How to Use Video Effectively in Your Recruitment Process

The first step to bringing your job postings from boring to beautiful is by leveraging a well-done v...



Posted by Berkshire on July 13 2015
Berkshire
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The first step to bringing your job postings from boring to beautiful is by leveraging a well-done video.

Most people know what makes a boring website, even if they don’t realize it. Which sounds more appealing: A solid background with a box of text and a few bullet points, or an interactive page with images, graphics, videos, along with digestible chunks of writing? It’s no contest—the latter is far more effective. Unfortunately, many organizations don’t take the time to make that connection with their job postings. Even when featuring a listing on another page or social media, it should still link back to an engaging, energetic web page.

The first step to bringing your job postings from boring to beautiful is by leveraging a well-done recruitment video. If you’re hesitant because you aren’t Steven Spielberg, don’t be—a video doesn’t have to be a work of art, it just has to be honest and optimized. Here are three things to remember when you plan for video use in your recruitment process:

“If you’re hesitant to make a video because you aren’t Steven Spielberg, don’t be.”

1. The video must operate contextually as well as independently
Your video shouldn’t be a reading of what’s written on the page, nor should it be an irrelevant divergence from the task at hand. The video should make sense contextually but still be able to stand on its own if necessary. That means placing it in a prominent location but also surrounded by related text. Introduce the video—but expect the viewer to examine the website as a whole.

With that said, videos draw the eye better than text. Many people will automatically click on the video before reading a single word. For this reason, the video should be punchy, engaging, direct, and informational. If that sounds like a lot, think about it like an elevator pitch—condense your organization neatly and concisely into a few minutes of pitch. Sell your company to the candidates. Then, determine how to make your video better by using applicant tracking software to find out how candidates are responding to it.

recruitment video
Let an online video be a part of your recruiting campaigns.

2. Consider whom and what you would like to feature
There are many ways to tell the same story, but not all are equally effective. Think about reading Shakespeare in high school and then watching the play—same texts, far different experiences. Similarly, you can have the CEO pose in front of a camera and talk about his or her objectives, but what if your CEO is camera shy? Consider other options: take an office tour, interview a few employees, or make the whole thing an animation.

The most important thing is to tell the story and make it a compelling one, according to Recruiting.com. That shouldn’t be difficult—every organization has an engaging story behind it, or else it wouldn’t exist. Let your organization’s origins shine and generate excitement by considering the future and how the viewer can be a part of it.

3. Let the video be an extension of your organization’s identity
To piggyback on the second point, the video should be an affirmation of the company’s employer brand. Thanks to YouTube embed codes, it’s easy to feature a video on any website, blog post, social media, and elsewhere. You never know where your video might end up through sharing—so it should showcase your biggest positives. Plus, organizations that invest in their own brands show prospective candidates they are interested in the future, are aware of the power of marketing, and have staying power.

These are the core principles that guide ideal video use in recruiting. For more great tips on how to make job postings more appealing to candidates, check out, “Five Ways to Optimize Your Job Posting to Get Noticed.”

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