">

3 Recruiting Tips to Ace Video Interviews

Steve Lowisz
In the blink of an eye, video interviewing became standard for recruiting. 

But that doesn’t mean everyone has best practices down pat! 

You really have two goals as a recruiter during a video interview. First, you have to learn about the candidate, their experience, skills, and motivations.

Second, you have to provide a positive candidate experience. A candidate you talk to today might not be the right person for your job...but if they have the right skills, they could be the perfect candidate for tomorrow’s opening. 

Additionally, the last thing you need is a candidate badmouthing your interview process online – discouraging other candidates from engaging with your company! 

Without further ado, here are a few tips you can use to make your next video interview a success. 

Provide Clear, Detailed Instructions 

Whether you’re in the office or at home, a little prep goes a long way for your environment. Create a background with few visual distractions. You don’t have to totally redecorate; hanging up a neutral-colored sheet is better than clutter, paintings or posters in the background. If you wouldn’t put it in a corporate office, put it out of the camera frame.

Lighting is another issue. Try to face a window so that your face can be seen clearly. Putting a window to your back will mean you show up very dark on the screen.

Last but not least, minimize background noise as much as you can. Give coworkers, roommates, or family members a heads up to prevent interruptions. Muting notifications is also a good tip. If all else fails, experiment with different mics or headsets, since some are better than others at minimizing background noise. 

Budget Plenty of Time 

Whether it’s connection issues or learning a new video platform, there’s plenty of reasons for delay with a video interview.

To save yourself from being late to another meeting, or feeling rushed in the interview process, it’s best to budget more time than you usually would.  

Use Structured Interview Questions 

A structured interview is key for a fair, successful selection process, regardless of whether it’s in-person or virtual.

That means using the same set of questions for every candidate with well-established guidelines for evaluating answers. Document your initial post-interview feedback to further reduce bias.

Just because video interviews may feel more informal doesn’t mean you can loosen up the process, as this may lead to bias or poor candidate selection. 

Video Interviews Are Here to Stay 

While the pandemic does seem to be winding down, there’s no doubt that video interviews are here to stay.

Whether you’ve conducted tons of video interviews or are new to recruiting, it always pays to consider how you can improve your process! 

If you’re interested in taking things a step further, check out Wedge HR’s new platform for one-way video interviewing. It allows you to skip phone screens entirely for faster screening and higher quality candidates.

Read more about Wedge HR in this article or check out their website here.