Using video technology to conduct job interviews and candidate screening is growing in popularity, for several reasons. Some who advocate its use even suggest that younger job prospects might consider your company stuck in the past if you don't make use of this technology. Should you jump on the bandwagon? Here are some points to consider.

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Video Job
Interviews
Gaining
Popularity

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A poll of some 700 employers earlier this year by Korn Ferry — a recruitment
firm — found that 71% use "real-time video tactics" such as Skype for
interviewing candidates. That doesn't necessarily mean these companies use
video methods exclusively; many use them for the first round of elimination.

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An important benefit of video is that it allows you to interview job candidates
who live a considerable distance away without having to pick up the tab to
pay for their travel expenses.
A pharmaceutical company recently reported it had conducted 2,700 video
interviews during the past year, and saved $475,000 it would have spent to
reimburse travel costs for the 220 trips job candidate finalists would have
taken.
Not all employers can afford to pay for job candidate travel, of course. So,
looking at it from another perspective, video interviews can encourage more
candidates to apply for positions which would have required expensive, time-
consuming travel.

4. Asynchronous Systems
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Meanwhile, a newer use of video technology — the asynchronous job
interview system — is gaining a foothold as technology vendors develop and
promote the service. One-fourth of the respondents to the Korn Ferry survey
reported using "candidate video applications as part of [their] recruiting
process." This approach is more geared to filling a broad spectrum of job
categories.

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Asynchronous systems essentially are
video job application forms: You come up
with your list of questions, and job
candidates are video-recorded using their
own computers giving answers to your
questions. You or your managers can be
videotaped posing the questions to give
the job candidate more of a feel for you
and your organization. This system is
called "asynchronous" because questions
aren't asked and answered at the same
time.
You can use this tool (as well as live video
interviews) merely to shrink the applicant
pool to a list of finalists who you then
would bring in for a face-to-face
interview, instead of to make an actual
hiring decision.

6. Potential Advantages
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Some other potential advantages of asynchronous systems include:
Gaining additional input from staff. You can give access to video-recorded job
applications to multiple members of your staff, so that they can review them
at their convenience. This makes it easier to get additional perspectives on
various candidates than if there were only one opportunity to be present
during an interview.
Covering all of the questions you intended to. It's easy in face-to-face
interviews to get off track and neglect to ask all the questions you planned to
ask before time runs out. That isn't an issue when you record all the questions
you want to ask and applicants need to respond to them all.
Reviewing applicants' responses. It's impossible to absorb every nuance of a
job candidate's responses to your questions in a live interview. Being able to
hit the replay button as often as you want takes care of that problem.

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Keeping the interview to a set time limit. You can limit the time allotted for
each response to keep the total interview to a desired length. If you want an
elaboration on any answer, you can always ask for it in a second-round
interview.
Asynchronous video interviews have become common enough that pundits
are now advising job applicants on how to handle them successfully. Some of
that advice cuts both ways when your own questions are videotaped.

8. Dress for Success Is not Just Advice for Job Candidates
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Even if your company dress code is casual, interviewers still want to convey an
aura of professionalism in their appearance. That applies not only to dress,
but also to what job candidates will see in the background. If they see a
chaotic desk or messy break room, some qualified job candidates may decide
to look elsewhere.
Similarly, don't skimp on the video technology and set-up. Poor visual and
sound quality are a strike against you. Also, be sure you are framed properly
in the screen.

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Here are some additional pointers:
• Video interview systems let you decide how much time a candidate has to
think about his or her response to a question, and the time limit to
respond. In a live interview, an interval longer than 30 seconds would be
excessive and awkward; that's a good limit to set for computer-based
question preparation. Two minutes should be sufficient for the response,
depending on the nature of the question.
• To put the candidate at ease — as you probably would want to do in a live
interview, begin your list of questions with less challenging ones, then
work up to those requiring more reflection.
• Asynchronous interview systems can be used, if you chose, as a second
hurdle for job applicants who clear your first round of elimination, based
on resumes. You invite desired candidates to complete the video-based
application. Set a reasonable deadline, such as a week, for chosen
applicants to finish the process as a way to determine how high a priority
they assign to getting a job offer.

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• Whether to give a candidate a "do-over" is up to you. You can limit an
individual to just one pass through the system, or allow a mulligan. A
candidate who knows he or she has a second chance often will be much
more relaxed, and provide better responses.
Hiring smart takes more than fancy technology. And remember, using a video-
based interview system shouldn't prevent you from bringing in your finalists
for face-to-face sessions. But unless you oppose time-saving technology
solutions across the board, video-based job interviews are worth a careful
look.

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