Hiring the Best People with Video

By Olivia Case

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I run a London based video production company and we recently recruited for a new Sales Person. During the application process, we had the candidate who opened with, ‘Whilst sales is not a passion for me…’ the woman who wrote, ‘I done a full year of training period at CHANEL Fragrance where I was in charge to sell. I can speak fluenty english,’ And the man who emailed, ‘I live in India, is that a hindrance?’

Recruitment is tricky. It takes time and money and we’re always looking for ways to make it easier, more effective and more efficient.

Video may be providing the answer.  How?


More candidates see your ad

Job postings with a video icon are viewed 12% more than those without and videos are much more likely to be shared than text or photos, so you’re not just reaching primary but secondary audiences. (HireRabbit)

Google has over 185 million job related searches every month and video appears in over 70% of the top 100 listings. (HireRabbit)

After Google, YouTube is the world’s largest search engine so a presence there reaches a huge audience.


More candidates apply for your ad

Job postings with video receive a 34% higher application rate than those without video. (HireRabbit)


Video gives a continued presence

Leave your ad up on YouTube - a continued promotional presence there means that great candidates can find out about you at any time, not just for the limited period you might be recruiting. So they’ll have you in mind when they become available.


Video is influential

All the studies show that we’re far more influenced by video than text or photos alone.  90% of website viewers would rather watch a video than read a page of text, (Growth Trend Video Marketing) and visitors who view product videos are 85% more likely to buy than visitors who do not. (Internet Retailer, April 2010)

So a well made video has far greater potential to get you good candidates than a traditional job listing. And they’ll be coming to you, rather than the other way around.

Here’s a simple example of a recruitment video from Shopify. Straightforward and effective, showing decent people in a happy, productive environment.

Microsoft took a more arty approach to their recruitment video with the first few seconds focus on inspiring rather than informing the candidates. BAE did the same. Both approaches can be really effective but if your brand isn’t as recongisable as Microsoft, you might want to include a bit more ‘about us’ info.


Tips for making a good recruitment video

  • Keep it short. People rarely watch ads for longer than a minute.
  • Get testimonials from real staff. It’s incredibly persuasive to see a real person saying good things about your company. But try to get people who’ve been with you a while and are unlikely to leave anytime soon.
  • Film the environment the candidates will be working in. You’ll weed out the people who can’t stand a cubicle or will go crazy after a month in open plan, lowering your staff turnover.
  • Show a variety of genders, colours and creeds, not to be PC but because you never know what the best candidates will look like and if they see someone they can identify with, they’ll be more likely to apply.
  • Interview a senior figure taking about staff benefits.
  • If you’re recruiting fairly regularly across the company, feature all of the teams. You can reuse the video whenever you’re hiring and maximise your ROI.


A great recruitment video has got something else over a job positing – it can be seen by potential clients so there’s the additional ROI of increased revenue.

Here’s a great HireRabbit infographic to sum all this up:

 

Why Use YouTube for Recruitment?
Source: Why Use YouTube for Recruitment?


Image credit: Jonathan Kos-Read
 

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