Human Resources Blog - Spark Hire

How Video Interviewing has Taken International Recruiting to the Next Level

International recruiting efforts have expanded and become easier over the years.  No longer do we face huge challenges as before when it comes to doing business overseas.  One of the recruiting tools that has simplified the task is video.  When looking at the evolution of international recruiting and the changes over the recent years, it is clear to see that video is the future of international hiring. 

Speed of Process

In the past, if you were recruiting overseas, there were many challenges when it came to the time frame of identifying talent and filling the position.  Many different factors contributed to this slower pace of recruiting.

Search for Talent

Up until recent years, job boards have not been frequently used by job seekers overseas.  This made it difficult for recruiters to source and identify top talent.  Quite often, our best source of candidate pool was partnering with local overseas staffing companies.  However, times have changed and more candidates are using international job boards and even social media sites such as Xing, the European LinkedIn equivalent.  Not having to rely on a separate recruiting service in itself has greatly sped up the process.

Video interviewing

In addition to expanded search options, video is gradually becoming a valuable tool for international recruiting.  Rather than having to fork out thousands of dollars in order to travel overseas and conduct interviews, video allows you to conduct interviews from your home office while still being able to have that face-to-face interaction with a candidate.  It also greatly speeds up the process to eliminate traveling across many different timezones.

In addition, video interviewing allows you to speed up the candidate selection process by eliminating pre-screen phone calls with candidates in the early stages.  Rather than calling internationally at all times of the day or night, due to time zone differences, you can implement the one-way video interview with candidates you believe are a fit based on resume or cv.  With the one-way video interview you simply send the candidate your pre-screen questions and the candidate responds via video.  Once the candidate has submitted their recordings, you can review at your earliest convenience and decide if the candidate will move forward.

Accurate recruiting with video interviews

Not only has video interviewing greatly increased the speed of international recruiting, but it has also given us greater accuracy when it comes to ensuring that we have found the best fit for our client.

Video interviewing allows us to be introduced to a candidate’s skills and personality early on in the interview process.  This creates a situation where we are able to make sure we have found a candidate who not only has the required skills but is also going to be a good cultural fit for our client.

For some time, international recruiting has been missing this piece, unless we have had the opportunity to travel and meet with candidates face to face.  Video interviewing, whether it’s a one-way video interview or a live video interview, helps us to quickly and accurately select the best talent for our clients.

Have you experimented with video interviews within your international recruiting strategy?  Please share your experiences in the comments below.

Images: STori/BigStock.com

Julia Weeks

Julia is a skilled Recruiter with over 8 years of experience in sourcing, interviewing, and hiring within many industries globally. She works closely with hiring managers and job seekers to understand needs and desires, while offering guidance and ensuring the right fit. When not recruiting or writing, Julia enjoys spending time outside cycling, taking her dog for walks, or honing her sailing skills.