For years, job interviews were something that had to be conducted in person, in a designated space of the office. 

But now it’s 2022, and companies everywhere are choosing to host digital interviews instead of in-person interviews.

Read on to learn more about why hiring managers should consider video interviews in 2022 and more information about how the hiring industry is changing. 

What is a Video Interview?

For those who are late to the party, a video interview is where a candidate is interviewed fully remotely, from any location they like, typically via a video link sent by the potential employer. There are several companies that have platforms to facilitate this type of interview. 

Some video interview platforms work well on a mobile phone, while others require a desktop setup and a webcam. Many platforms offer apps that work in both environments to allow the recruiters and interviewers maximum flexibility. 

Video interviews, while they have been possible for a number of years, first became popular in 2020 as the COVID19 pandemic swept the world. Suddenly, employers who needed new employees couldn’t do anything but a video interview because employees weren’t allowed in the office. 

10 Reasons Why Hiring Managers Should Still Consider Video Interviews

Now that the global pandemic has mostly come to an end, you may be wondering why you wouldn’t return to a normal interview structure. 

Many companies have chosen to maintain virtual interviews for several reasons, all of which are covered below. 

1. Ease of Scheduling

First and foremost, video interviews are easier to schedule. Rather than needing to coordinate if the conference room will be available for an interview during that time, you can simply look at your own (and any fellow interviewees) agendas and make the appointment.

It is also easier for an interviewee to schedule with you as they won’t have to negotiate childcare or perhaps the use of a shared car in order to attend the interview. While many of these things are typically solved by the employee’s first day, these are difficult hurdles to overcome when looking for a position. 

2. Convenience

Besides being easy to schedule, video interviews are also easy for you to attend. Rather than needing to shut down your work and step away from your computer when an interviewee arrives, you simply minimize a tab and open another, and you are ready to go.

This makes it especially easy on managers who travel frequently for their work, as you don’t have to worry about being present in the city where the job is while hosting the interview. You can hold the interview while in a hotel conference room, at another branch office, or even while on vacation. 

3. Recording Benefits

Have you ever completed a round of interviews only to forget what a candidate answered to a certain question? This is easily remedied with a video interview because you can record the interview and then play it back at a later date.

When you have a large panel deciding on a position, this is especially handy as you are typically looking for the best candidate, and it can be difficult to remember the differences between the candidates. By recording the interview, any member of the team can look back at the interview at any point in time for their own reference. 

4. Consistency

There are several different types of video interviews, some of which don’t even require you or any form of proctor to be there. Instead, the candidate replies to pre-set questions.

Although this may seem a bit odd, this can help build consistency in your hiring process because every question is worded exactly the same, meaning no candidate can claim that they  had a different experience than any other candidate. 

5. Increased Number of Candidates

When an interview requires someone to come in person to the point of the interview, this eliminates many candidates, some of which would be willing to move to a new city or state for the position but are not willing to fly out just for a single interview.

Shifting to video interviews allows you to have your complete and total pick of interviewees from anywhere in the United States, as well as other countries. More candidates means you have a better chance of finding the perfect fit for your position. 

6. Eliminating Bad Options

In some industries, a physical interview may still be necessary. But having a preliminary video interview selection process can allow a business to eliminate a few candidates before they have to pay for the costly room and board involved in a physical interview.

This saves a company money in the long run, as a video interview can give quick insight to candidates that are definitely not the right fit. 

7. Preparing a Candidate for a Remote Position

In 2022, one of the biggest hiring trends is hiring people to work remotely or on a freelance basis rather than as full-time employees. When hiring candidates for these types of positions, you need to know that they will be responsive to you in a video interview.

Therefore the time to do a video interview is during the hiring process. Sometimes people are more responsive in person than they are to video calls. If you find a candidate doesn’t come across well in a video interview, then you know there may be problems further down the road after they are hired. 

8. You Can Gauge Timeliness

The best way to gauge whether an employee is timely is through a video interview. This is because, unlike in other interview formats, a video interview eliminates all excuses for tardiness.

For example, at an in-person interview, if a person is a bit late, they can say they were caught in traffic or couldn’t find a place to park. With a video interview, there is no excuse to be late as the person just needs to log in to the interview a few minutes before, which really shouldn’t be a challenge.

And if logging in on time is a challenge, then you may want to reconsider them as a candidate for your position. 

9. Everyone is More Comfortable

A job interview is a nerve-wracking experience for a potential employee, and occasionally these nerves can get in the way of a good interview, causing a potential employer to overlook a good candidate. 

By switching to an online video interview, you are allowing the candidate to stay where they are most comfortable, lowering the chances that their nerves will interfere with your ability to judge their character. Then if a candidate is still too nervous, you know this may not be the position for them.

Additionally, you as the interviewer are more comfortable, as you can lead the interview from wherever you choose, so it’s a win-win situation. 

10. Gauge Tech-Savviness

As mentioned above, it really shouldn’t be hard for a potential employee to log into a video interview on time. In the modern-day and age, having a certain level of tech-savviness is critical to most businesses.

If an employee struggles with a video interview, this tells you that perhaps they may not be as tech-savvy as you may think, and you can eliminate them from your hiring process early on. Of course, there are a few industries where this isn’t true, more on this below.

Industries Which Shouldn’t Consider Video Interviews

Clearly, video interviews are one of the best ways for the hiring manager in most industries to get to know a potential employee. But they aren’t the best for all industries. 

The main issue with using a video interview in some industries is that you are looking for someone to work a hands-on job that doesn’t require technological skills. 

For example, hiring a car mechanic for your mechanic shop is not ideal, as people in these professions tend to be less tech-savvy, and knowing how to log into a video interview has nothing to do with being a successful mechanic. In the same way, hiring someone to work as a contractor also doesn’t translate well to a video interview.

That being said, know that you can still use a video interview to get to know a candidate or maybe even check credentials, but plan to have an in-person video before you complete the hiring process. 

Which Industries Should Use Video Interviews

Surprisingly, besides the industry which requires labor like car mechanic work, or driving tests, there are very few industries that shouldn’t use video interviews, as it really can help all parties to save time and money during the hiring process. 

Here are some of the top industries that can benefit from video interviewing:

• Restaurant Industry (waiters, cooks, host staff)
• Travel Industry(flight attendants, pilots, ticket agents, customer service agents, ramp agents)
• Tech Industry (quality assurance and development)
• Finance Industry (any position)
• Marketing Industry (social media marketing, content writers, managers)
• Human Resources
• Sales (most sales are done virtually these days anyway!)

Don’t see your industry on this list and wondering if you can use video interviews to boost your hiring process? Take a look at industries that are similar to yours and see how they are completing the hiring process, as this can help give you inspiration as to how you can be conducting interviews. 

Tips For Hosting Good Video Interviews

If your company has never used video interviews before, know that it is a bit of a learning curve and that video interviews won’t look the same for every company. Here are some tips to get your business started on video interviews. 

1. Pick a Platform

Everyone needs to be on board with the same interview platform in order to have consistency across the entire business. If you are part of a larger company, see if corporate has a video interview tool they know and love and plan to use that one as well. 

2. Do a Practice Run

Your first time using the video platform should not be when you are interviewing a potential candidate. Instead, you and anyone else who will be conducting interviews should have a few dry runs to ensure you know how the technology works. 

3. Develop Questions and Have Them On Hand

Just because you are doing video interviews doesn’t mean you don’t need to prepare. You should still take the time to plan out what you will ask and in what order and have this document nearby during the interview. 

4. Ask If it is Okay to Record

As previously mentioned, you should record all your video interviews as this is one of their main benefits. Ensure you ask if it is okay to record before you go ahead and do so. But ask at the beginning of the interview before you start learning too much about the candidate. 

If the candidate doesn’t want to be recorded for whatever reason, take notes during the video interview. 

5. Use a Non-Distracting Background

There is nothing worse for a potential employee than trying to focus on you when there is a lot of activity going on in the office behind you. If you don’t have your own office to host a video interview, see if the program you are using offers a background that can hide what is going on behind you.

For your own benefit, you may also consider asking your interviewee to also use a background to enable you to focus on the interview as well. This can also help them to feel more comfortable as you won’t be able to see any of the details of their home. 

Ready to Dive into Video Interviews?

By now, you have probably realized that video interviews are truly the direction you need to go for your hiring in the future. Start by looking into the right platform for your business, and before you know it, you will be finding some amazing talent via video interview. 

Worried about how you may come across in a video interview? Check out our tips for effective video conferencing that can help you to find your way in the digital interview world.