Showing is better than telling. Video is a powerful medium to showcase your jobs and company culture. It is the new medium to meaningfully discover, understand, and connect. Video is also predicted to account for 75 percent of mobile Internet traffic in the next five years.
But with so many options to use video in recruiting, where do we start? And how do all of these options come together to make a human-centered candidate experience?
A few ideas:
Job Video
Job descriptions are lame. They’re copied and pasted from Word documents that are 5+ years old. They don’t provide a tangible idea of the job and definitely don’t inspire. A short video can change everything by helping candidates see and experience your job before they apply. Use a 1-2 minute video to share an authentic preview of the job, feature employees, and show the work environment.
Pro tip: Candidates will know if you’re faking it so don’t use scripts. Have a relaxed conversation with 1-2 employees in the role, and capture it on video. Show footage of the work environment.
Why it works: Hearing from people in the job and seeing the work in action helps candidates make a better decision on whether the job is a good fit. Authentic previews create trust.
See example: American Airlines Fleet Services
Here’s a quick-n-dirty cheat sheet of ideas:
QUESTIONS TO ASK
- Tell me who you are and where we are today! What do we do here? Walk me through a typical day. (Be detailed!)
- What surprised you about this role when you first started?
- What’s challenging about your job?
- What is the best part about working here?
- What’s your favorite memory from working here?
- What advice would you have for a new person who just joined your team?
CLIPS TO CAPTURE
- Interviewee interacting with their team, and/or each other.
- Wide, medium, and close up shots of the work happening.
- Exterior of the building with company logo or signage.
- Products, customers, or the output of that job.
- Common areas where people are congregating.
Facebook Live Q&A
Don’t assume that candidates are only visiting your website. Work with marketing to host hiring events on corporate pages. Offer anyone who is curious about your jobs an opportunity to ask questions and interact with people in the role. Facebook Live is an easy, free tool to do this.
Pro tip: Recruit a panel of 1-3 people in the role to answer questions. To start the conversation, ask what surprised the panelists most about the company and their role. Feature a mix of recent hires and tenured employees to provide multiple perspectives. Treat them as experts of their role, and celebrate their experiences with the company.
Why it works: Less produced than a job video, a live session allows for conversation, questions, and real interaction between employees and prospective candidates. The content can also be saved, repurposed into smaller clips, and shared beyond the original session.
See example: FBI Ask an Agent
Culture Video
While a job video offers pragmatic perspective into a specific role, company culture videos show what it feels like to work at your company. Share the reason your company exists, what you value, and how that plays out for employees.
Pro tip: Feature employees from across divisions and levels. Use specific stories to share company values instead of just listing them. Keep it under two to three minutes; viewers stop watching after that. Share this on your career page, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor.
Why it works: Sharing stories is the most direct way to make a connection with someone, whether that’s a customer or a candidate. Help people see themselves in your stories and connect on a deeper emotional level.
See examples: Hellmann’s | Wegman’s
Recruiter Communications
The interview process shouldn’t be a black hole. Create videos explaining next steps and share them with candidates moving through the hiring process. These 1-2 minute videos can be used to set expectations and share the hiring timeline in a warm, friendly way. This personalization goes a long way and takes less time than it takes to send an email with a bunch of attachments. This also works well for getting attention in a recruiting environment. Everyone sends e-mails. Not everyone sends a GIF or video.
Pro tip: Use Loom for an easy way to film on your webcam, embed the video right into an email, and track when someone views it. Your response rate, and candidate experience will drastically improve with this easy measure.
Why it works: Seeing the face of your recruiter, and knowing they took the time to send you a personalized message make candidates feel valued and connected.
Welcome Message for New Hires
What’s more exciting and anxiety-inducing than the hiring process? Your first day on the job. Set the tone to your new employee’s first day by sharing a 30-60 second welcome video. This can be sent from a colleague or manager. Less time than that? Use an animated GIF to share your team’s excitement!
Pro tip: Loom is useful here too! Include practical info, like parking, building access, and lunch culture. Let them know what to expect on the first day, and how excited you are to have them join the team.
Why it works: New hires start the day feeling confident, welcomed and recognize a few faces.
See example: Lever Welcome GIFs