of information available that can be overwhelming and they end up not knowing where to start.
So you see some recruiters who are new to the on-demand video interviewing world asking "why not just use Screenflow instead?!"
What is Screenflow?
Screenflow is a screen recording and video editing platform. If recruiters wanted, they could take the plunge and create their own on-demand video interview.
But this does come with drawbacks.
- It would take a very long time to create individual interview packages for each new job vacancy.
- Receiving and recording the interview questions is more complicated using Screenflow than the simplicity of using Reworking and the assistive features.
- The reviewing and selection stage of the process would be much more difficult with Screenflow than simply using the Reworking platform to review each applicant and send it among colleagues.
Hosting the video
As we previously mentioned, Reworking can be accessed via mobile devices such as a smartphone or tablet. This method requires the applicant to use the link sent from their recruiter which automates the process and sets up the interview questions in an instant!
When applicants want to record their video interview via desktop, their link simply sends applicants directly into the employers apply now button on their website where they'll be required to sign in.
In both instances, the link sent to candidates recognises a code. When a candidate sign's in via the link, this code will open the application within the intended company interview questions.
Examples of One-Way Interview Questions and Answers
So what interview questions and answers can be expected from a one-way video interview?
Popular examples you may come across look like this:
Example Question 1. What interests you about this role?
Example Answer 1. Mention how your past experiences and successes have helped prepare and make you a suitable candidate for the role.
Example Question 2. Tell us what you know about our company?
Example Answer 2. Look through the company culture, work ethic, company achievements, their trade, how long they've been in business and more.
You should look for information not just from the company website but look at their social media pages and third party sources such as news articles. You should aim to demonstrate to the recruiter your seriousness of wanting the position and the amount of research you've put into the company.
Example Question 3. Tell me about yourself
Example Answer 3. This is an opportunity for you to showcase to the recruiter how you're ideal for the role. You demonstrate this by using examples taken from other areas in your life that have transferrable skills into this role.
Scale your hiring processes
If you need to quickly scale up your recruitment process, you’ll want to do it most cost-effectively and speedily. By using a digital interviewing tool such as Reworking you can achieve both these goals.
Streamlining the recruitment process with a digital app is easy. From making quick question packs to distributing the questions and reviewing each candidate, the interview stage of the recruitment process can be dramatically cut. With a quicker hire time, the company can also make huge savings on their recruitment costs.
We hope you found this on-demand video interview blog post useful. For more information on our Reworking app visit our website.