As a recruiter, you’re in the matchmaking business, matching workers with jobs and employers with employees. Your job is pairing people who can work well together. You’re a professional matchmaker, and in many ways, your role parallels the role online dating sites play in today’s digitally-connected society.

Recruiters as Professional Matchmakers 

Hiring a person for a job is like finding the perfect mate. Both processes involve searching for someone who wants the same things we do, assessing each other’s suitability, and deciding whether or not to initiate contact to learn more. That’s true for job seekers as much as it is for hiring companies. It has to be the right fit for both parties.

Thankfully, technology has made life easier for everyone. Online dating sites and apps allow amorous singles around the world to find and introduce themselves to a larger pool of potential partners than ever before. Professional networking sites such as LinkedIn have enabled people to connect and network with others in their industry much more easily. 

But finding a romantic partner or a well-qualified job candidate still requires courtship and relationship building. We can scan profiles and flip through resumes, but the reality is not all candidates are created equal.

Plenty of Fish in the Sea 

Both online dating sites and the job market are oversaturated. Just as there is a sea of people looking for love, there’s no shortage of people looking for work.

So, what makes someone’s profile stand out?

What motivates you to take the next step and reach out to them?

And—most importantly—how can you trust the information you read on a person’s profile?

The Trouble with Text

If you’ve ever dove into the world of online dating, you’ve likely encountered singles’ profiles that contain only text. No matter how well-written the profiles is, people with profiles like these rarely attract many mates. 

Why? We want to learn as much as we can before we meet them in real-life. You’ve likely heard—or maybe even experienced—horror stories of disastrous dates where someone is nothing like what you expected. People want to see photos of potential suitors—even better if we can interact through chat and video. If a photo is worth 1,000 words, a video is worth 10,000 words.

Unfortunately, be it a date or a job application, people can hide behind a screen. Here are some of the people you’ll meet on dating sites and through the recruitment process:

People with Lackluster Personalities

Text-based profiles, resumes and CVs lack personality. They don’t tell the whole story. In fairness, this usually isn’t an individual’s fault; it’s the nature of the dated world of one dimensional job applications. Very rarely does a text-based online profile or paper resume provide enough insight into one’s personality. Important “soft skills” such as a positive attitude, strong interpersonal skills, and leadership ability are difficult to convey through these mediums.

Panderers   

Most people want to make a good impression with potential dates and employers alike. We try to project a desirable image, marketing ourselves in a particular way in hopes to wooing the other person. While this is normal human behavior, some take this too far through pandering. In an effort to please people, panderers will say what they think the other wants them to say, kissing up and displaying fake charm and disingenuous behavior that often isn’t detected until much later on.

Fibbers, Liars & Trolls

Unfortunately, some people lie. On dating profiles, people lie about their age, weight, height or even marital status. On resumes, people embellish their education, work history, or skill sets. Online profiles have made it easy for people to pretend to be someone they’re not by misrepresenting or falsifying important information. This leads to a feeling of disillusionment and disappointment when we eventually discover someone isn’t as good as we believed them to be. It can also lead to trolling, indignant, angry messages sent from the person who was rejected for a job position or date.

Commitment Phobes

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the average cost-per-hire is $4,129, and the average time it takes to fill a given position is 42 days. With that much money and time on the line, you don’t want someone to accept a job only to have them quit shortly after they’re hired. You want committed employees, not someone looking for a quick buck before moving onto the next opportunity that comes along. The same parallel can be drawn between those looking for hookups and one-night stands vs. those looking for their soulmate on online dating sites and apps.

Time Wasters 

Time is priceless. You can’t get it back. Just like you don’t want to waste a bunch of time going on dates with people you’re not compatible with, you don’t want to spend hours interviewing people who aren’t right for the position.

The Benefits of Video Interviewing in Matchmaking

Video interviewing is your chance to authenticate job prospects in ways words on a resume or online profile simply cannot. It allows you to get a much better sense of someone’s personality and can be a great indicator of IRL (in real life) compatibility. Live, one-on-one digital meetings also allow you to sense when someone is lying or uncomfortable with certain interview questions, which can be a major red flag. 

Whether we’re a recruiter, employer, job hunter or single person looking for love, we want—no, need—to know the real person behind the profile. To do this, nothing can replace a face-to-face meeting, but thanks to technology, it doesn’t necessarily need to be in-person. Video interviewing is one of the best ways to pre-qualify candidates, allowing you to know whether or not it’s worth your time to get together in-person. Moreover, video interviewing helps you easily coordinate and attend digital meetings, saving time and money on travel costs. Who knows where you’ll find the perfect match? It may not even be in your time zone!

An extra bonus: while most interviews evoke stress, video interviewing allows candidates to find some level of comfort by being interviewed in their own space, which often means they let down their guard and show their best selves.

You Get What You Pay For

You’ve heard the old adage “you get what you pay for”—and it’s true. Some online dating sites and apps are free to use but develop a negative reputation for attracting undesirable partners. For this reason, many people opt for paid matrimonial sites rather than free casual hookup sites.

Similarly, you could jump on a free Skype or Zoom call with a potential employee, but you’d be missing out on the many benefits a professional video interviewing platform has to offer. For example, free online video providers don’t provide skills testing or reference check services, two hugely valuable features to help identify the best candidate for a job position. Free services also don’t offer a built-in rating system, which not only helps add much-needed structure to the hiring process but also helps reduce bias and increases the predictive validity of hires by a significant margin. Additionally, dedicated video interviewing providers offer the flexibility to customize each interview to the exact requirements of any particular position and to host these meetings on a platform that puts the company’s brand on display. 

Make video interviewing a core part of your hiring process to make sure you’re finding the right match.

Consider investing in a professional video interviewing tool like VidCruiter, an end-to-end digital hiring platform to help you find employees you’ll love.