We live in a world of pictures, movies, and sound. The printed word is being replaced and expanded by cheap, easy access to video websites like YouTube as well as sites such as Hulu.com and Veoh.com.
According to Gartner, Inc., the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company, more than 25 percent of the content that workers view each day will be dominated by pictures, video or audio by 2013.
As of this past February, emarketer.com ranked YouTube as the fifth-most popular website in the United States, eclipsed only by the likes of Google (who owns YouTube), Yahoo, and Microsoft.
Video, combined with the Internet, is a game-changer for recruiting. Used together they create a better candidate experience and raise the likelihood of a better hire. They also enrich recruiters by giving them a much deeper perspective on a candidate, in less time, than has ever been possible.
Video is particularly attractive to Gen Y — those young people between 20 and 29 who total about 70 million people. They are avid users of video and expect to be marketed to, taught, entertained, and recruited by video. Go to an Apple store and watch what young folks are doing: watching videos or movies or looking at pictures using the Internet. I rarely see any of them reading an article or an online newspaper.
They have been raised on television and those in the 25 to 34 age group watch more than 140 hours of it each quarter. The percentage of people watching videos and movies on the Internet has nearly doubled since 2006 and is now over 60% of all Internet users.
Some organizations are already leveraging the Internet and video to give them a competitive edge in reaching the millions of people who regularly use such sites as YouTube and Hulu.
Here is how they are doing it:
To showcase their company
They are creating career sites that are heavy with short videos featuring tours of the company, interviews with executives, candid chats with employees, and day-in-the-life scenarios of what people in particular positions do all day. They may include videos about the local area or videos that have been made by news agencies about the company. Examples of excellent career sites that contain video include those of KPMG, Deloitte, and Whirlpool. These have all won awards for excellence based on the success they have had in recruiting the talent they need using their career site. Companies such as RecruitTV and Thinktalk provide the expertise and service to help you produce these kinds of videos.
An interactive, video-based website is the core requirement for employment branding and may be the single best thing you can do to improve your success in attracting and hiring the people you want.
To post or distribute jobs
It is now possible to make a short video specifically describing a particular position, and then use that video instead of the usual written description. In London, three career magazines now provide this as an alternative to the written word. A Twitter-like application called 12Seconds allows you to make, yep, you got it, a 12-second video about a job and distribute it to a group of followers.
Monster Canada allows you to insert a streaming video into any job posting. And climber.com posts your video job description focused on Gen Y candidates to 45 different video sharing sites.
To hold career fairs
Virtual career fairs have been around for a while, mostly focused on college recruiting. CollegeGrad.com offers this type of virtual careers fair. For a broader audience CareerBuilder, Unisfair, and InXpo. A virtual career fair has much greater reach than a physical one and allows candidates to learn more about the positions you have and your organization. They are cost-effective ways to reach out to a broad geographical slice of people, quickly.
To do targeted marketing
Advanced and emerging uses of video include, for example, having your job video display when a person goes to a particular website or webpage. All clicks on your job display are tracked so that you can see who and how many show interest. This information will allow you to narrow down the sites where you display the ads, improve the content of the videos, and control costs.
Product marketers have used similar technology for a while and are now making it available for recruiting. As this technology matures, it will be possible to greatly reduce the number of unqualified applicants by limiting who actually sees a job ad.
To interview candidates
Interviewing candidates by streaming video is becoming more popular now that more than 60% of Americans have broadband access from their homes. With a simple webcam and a decent Internet connection using Skype, a recruiter or hiring manager or both together can interview a candidate from anywhere. This lowers costs and time to offer and provides a candidate and the hiring authorities an experience that is often as good as if not better than a face-to-face appearance.
Many companies offer video interviewing including Greenjobinterview.com, Clooks.com, and Hirevue.com.
For assessment and screening
A final way that video is being used is in candidate assessment. By creating scenarios and games that stimulate real-world experiences, recruiters can gain insight into how people would potentially react to them. These job simulations have been used by the U.S. Army and by retail stores intent on seeing how potential sales associates might respond to different customer problems. The U.S. State Department has recently started using a game to assess potential Foreign Service officers. It is called American Diplomat and recreates many of the scenes and issues a diplomat may encounter.
Another aspect of assessment is the self-assessment that candidates make when they actually see what it is like to do a particular job. Shaker Consulting does a good job of creating validated job previews that help candidates self-assess, as well as help recruiters and hiring managers.
Video is rapidly becoming core to recruiting success. Organizations that do not start to build video into every aspect of talent acquisition will find that they are at a competitive disadvantage, especially with college students and younger experienced hires. This is the age of video and we all need to learn to use it better.
18 comments
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Chris Russell Aug 14, 2009 at 9:21 am
You tube is really the web’s 2nd biggest search engine so if you have no presence on it, you are missing a huge opportunity. I’d also say that audio podcasts have a place in recruiting since they are more flexible than video and can be listened to in more places/devices like the car, walking, etc
http://www.youtube.com/jobsinpods
John Hughes Aug 14, 2009 at 11:29 am
When I was leading the recruiting department at HEB we had good success posting on youtube. I was surprised the number of 50+ senior executives that had seen our videos and commented in a positive way when visiting for interviews.
One of my new endeavors http://www.bigdoghub.com allows members and companies to post videos and pics on their respective profiles. The videos and pics posted on the company profile also post automaticly on company job postings.
Bill Boorman Aug 14, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Kevin,
I agree 100% with most of your comments on the possible applications of video in the recruitment process although I’m inclined to agree with Chris’s comments on the use of audio files. I see this as being the next step due to accessibility (all you need is a phone.)
I have explored the use of http://www.verbalsummary.com for this reason and recommend this to the recruitment businesses i work with.
At the recent Social Media In Recruitment Conference in London, the speaker from You Tube stated that she did not see the use of video resumes as being something that would take off and that corporate promotion was a much better use of you tube. I agree with them on this. Video is a great application for promotion of my business and my message but there are too many concerns reguarding video CV to make me believe this is the right route to recommend it to job seekers. My 4 key concerns with Video C.V.’s are:
1: Legality – when taking names off c.v.’s to avoid discrimination is being considered in the UK parliament (and it is a real possibility), then video or even pictures run even more of a risk.
2: video C.V. – great if your photogenic or look like Jennifer Aniston, but how many people freeze on camera and come across badly compared to how they are in person?
3: video CV’s can be located but are not searchable. From a recruiters point of view, would you click and wait in the hope of hearing/seeing the right keywords? These also won’t come up in Boolean searches favoured by recruiters.
4: Accesibility. not everyone has the technology or accessibility to record video or the bandwidth to play back fully. for sound, all you need is a phone or speakers, but only use as an embedded object in a traditional C.V. and keep to maximum 2 minutes.
I get irritated by those that are repeatedly championing video c.v. as the panacea, anything may help but it probably won’t. This needs to be communicated to vulnerable job seekers.
Thats off my chest, otherwise great points on using video. The webcam interview still represents less than 1% of first interviews conducted whilst telephone interviews are closer to 20%. I see this trend continuing.
Video for promotion however, or for testing or making jobs stand out through use of social media is a whole different matter.
Thanks for provoking debate
@BillBoorman
Bryan Chaney Aug 14, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Great points, Bill. I agree w/most as well.
I don’t think that video CVs will take off as quickly as employer-driven videos, due to poor quality and uncontrolled content, which leads to misperceptions of the candidate. Video interviews, when guided by a recruiter or hiring manager, allow a better portrayal of a candidate’s ability to meet the job requirements.
Video employment branding (and job branding for that matter) has become the norm on top-performing career sites. This will continue to increase expectations among the candidate community around desirable companies and their published content. (Don’t keep making the world’s best buggy whips ;)
We have an audio product as well, which functions as a stepping stone to video – but I don’t think it will ever eclipse the resonating power of sight and sound combined.
Thanks, Kevin.
@BryanChaney
Rob Wescott Aug 14, 2009 at 1:15 pm
This article is music to my ears! Particularly agree with the screening potential of video. We created a library of independent industry and job profiles to really help bring careers to life. By retaining editorial control we avoided the corporate sell to give an honest perspective on careers – turning on the right candidates and turning off the wrong ones. Take a look http://www.careerplayer.com Love the quote we got from an Investment Banker “If don’t like the thought of getting up at 5am every morning for the next 30 years you might want to think about another career!”
Really good (and slightly extreme) example of screening was an old Royal Marines ad ‘99.99% need not apply’. It actually drove down applications but the quality of candidate went sky high and resulted in many more trainees making it through the training and actually becoming Marines. http://tinyurl.com/mfkqqm
I think the challenge for companies is to move beyond the slightly cliched corporate video into something more portable, engaging and where appropriate, fun. There are some good examples out there which i’ve linked to below but most companies are still slightly behind on this. For those that get it right though it can be really powerful for the employer brand.
http://www.vimeo.com/173714
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJl1TIwF7M4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCmGQBV6I9o
http://tinyurl.com/kvmxj7
@CareerPlayer
Keith Halperin Aug 14, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Thanks, Kevin. I believe video will revolutionize recruiting, but not in the way discussed. For a number of years, I have been advocating that recruiters move away from emphasizing low-touch, low-value add skills which can be eliminated, automated, or outsourced (the “EAO Triple Play”) toward high-touch, high-value add activities which can’t be EAO’d.
I’ve also been curious as to what the effect of cheap, reliable, real-time broadband video will be on the concept of “high touch”. In other words, when we have this type of video access, why will we need to have onsite recruiters AT ALL? (I believe there must be some functions that require actual physical proximity, but darned if I can think of what they’d be.) If they can be anywhere, they can be where it costs a lot less for them.
My other question (besides what recruiting areas require actual physical proximity) is what areas of recruiting are immune to downward price-pressure due to EAO and other factors, and why are they immune? Let me know, and I can organize the conference…
Cheers,
Keith keithsrj@sbcglobal.net (Old School…)
Bill Opal Aug 14, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Great article Kevin –
I have used video as a supplement in our job advertisements for over a year now. The results have been great. Search Sony Ericsson on Careerbuilder to see them. Cost was the initial deterrent. Once we found a company that would re-purpose the video’s from our marketing team the cost dropped significantly and fit into our budget. Careerbuilder made the video integration easy.
Your article is a great road map for other uses.
Thanks,
Bill
Justin Hillier Aug 16, 2009 at 10:57 am
Video will rule recruitment eventually. There is no denying it. Every other industry has moved towards video, however the recruitment industry is stuck with text. Why? Why would you want to advertise your company or yourself with black and white words on a screen. How can anyone’s interest level be peaked with that?
We have all read and heard of the same job titles, job ads and the like for to many years. A video job from the hiring manager can give a candidate a better feel for the manager they would be working for and likewise for the manager when the candidate applies. Video speeds up the process and ensures smarter hiring decisions are made.
Here at Talent on View we are providing companies the ability to incorporate video into their process’s and to also extend this into a full multi-media platform with additional services and social media platforms.
The recruitment world is changing, it needs to change and for those who jump on now will see the greater rewards while everyone else is trying to play catch-up.
Sylvia Dahlby Aug 16, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Once again, Kevin you are at the leading edge of the curve. At SmartSearch, we definitely see video as an emerging trend among users of our ATS.
Recently, we’ve responded to client suggestions to add functionality to better support video resumes (right now you can store it as a file with a candidate record – but it’s not searchable). We have a number of suggestions in development, including video job posting.
We also just added video-interview integration with GreenJobInterviews.com to save time and travel expenses with a simple, reliable online video interview system.
I expect many ATS will be adding functionality & support for video.
Sylvia Dahlby Aug 17, 2009 at 6:06 pm
…oops correction that’s http://www.greenjobinterview.com the URL in previous post is a different vendor than the one I we’ve integrated with.
Kim Celentano Aug 18, 2009 at 10:37 am
Another advantageous way to leverage recruiting video is for career education purposes. VirtualJobShadow.com (http:www.virtualjobshadow.com) is our award winning career education product that is used in thousands of schools nationwide and now distributed by Junior Achievement to reach over 9 million students worldwide. Our comprehensive career profiles (job branding profiles) inform Gen Y about the skills and education they need to reach their careers of choice. At the same time, students get an inside look at your company and corporate culture. VirtualJobShadow.com is an excellent way to reach your future workforce early in the career decision-making process- while students are in school.
The video portion of our career profiles are repurposed onto the career pages of your own website too; an example from Gap Inc:
http://tinyurl.com/pkbp2g.
For more, please check our ERE Recruitment Video 2.0 blog at http://community.ere.net/blogs/video-20-for-recruitment/
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Darrin Grella Aug 19, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Video is powerful and the most impressionable medium in our world.
Being on the phone, answering emails and reviewing resumes with hundreds of people we don’t want to talk to…how much time do you think we will waste with videos to consume us.
Video rocks but we will need to learn to guard our time and evolve with the changing media
Keith Halperin Aug 19, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Darrin made a valuable point: since there are only so many hours in a day to work- how should we use them? I believe we should eliminate, automate, or outsource any low-level activities we can and concentrate on what is most valuable, i.e., what we do best, enjoy most, or makes us the most money.
Cheers,
Keith H
Per Hakansson Aug 22, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Employer branding videos in combination with effective web dissemination technology is definitely the killer app for employers and their talent markets – on all platforms.
The mega trend here is that companies are becoming more decentralized, transparent and authentic with their shareholder markets. It’s a global force that is sweeping through every industry, driven by technology, younger generational values and survival.
Streaming video is a fantastic tool to even further tear down the wall between employers and talent. A great streaming video speaks to the right talent markets about what matters to them in making their career choice. It can show the company as a fantastic place to work for the right talent and make the whole experience visual. It’s more authentic storytelling than selling the dream.
But creating a killer employer branding and recruiting video is not enough. The video needs to become part of the Internet ecosystem, find the right audience across social media platforms and search engines. It needs to exist in the right context where talent is researching and planning their careers.
I think YouTube is great place for a company to get their feet wet and learn about social media. But YouTube is more about discovery and entertainment than about research and intent. We have several cases of where our employer videos at CareerTV.com have outperformed YouTube’s video views for a particular employer by 10 times.
To effectively help employers with streaming videos for Gen Y there are three crucial components: real knowledge about the audience, a great technology platform for effective web dissemination and experience in made-for-web video programming.
Best / Per Håkansson
CEO CareerTV Worldwide
Schawbel Report: The Current State of Personal Branding Worldwide [August 2009] | Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel Aug 24, 2009 at 8:12 am
[...] (jobsinpods.com), to hold career fairs, to interview candidates, for worker screening and more. 25% of the content that workers view each day will be dominated by pictures, video or audio by 2013. Also, YouTube [...]
Jason Krumwiede Aug 24, 2009 at 11:50 pm
I strongly believe that web video clips on the corporate side will be the trend for talent attraction and all this feeds into the talent communities or talent hubs that Lou Adler et al talk about.
I’m not talking about the corporate-speak, glossy 7-minute video of the CEO, but exposing the real guts of the job from the hiring manager and making it real interesting in 90 seconds. But talent attraction is only one component. Also, right now recruiting video creation, collaboration and asset management is too expensive to get mass adoption from corporate recruiting budgets.
By getting the hiring manager to talk about the details of the job, put it on tape job seekers are naturally interested in seeing this. But it needs to be created and edited professionally to have impact.
Also, Recruiting directors can use it to educate cross functional sourcing teams. Aon is looking at video platforms like http://www.studionow.com and others to help in our RPO and RJP solutions.
Great article Kevin, thanks
Jason Krumwiede
Aon Consulting RPO
Recruiting Gen Y Using Video « My Generation X Sep 14, 2009 at 11:01 am
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