Video Interviews for Recruitment

So, you have a video interview coming up! You have done all the normal preparation that people do before such interviews. However, do you know the type of video interview you are going to take?

That is important because there are two types – real time and recorded interviews. Understanding the differences between the two will help you present your best performance. You need to make a terrific impression on the recruiter, needn’t you? Here you are!

The Real Time Video Interview

What is it?

The real time video interview, as the name suggests, is a live interview conducted online. It is also known as a two-way interview.

What is in it for you?

You are under great pressure here, no doubt! You cannot rethink and revise your answers, nor can you cover up mistakes you may make. If you are nervous or ill at ease, the recruiter can see it easily. The interview time is not flexible: you may have to take it at a time not convenient to you at all, which may cause you more anxiety.

The upside is that the good impression you succeed in making will be stronger: the recruiter knows pretty well that yours is not a rehearsed script, and you couldn’t have revised your responses. If the interview is for a position that requires a lot of interpersonal interaction, any positive impression you make can help you go a long way and help clinch the position for you!

What is in it for the recruiter?

The recruiter is able to do a live evaluation of each candidate. He can put extra pressure on you, if needed, to see whether you wilt or excel. He can vary the questions and tone of the interview as it progresses, to get a better understanding of your character and skill sets. The downside is that he may not be able to do an objective evaluation of your worth and suitability for the position, if he is distracted or is under great pressure himself.

The recorded video interview

What is it?

Recorded interviews are also known as asynchronous, one-way, pre-recorded and video screening interviews. Let not these terms puzzle you – they all mean the same thing. People tend to be long-winded sometimes, when there’s no need for any wind!

In this type, the interviewer records online questions and goes off line. The candidate happily responds to them ‘unobserved’, and submits the answers within a set timeframe. Well! That’s no problem, is it?

What is in it for you?

You can answer the questions at a place and time of your choosing, and so, your comfort level is rather high. It has to be so without any question! You can pause between questions to plan your answers. You can play back your answers, improve upon and rerecord those you are unhappy with. The danger lies in overthinking smart answers to impress the recruiter – trying to say too much and force in more information than is needed.

What is in it for the recruiter?

The recruiter has many an interview to plough through. Recorded interviews are easy for him to watch at his own pace and convenience; he can play them as many times as he wants, if that can help him get a better idea of a candidate. He can replay interviews of candidates who are similar, one after another, to do a comparative evaluation of them all, and zero in on the best. However, there can be no live interaction between the recruiter and the candidate, and they are both losers in a crucial way. This is indeed a serious limitation of the recorded interview, in comparison with the real time one.

For obvious reasons, the real time interview is the most popular and favored option today. It allows a considerable leeway for both the recruiter and the candidate. The former can fine-tune the interview to the live assessment of the skill sets of the candidate vis-à-vis the requirements of the position. The latter can understand closely the shifting focus of the interview, and display presence of mind and creativity in providing matching responses most effectively.

You will do well to seek the assistance of a state-of-the-art job application portal that has the following amazing features: global recruiting facility, creation of excellent resumes, appropriate aptitude test mechanism, hassle-free recruitment, real time video interviews, one stop documentation, cost-effective processes and so on.

Online Recruitment: The Way Ahead for All

Technology has revolutionized all walks of contemporary life; businesses, job interviews and selection processes are no exception. For years HR executives proclaimed that nothing could replace the face-to-face interview, and for them, it is the only way to select the right candidates.

The overwhelming advantages of online recruitment have discredited these reservations; recruiters accept now that the online process produces the best results for them. There are many advantages for the candidates as well. An overview of the major advantages of the system is presented in this post.

Customized software

Customized software packages enable an effective prescreening and shortlisting of candidates with profiles more suited for each position advertised. The lower the number of candidates the better placed are the recruiters to select the best candidates. The shortlisted applicants, on their part, would feel more confident to perform better.

Automated elimination of unsuitable applicants

Numerous job seekers apply for all kinds of vacancies, whether or not they are really qualified for the jobs. With tailor-made software in place, online recruitment enables automated elimination of all unsuitable candidates, thus saving a lot of bother for the recruiting companies. Candidates too learn to check the suitability of their own profiles before they apply for vacancies.

Saving of precious time

The traditional process of recruitment is a long drawn-out daunting task: recruiters spend weeks, perhaps even months on paper work, to line up prospective candidates for the interview; this in turn may take weeks, or even months for completion. Selection, intimation to successful candidates, and sufficient time interval for the selected candidates to report for duty are all time-consuming.

Applicants too have to waste a lot of time, painfully waiting, travelling to and fro, and going through every stage of recruitment. Online recruitment saves much precious time for both the recruiters and the applicants.

Saving of costs

Another main drawback of the traditional process of recruitment is the drain on large amounts of management resources and costs. Recruiting costs can be very high for an employer. This includes the logistics of the physical interview itself, the travel costs reimbursed to candidates (if offered) and the management resources that need to be devoted to the process.

Online interviews remove the logistics requirements, as it can be done by the recruiter sitting at his desk. Since no travel is involved, no reimbursements are required. And the system allows more interviews to be conducted in a specified period of time, freeing up management resources.

For the candidates, the fact that no travel is required can be a blessing. Additionally, being interviewed sitting in a place of their choosing allows them to be more at ease, and so to perform better at the interview.

No middlemen

Intermediaries who offer to help corporations with data of probable candidates are more often a bother than a source of help. They could often impede the selection process. They would try to squeeze in their preferred candidates and, at times, unfairly influence the recruiters. Online recruitment can do away with all intermediaries, and select objectively suitable candidates. That would be helpful to both the employer and the candidates.

Online recruitment is no longer the way of the future – it is here and now. It provides a win-win situation for both employers and job seekers, and it assures immense benefits for both the parties.