Everyone and their mother has had to sit through the dreadful job interview process at some point in their lives. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been a job seeker or a hiring manager; you’ve surely felt that the entire recruitment process was tedious and dragged on for too long. And to be quite frank, you’d be right.
According to Zety, over half of job candidates have to sit through at least three rounds of interviews before getting a job offer or a rejection. Similarly, the time it takes to get an offer takes over five weeks in more than 57% of cases. These facts stand in stark contrast to the data from the post-World War II era when people had to wait no longer than a week to get an offer.
But is there a way to improve the efficiency of the hiring process for both the interviewer and the interviewees? After all, we’re living in the digital era; technology is advancing at such a rapid pace that it’s hard to keep track of it. Surely there must be something that could help, right?
Yes, there is. Meet asynchronous video interviews!
Contents:
What Is Asynchronous Video?
Asynchronous video, as opposed to synchronous video, is a pre-recorded video that the receiving party may review at a different point when it’s most convenient for them. While synchronous communication takes place in real time (entailing an instant exchange of information), asynchronous leaves plenty of flexibility. Here are a few examples of different types of synchronous and asynchronous communication to better illustrate this:
Synchronous:
- Eye-to-eye interactions
- Phone calls
- Live video calls
Asynchronous:
- Voicemail messages
- Video messages
- Recorded video
But how can asynchronous video interviews help streamline the candidate selection process? Let’s find out!
How Asynchronous Video Interviews Can Help Your Recruitment Endeavors
The way potential employers can use asynchronous video to streamline the recruitment process is straightforward. Instead of conducting in-person or live video interviews from the get-go, recruiters could send their candidates a set of interview questions and ask them to partake in a recorded video interview.
But what does that mean? It means that the interviewees will film themselves answering the sent questions, and the hiring managers will be able to review them whenever they find the time. This interviewing process offers much more flexibility for both parties, and it allows recruiters to interview more candidates than their daily schedule would otherwise allow.
According to Career Sidekick, an average job posting gets over 250 resumes, but merely 2%–3% of candidates get called for an interview. But, by utilizing asynchronous video interviews, employers could increase that percentage substantially.
We realize you can’t evaluate a candidate’s experience adequately over a recording, but that is why there are multiple interview rounds in the selection process, so you’d still schedule a live interview later down the line.
Upsides of Asynchronous Video Interviewing
Now, let’s underline the benefits asynchronous video brings to the table:
Recruiters
- Time Efficiency — Going through multiple video recordings will take less time than interviewing a single candidate in person.
- Room for Collaboration — Instead of doing the brunt of the work yourself, you can share the workload with your colleagues. That way, you can even get a second opinion on particular candidates.
- Convenience — The recruiter will have an easier time screening the candidates due to the convenience of the interview material.
Candidates
- Standardization & Fairness — Since this form of interviewing includes sending applicants predetermined questions, all candidates will have the same treatment and will be on equal footing.
- Extra Prep Time & Room for Error — Because candidates must record their answers, they will have more time to prepare. And even if they make a mistake or are unhappy with their performance, most of the time, they’ll be able to re-record their answers.
- Less Pressure — There won’t be any person-to-person interaction, so interviewees will be under less pressure. That will prove particularly helpful for socially awkward people.
As you can see, there are plenty of upsides to utilizing pre-recorded video interviews in your beginning stages of candidate evaluation. However, there is more to it.
Downsides of Asynchronous Video Interviewing
Unfortunately, there are some downsides to asynchronous video interviewing we must also take into account. So let’s take a look at the other side of the coin of the matter at hand:
Recruiters
- No Insight Into Candidate’s Soft Skills — A rehearsed and recorded interview doesn’t provide any information on the interviewee’s personality and soft skills to the employer.
- Potential for Technical Difficulties — As with any activity involving technology, there is plenty of room for unforeseen problems, such as with the servers, the audio quality, camera, etc.
Candidates
- No Personal Connection — Depending on the candidate’s personality, they might feel relieved or disappointed for not being able to talk to a live interviewer, so this potential issue is worth mentioning.
- Unable to Ask Follow-Up Questions — Due to the lack of a live interviewer, interviewees won’t be able to ask any follow-up questions regarding any dilemmas they might have regarding the position.
- Talking to a Camera May Be Awkward — Some people might be uncomfortable talking to a camera, which might negatively impact their performance.
Hopefully, the points we’ve listed have painted a clear picture of both sides of this novelty interview method. Although there are some irrefutable cons to asynchronous video interviews, we believe the pros outweigh them. However, it is up to you to decide whether this interviewing method is suitable for your business; there’s not much more to it. The technology is there, so all you have to do is make us of it!
Finally, before we sign off, let us offer some advice to all the interviewees out there!
How to Prepare and Get Through Your Interview
Just like with any other job interview, there are ways to prepare to make sure you’re at your peak performance. You should do the following several things before and during an asynchronous video interview to give yourself the best odds:
- Do Thorough Research — Learning about the company you’re looking to land a job at will provide you with a great perspective. Also, it will leave plenty of room to impress the hiring manager with your knowledge.
- Practice Makes Perfect — Perhaps the most prominent advantage of asynchronous video interviews is that you have a lot of time to practice. So use the time you have wisely and rehearse your answers, work on your articulation, and practice avoiding fillers.
- Dress to Impress — Just because you are sitting at home and recording yourself doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dress for the occasion. Wearing formal attire will leave a positive impression on the recruiter, and it will help you get into the interview mindset beforehand.
- Eliminate All Potential Interruptions — You don’t want to have your cat suddenly jumping in your lap or your children rushing into the room, screaming while you’re recording yourself. So make sure you’re alone when you start or at least lock the room.
- Smile and Maintain Eye Contact — Even though you’ll be staring at the camera for the entirety of your interview, you should act as if you were face-to-face with the interviewer. That means maintaining eye contact and smiling — these are surefire ways to leave an excellent first impression.
- Thank the Interviewer — We know this is natural, but since interviews can be stressful, you might get overwhelmed and forget. So remember to express gratitude for the opportunity you were given — that is sure to resonate well with the hiring manager.
Closing Words
With the ever-so-fast technological progress in the world nowadays, we’re bound to take more and more aspects of our everyday lives and jobs to the online realm. Are you, as an employer, ready to take the next step and try asynchronous video interviews? And what about you, job seekers? Are you prepared to face the camera and ace that interview?
We hope you enjoyed our article and found it helpful! If you’re interested in reading more about similar topics, why not check our article on how to improve your company’s internal communications with videos? Or if you’re more into tech stuff, we’re sure you’ll like our post about the future of video technology.
Until next time!
