Video interviewing is a fairly new concept being used by employers to recruit employees. Starting with high-tech companies, many different types of industries are relying on video in order to screen candidates for potential job opportunities. Employers will choose video interviewing in certain situations, such as for a candidate that is International, lives a substantial distance away from the corporate office, or as a pre-screening tool before choosing candidates for formal in-person interviews. Some video interviews are done live on Skype or other types of video technology services as a two-way interview, while others are pre-recorded responses by the job candidate.
Where Video Interviewing Being Used
A variety of companies and industries are taking advantage of video technologies in order to screen candidates and conduct interviews. Large corporations are using video interviewing for interviews of candidates that are not local, primarily high-tech companies and communications companies, among others. Executive recruiting firms also use video interviews for candidates in the country and around the world. Some small businesses and organizations are beginning to use video interviewing as well, along with universities and community colleges. Many organizations prefer using Skype or similar technologies for two-way video interviewing, which often replaces the formal interview, while others send along a list of interview questions that the job candidate will record the answers to, and send the video file to the job recruiter.
Benefits of Video Interviewing
Whether it replaces the interviewing process completely or is merely a pre-screening tool, there are a number of advantages to video interviewing. The first and most obvious benefit is the cost savings for video interviews of candidates that are not local to the corporate office. This saves the company by not having to pay the candidate for travel arrangements and other associated trip fees. Video interviewing also benefits companies who wish to compare the candidates they are considering after the initial interview. By having the interviews recorded, recruiters are able to go back to the video and compare them more succinctly. Video interviewing is also more convenient for employees that send along interview questions and have the candidate record their answers, as the recruiter does not need to spend extra time conducting the interviews.
Risks of Video Interviewing
While there are many benefits to video interviewing, there are also a number of risks. With video interviewing, there is a potential for discrimination to take precedence in the hiring decision, even though it is against hiring laws. Discriminating an individual for race, gender, national origin, age, or disabilities — and choosing not to hire them for any of these factors, is prohibited by employers; however with video interviewing, recruiters may be discriminating against the physical appearance of their candidates unconsciously. Other risks have to do with the technology of video interviewing itself. Technology is not fool-proof and it is possible that a video might be interrupted when done live, the feed can be lost, the video file may become corrupted, and the candidates may therefore lose out on a chance for a job they were qualified for due to technological difficulties.
Video interviewing may be the future of the employee recruitment process, as new technology paves the way towards a more cost effective and convenient way not only to conduct interviews but to employ more workers remotely. It allows International job candidates a chance to apply for more diverse job opportunities, and employers the convenience of pre-screening job candidates.
