From Students To Storefronts: The Video Interviewing Revolution

While video interviewing adoption among enterprise organisations grows every year, many people still have a lot of questions when first faced with the technology – especially on-demand video interviewing. How would this fit in my hiring process? How do candidates react to it? How much time does it take to set up – will it make things easier on my hiring process, or harder?
We have answers to all those questions, and we’re more than happy to share. But the best way to illustrate those points is through real life examples. Today, I’m going to share two stories – each of them focused on on-demand video interviewing, but with completely different approaches.

Preparing students for today’s hiring process

Every university wants to serve its students and make sure they are best prepared to enter into their chosen field. But as today’s workplaces change, so do the needs of the students. To address this, Deakin University set up a new division specifically focused on preparing students for jobs and careers of today and the future. Through this, students can meet with dedicated career coaches, use an internal networking site, and sign up for a range of career workshops. Recently, Deakin partnered with Montage to bring in on-demand video interviewing.
Why bring in video interviewing technology? The use of the technology among employers in Australia is growing. Giving students the opportunity to become familiar with the technology will not only serve to better prepare them for life after graduation, but improve Deakin’s standing among Australia’s employers as well.
Deakin launched the Montage partnership at its bi-annual Experience and Employment Expo in March 2017 with a contest. To enter, students completed an on-demand video interview that included a mix of competency and behavioral-based questions. Students had 90 seconds to answer each question, ensuring they were able to think on their feet and work to come up with succinct answers.
Deakin is integrating Montage in many areas throughout the University, including:

• Using on-demand video interviewing in its programs’ recruiting process;
• Introducing it as a way to complete unit assessments;
• Asking students to complete an on-demand video interview as part of their profile, which can be presented to prospective employers;
• Evaluating students’ on-demand video interviews before shortlisting them for employers.

Partnering with Montage helps set Deakin apart with employers as well. Adding an on-demand video interview to a student’s profile gives prospective employers a new way to evaluate candidates. Employers can have confidence that Deakin students are strong candidates, prepared and ready for their chosen discipline.
Overall, Deakin wants its students to think about their career journey from their very first year. As they prepare to graduate, they want them to be knowledgeable, to understand how to present themselves, how to prepare and how to excel. In the long run, it will also help Deakin to better assess the performance of its students, helping to improve the probability of students getting a job in their chosen discipline. The partnership that Deakin has with Montage is a unique one, one that the university expects to pay dividends on multiple fronts.

Reaching Your Target Candidates

When Hudson’s Bay was looking to open its first retails stores in the Netherlands, it was targeting a specific audience for its recruitment efforts. Specifically, the team was looking to bring in younger candidates who were active on social media. All told, the team needed to hire 1,500-1,600 retail employees, and in a cost-effective manner.
Knowing that video would be an ideal way to engage with this audience, the team originally discussed asking candidates to complete a video pitch as part of their application. But they knew this could be a logistical challenge. Instead, they turned to Montage on-demand video interviewing.
The entire hiring process truly revolves around the on-demand video interview. Candidates completed interviews are reviewed by the hiring team, who forward great candidates on to store managers. They select their top candidates, who then complete a quick phone screen to check schedule availability and other items. Candidates who pass the phone screen are hired, without needing a final interview.
Without on-demand video interviewing, the team would have relied on phone screens for those initial interviews. It would have reduced the amount of candidates the hiring team engaged, as well as adding time to the hiring process. In addition, because the team was looking for a specific type of individual and personality, seeing them was crucial. On-demand video interviewing fulfilled that need. And, to make the process more engaging, current Hudson’s Bay employees recorded the interview questions on video, giving candidates a chance to see the type of person who succeeds in the role.
To date, the team has been able to review approximately 4,000 candidates! While the technology and strategy is new for the Netherlands, the target market is responding positively.
Images: Shutterstock

This article is sponsored by Montage.

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