Video Interviewing

Specialist Video Interviewing vs Zoom

One of the most common objections when pitching Specialist Video Interviewing Software is… “yeah okay sounds cool, but surely you can just use Zoom?”. Zoom is brilliant video conferencing software and we know since we’ve all been sent to work from home it’s been great for still keeping client, candidate, and internal meetings going ahead as planned. But that’s what it is, video conferencing, not specialist video interviewing. 

What’s the difference? Both are two-way, you can conduct a first stage interview remotely no problem? Technically yes, but other than you get to see what the candidate looks like to better judge a fit, there’s not much difference to having a meeting on Zoom as there is having it on the telephone. Adding specialist video interviewing software to your hiring process benefits both you and the candidates and increases final interview to hire ratio to over 70%.

People have been using specialist video interviewing software for years, it’s not a new thing, but due to the current circumstances and everyone’s determination to continue business as usual, I suppose you could say it’s having its “moment”. We don’t know how long we’re going to be out of the offices but we do know that with video interviewing we can continue to hire and keep business and usual. 

Going from being in the office to being sat at home with a make-shift kitchen desk seemed to happen in a flash. And we understand when decisions and plans have to be made quickly to keep business continuity they are often not as researched and debated as they normally would be. Take us to today, we’re a few months in, we’re in a routine, we’re seeing people are still hiring, if we do the same we’ll be minimising the possible damage when we get out of this. We can see what’s working, what will keep working, and what needs to be temporary. Now that we’re settled down and we’re more aware this may go on longer than we’ve all hoped, we’ve got the time to fix the quickly made contingency plans. 

So, let us explain the value specialist video interviewing software can bring to you over just using video conferencing software. After all, you wouldn’t use “Houseparty” to conduct an interview, would you?

For starters, specialist video interviewing software allows you to host either a live interview which can be recorded to watch back or a solo one-way interview, where the candidate answers predetermined questions in their own time to submit for review. Both forms of interview differ to telephone or zoom interviews in that you don’t have to just take the consultant’s word for it that they are a match for the role, you can watch for yourself. 

That’s where the shortlisting feature comes in, we just send you one link and all the videos of  candidates we think are a match are there. Just one link and they’re all there in one place, no need for multiple messy emails with attachments here, there and everywhere. We can also attach the candidates CV, documents and any notes in with their video! 

You save heaps of time because if you don’t think they are a good fit for the role within the first 5 minutes of the interview you can either turn it off or skip to the questions you think are more important to make your decision. If the first stage interview was conducted on zoom, and therefore not recorded, you wouldn’t know until the candidate sat in front of you (either live virtually or face-to-face) that they weren’t right but you would have to conduct the whole second stage interview anyway.

When we were all sent to work from home some people will have adapted easily but it’s fair to say that others will have struggled, and there’s no shame in that. If you’ve never had to WFH before and you’re not a Facetime or Skype type person, then it must have been scary to all of sudden have no choice but to learn, all while being a little apprehensive about the situation in general. Our specialist video interviewing software has embedded training videos to metaphorically hold your hand while you’re getting set up (social distancing and all that). So don’t be worried if you’re uncertain about the terms, “live interview”, “solo interview” or “shortlists” because there’s easy to understand instructional videos and demos to watch in your own time. And there’s a UK based support and development team who are there to help you or your candidates should any issues arise. 

In summary, yes you can use Zoom to interview candidates remotely while in these unprecedented times. But, there is value to gain from specialist video interviewing software now and beyond the current situation. So why fix the leak with a bit of tape when you could implement some new shiny pipes now?

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