Here at Chapple, we’ve been aware of the increasing use of video in the recruitment process over the last few years, but even we were astonished to see these statistics courtesy of Firefish:
- 82% of all global internet traffic will be video by 2021
- 82% of candidates now search for jobs on mobile, and 87% of mobile traffic will be video by 2021
- Video content on social media gets 1200% more shares than text and image content
- Recruitment agencies are already reporting 800% more engagement with job ads that have video embedded
- In 2018, people spent on average 2.6 times longer on pages that contained video than on pages without
- Using the word ‘video’ in your email subject lines can increase open rates by nearly 20% and click-through rates by 65%!
We could just leave it there, so powerful are these figures, but the advantages to using video in recruitment is actually even more compelling than this, and worth discussing in a little more detail.
Important Note
The first, most vital point to make is these figures are referring to videos within candidate attraction and not within the interview process. This too is being done and mostly with great success, but as our last two blogs were about diversity in recruitment, it feels essential to point out at this stage that all the great work being done in preventing prejudice in recruitment against the disabled and ethnic minorities could come to nothing if video interviewing became routine.
Reasons to use video
If the statistics above have piqued your interest, you will be encouraged to know that there are even more reasons to include video.
- To stay competitive: doing what everyone else is doing to stand out doesn’t make sense of course, but if candidates are beginning to expect video in the recruitment process, now is the time to get ahead and beat the competition
- Saving money: yes, you have to invest in video making and editing equipment, but if your corporate videos are going to attract new talent to your organisation, other costs will go down.
- Speed: using video within the interview system, would speed things up, but with top talent only staying on the market for an average of 10 days, giving candidates a quick and easy way to find out about your organisation will also help.
- To find passive candidates: The UK unemployment rate is at its lowest level since 1974, and those talented but employed candidates won’t be visiting job boards or career sites, so social media may be the only way to reach them, and with videos generating 1200% more shares than text and images combined, there are more likely to see a job posting with video.
- More applications: According to CareerBuilder, an embedded video in a job advert is likely to be viewed 12% more and have a 34% greater application rate.
- Establishing trust: for a candidate, being able to see the sort of people (and place) you would be working with and for on a video, gives you a chance to judge them as people, their sincerity, their likeability and whether you would fit in. Actually seeing people talk about their organisation with passion, rather than reading about it, can give you a much more valuable insight.
- Attracting younger talent: millennials are soon to outnumber baby boomers in the workplace, and so their habits and preferences in job hunting becomes more important. Millennials also consume more video than other age groups and 4 in 5 use video as a primary source of research.
- Videos help to increase your SEO, and job postings that include video are more likely to show up in a job seeker’s search results. Videos have access to channels that other content doesn’t (e.g. YouTube and Google), so an employment video can take advantage of those channels and expand the potential audience.
Great examples of corporate videos
Maybe not a surprise to anybody that Apple might have one of the best recruitment videos. They have the money and the resources after all, but it isn’t because it is flashy or full of clever special effects. It is because it is simple and passionate. You watch it and you think ‘I want to work there’ which is, of course, the point.
You don’t have to be one of the highest-grossing companies in the world to make a great recruitment video though. Equilibrium, a wealth management firm based in Wilmslow, Cheshire, which has been named one of The Sunday Times top ten best small companies to work for in the UK for three consecutive years, also has a great video and website.
Video in the interview process
As discussed above, using video in the interview stage does open up the risk of unconscious bias when so much has been done to reduce or eliminate discrimination against minorities. But most companies will carry out a final face to face interview anyway and a video interview is arguably no different, just earlier in the process and can significantly reduce time and cost. If it is used, it is important to align it with other diversity friendly recruitment strategies within the organisation.
According to the BBC, video interviews and screening is rising, and used by over half of employers in their recruitment already. But with many candidates it is unpopular, with nearly half (45%) aren’t happy with video interviews and most (91%) feel face to face is best. It can be very intimidating and make candidates self-conscious, but millennials have grown up with using video communication with Apple FaceTime and Skype and are more comfortable with it. Coaching is available to improve your video interviewing techniques, and it is possible to practice with a friend in advance of any real situation.
Video CV’s are also being used and there have been examples of candidates being rejected from their paper CV, only to be called in (and hired) when a video CV was sent instead and some recruitment firms are now sending their initial screening video interview to the client to give them further insight into the candidate.
Conclusion
Video is here to stay, not just in recruiting but in our everyday lives and the software to produce and share these videos is improving with lightning speed. You no longer need a 20 strong film crew and post-production team to produce a video. Anyone can do it, anywhere and often with equally professional results. The statistics make a compelling case to get started and reap the rewards.
Note: As we like to practice what we preach, expect to see more video content from us on social media over the coming months!
At Chapple we specialize in sourcing candidates in external and internal communications, employee engagement, change, HR and business transformation roles.
Contact us on 020 7734 8209 for more information about how we can help you find your next role or indeed find the right people for your business.