Implementing Mobile Video in Your Recruitment Strategy

Mobile video technology is more accessible than ever before – and consequently more essential to an organization’s recruitment strategy. VideoMyJob co-founder and VP of Growth, Kristen Graham, discusses how to successfully implement mobile video in your company’s recruitment process.

Video used to be complicated, time-consuming and expensive. But improvements in technology have made implementing video in an organization’s recruitment strategy exponentially simpler and more accessible. 

Mobile video should now be an integral part of any company’s recruitment blueprint. It’s vital for candidate attraction and allows far greater scope for candidate personalization than traditional text-based forms of communication.  

Here I’ll discuss where to get started, explain why strategy needs to be at the heart of everything you do with video, and explore some options for integrating video in your recruitment processes.

Mobile video technology is essential – and easier than ever

Once upon a time if an organization wanted to use video in their recruitment process – for example, in a job ad – they would need to hire a videographer or at least access a high-quality camera. But advancements in the cameras on our phones and devices mean mobile video technology is at virtually everyone’s fingertips, making it easier than ever to create video content. 

Front-facing cameras on most mobile phones now have a resolution of 1080p, which is sufficient quality for anywhere except a TV, and our devices have made it super-easy to edit video too. 

The other major factor in the uptake of mobile video technology is people’s willingness to be in front of the camera. COVID-19 has made Zoom a squillion-dollar business, but it’s also created the expectation that everyone will get on camera in remote working situations and meetings. Some people will obviously be more comfortable with it than others, but most of us are becoming more confident on screen. 

Meanwhile, through the explosion in popularity of TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram stories, video is more prominent in social channels than ever before. 

It’s no longer bleeding-edge technology, it’s the norm – and recruiters are learning that mobile video can be a game-changer when it comes to sharing employee stories, supporting the recruitment process and personalizing candidate communications. And those companies and organizations who are reluctant to adopt the technology? They risk getting left behind.

The importance of a recruitment video strategy

While mobile video technology has meant that it’s now exponentially easier to create content, it’s still vital that any video activity is underpinned by strategy. If you don’t have a clear strategy that reflects your overarching employer brand recruitment strategy, you won’t know how your video supports your go-to-market strategy for candidate attraction or candidate retention (or employee retention, for that matter). You’re essentially setting yourself up to fail.

You need to plan out your video strategy and have very clear use cases. If the use case is job ads, for example, have a think about the things a candidate might ask in their first interview: What’s the culture like? What’s the team dynamic like? Is there remote work? How do you catch up socially? What skill sets and experience are going to required for me to be successful in the role? 

And the key to a successful video strategy? Thinking about “what’s in it for me?” from the candidate’s perspective.

Video strategy and the recruitment process

To create your use cases, you need to identify where (and how) your video will support the recruitment process. We typically find that candidate attraction, nurture and feedback are all areas where mobile video is particularly effective – and its ability to support candidate personalization throughout the recruitment process should never be underestimated.

Job ads

First and foremost, the key area to consider in your video recruitment strategy is candidate attraction. If you’re trying to attract talent to your career site, the first page 97 percent of candidates will look at is a job ad – so it’s crucial to have compelling content on that ad. 

A prospective employee may not apply for a job just yet, but the video should help to nurture them through to the next stage. So, build brand awareness by talking about specific benefits. Discuss your employee value proposition point by point. Mobile video is particularly effective for creating employee-focused content, so use authentic employee storytelling. 

Above all, the content needs to be engaging. If you’re going to sit there and regurgitate a job description, it’s going to be boring – and that, in turn, will deter candidates. My advice is to personalize the video by having employees working in that role share a day in the life – “this is me, this is what I do day-to-day, this is how the role aligns to the strategy of the company, this is what my team and I do for fun outside of work, these are the benefits of working for our organization”. It’s more authentic content when it comes from real people.

Post-application

Once a candidate has applied, the first nurture video may be to say “thanks for your application, here’s what our process is, and here’s what to expect”. That’s important – every company is different and has a different hiring process. Some candidates may pull out once they hear that, but that’s a good thing – you don’t want to be disappointed down the track.

Unsuccessful candidates

If a candidate isn’t suitable, you want to be able to give them feedback – and video is ideal for that. There’s only a handful of reasons why a candidate is unsuccessful – skills or experience, lack of industry knowledge, or perhaps a cultural fit – so you can create a few video templates that reflect those reasons. The responses can still be largely automated, but using video provides a sense of candidate personalization.

Next steps

If a candidate is suitable, you want to give them some clear information to nurture them through the next steps. It might be a video outlining the benefits of working for your organization, or maybe it’s a senior executive talking about the business’s strategy. 

For candidates who are selected for an interview, you could have a video saying “congratulations on getting to the interview stage – here’s the type of interview we’ll be conducting, so please have a think and come prepared to talk about your experiences”.

How to implement your video recruitment strategy

While creating compelling, personalized videos may sound like it’ll add significantly to your workload, careful planning will allow you to integrate video in a way that’s time-efficient and effective.

To streamline your work, I recommend that recruitment videos are asynchronous – they’re prepared beforehand. So once you’ve developed your video strategy and aligned it with your recruitment strategy, you simply create the videos on your mobile and drip feed them into an automated process.

While I’m a strong advocate for candidate personalization, the level of personalization should depend on the volume of candidates. While you can’t possibly do individual videos for everyone who has submitted their CV, your response to unsuccessful candidates at the interview stage really has to be personalized – and VideoMyJob’s solution means it takes two minutes to create a mobile video specifically for the candidate.

Your new secret weapon

A picture says a thousand words, but a video tells millions. With mobile technology making video easier than ever, it’s important to put yourself in the candidate’s shoes (or screen) and give them a real understanding of your organization. 

By creating a well-considered video strategy, developing fresh content that provides an authentic insight into the employee experience, and considering opportunities to support candidate personalization, you’ll get the best possible result from mobile video.

Want to learn more about how you can revamp your recruitment strategy with video? Get in touch and book a free demo today.