6 Strategies to Effectively Use Video In Your Recruitment Efforts

By Jessica Miller-Merrell 

Video is a part of our everyday lives. It’s what we use when we need to find out how to put together furniture, the thing we scroll past in our Facebook newsfeed 200 times a day and how we share special moments with family and friends. AT&T recently reported that 50% of its Internet bandwidth use is video. It’s also become a resource for us in the recruiting and recruitment industry to reach candidates as they become more accustomed to and expectant of video in the hiring process.

The Power of Recruitment Via Video

Video a powerful medium that presents a real opportunity for employment branding, content sharing, recruitment, candidate reach and providing resources. It’s a great way to engage a candidate, tell a story and build a relationship that leads to the most qualified candidate applying for your job posting or joining your talent community

Video doesn’t have to be an over-produced and expensive production. It just has to resonate with the job seeker and support your talent acquisition team’s larger employment branding strategy. Start by incorporating these six easy strategies for effectively using video in your recruiting efforts:

Video job posting

Video job posting is one of the quickest and simplest ways to use videos in hiring. Your job description will provide a general script, but don’t be afraid to veer from that. You can share a little about the team and projects they’re working on, show their work area and even introduce the hiring manager or key team members. This definitely steps outside the job posting box and provides more of a narrative than a traditional job posting ever could.

Embed your video

Utilize your social channels by embedding your videos everywhere you can. From publishing platforms like Medium and LinkedIn, to your company blog, and of course networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. Also, don’t forget to add recruitment videos to your slide decks on Slideshare as well as your career site pages and individual job postings.

Use on demand video

Apps like Periscope and Meerkcat can help you engage new viewers and candidates in real time. Since videos are live, it provides a unique medium for sharing with candidates and much less time preparing, editing and sharing.

Video interviews

As people become more accustomed to video being a part of their lives, they also become more comfortable with video interviews. Of course video interviews are ideal for candidates who don’t live in the area, but consider replacing your initial phone interview or screening with a video one to create a familiarity up front.

Video introductions

Ask candidates to submit a video introduction as part of their application. For example, I’m hiring a new blog editor and asked my candidates to share a short one to five minute video introduction of why they’re a good candidate for the position. It also shows their proficiency in a medium I’ll be working in with my blog, business and company.

Video job fair

Video job fairs are a great way to engage, build relationships and talk with a large number of candidates. They’re efficient, cost effective and extend your reach beyond geographic barriers.

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Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology anthropologist specializing in HR and recruiting. She's the Chief Blogger and Founder of Blogging4Jobs and author of The HR Technology Field Guide. You can follow her on Twitter at @jmillermerell.