Candidates: Click Here for Tips on Acing Your Next Video Interview
A face-to-face interview is usually ideal for almost any position, especially in marketing. But sometimes setting up a personal interview with a prospective employee isn’t always a practical or cost-effective option, particularly when they live far away.
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Thankfully, advances in technology have made it possible to get over this hurdle. More and more job interviews are taking place over video services such as Skype. As marketing recruiters we see more and more nontraditional interviews happening all the time. It’s important to remember that even though the goals are the same as a standard in-person interview, conducting video interviews requires a slightly different approach to maximize their effectiveness.
For the most part, you’ll need to follow the normal procedure that you would for hosting any interview. Dress the part, do the necessary preparation and candidate research, arrange a designated time (don’t forget to take time zones into account when scheduling with distant candidates!). But there are certain considerations you must take to ensure you’re getting the most from your time and making the candidate experience as positive as possible.
Here are 7 tips that will help you to reduce potential problems and get more out of a video interview with a prospective marketer:
[icon_list icon_style=”default” font_size=”default_size” item_width=”1″] [icon_list_line icon=”icon-chat-empty”]1. Set up a better interview space — Without the opportunity to step into your workplace and see the environment, your camera is the candidate’s only window into your culture. You’re representing your brand during an interview; act appropriately. Good marketers will notice if their interviewer is sloppy or unprofessional, even over video chat, and will take that into account when making a decision.Wear what you would to a more traditional interview and make sure that the space around you is appropriate. You don’t want to be hidden behind the clutter on your desk or talking down to a laptop on your lap. Avoid sitting in front of windows, which make you look like a silhouette and can cause glares. Make sure there is nothing behind you that will draw the candidate’s focus away from you.
2. Making the tech arrangements — Send instructions on how to log in and how to use whatever video conferencing program that you are using. Because video interviews aren’t nearly as common as person-to-person interviews (at least, not yet), not everyone is going to be immediately comfortable with the technology.
Pick a free video chat service for you both to use. It’s not reasonable to expect a candidate to pay for a service they’ll likely not use again. Skype is a reliable go-to, though you may want to have a backup option like Google Hangouts or ooVoo available in case there are technical issues. You may also consider a screen-sharing software if your interview calls for bringing up a digital portfolio, analytics or web content for discussion. Create a professional account on your channel of choice and share necessary contact info with your applicant.
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Follow these tips and make your video interviews the next best thing to flying someone to your office to have a face-to-face interview. You’ll save time and expense, get a great impression of your potential employees, improve the candidate experience and strengthen your employer brand.
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