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What Is
Video Interviewing?

Hire great people—in less time
and with fewer resources.

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Video interviewing is a popular, modern approach to recruitment that’s used by thousands of hiring teams worldwide. It’s convenient, fast, and affordable, helping employers find the absolute best candidates for any position. So, it’s no wonder why online interviews are replacing outdated, time-consuming processes such as phone interviews.

Welcome to the new standard for recruiting.

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Types of Video Interview Software

The main difference between these types of interviews is whether or not the job applicant and the interviewer(s) meet in real-time.

Let’s jump into the details.

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Pre-Recorded Interviews

Pre-recorded interviews are sometimes also called asynchronous (meaning not happening at the same time), one-way, or on-demand interviews. They consist of a series of predetermined questions chosen by your hiring team. Candidates record responses to these questions on their own time, and you review them on yours.

Questions can appear on the screen either in a written format or in the form of embedded videos (recordings of interviewers asking the questions). Applicants see the question, typically have a short time to think about it, and then the recording begins. The amount of prep time given, the number of questions, the length of responses, and whether or not applicants can re-record their answers is completely up to each employer using the software.

Benefits for Hiring Teams

  • Reduces time-to-hire by up to 75%
  • Zero scheduling conflicts
  • No timezone considerations
  • No more phone tag and long email exchanges
  • Minimize hiring bias with a structured process
  • Easy to seek feedback from raters
  • Build a talent pipeline for the future
  • Built-in structured rating guides
  • Interview more people in less time
  • Easily arrange panel and group interviews

Benefits for Candidates

  • Complete applicant empowerment – 100% flexibility!
  • 24/7 convenience
  • Interview from the comfort of your own home
  • Greater likelihood of securing an interview for your dream job
  • Fantastic way to showcase strengths and personality
  • No downloads! This is an appless, applicant-friendly experience
  • Receive timely SMS reminders
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Live Interviews

Live interviews are similar to virtual meetings like Zoom, Skype, or FaceTime—but with one notable difference: they were actually built for recruiting!

This type of interview takes familiar video conferencing freebies to the next level. Standardized questions and ratings guides appear within the online interview so hiring teams can rate candidates’ answers in real-time.

Professional live interviews connect employers with job applicants at a mutually-convenient time. Everyone still meets face-to-face, but since they do so at a distance, it opens doors to worldwide and remote recruitment. The software also makes group and panel interviews a breeze.

Benefits for Hiring Teams

  • More insight into job applicants than resumes or phone interviews
  • Transcend geographical limitations, increasing your candidate pool
  • Eliminate travel-related expenses
  • Collaborate with decision makers
  • Keep a secure record of each interview
  • Shortlist top candidates with ease
  • No host needed to start interviews

Benefits for Candidates

  • Interview for jobs anywhere on earth
  • Easy-to-use software designed for a positive candidate experience
  • Get a “homefield advantage” by interviewing wherever you feel most confident
  • No added stress of traffic or navigating a new space to attend in-person interviews
  • An appless interview with no sign-ins or downloads
  • Auto-scheduling makes it simple to arrange a time to meet

How to Incorporate Video Interviewing into Your Recruitment Process

If you’re like 86% of organizations, you’re conducting virtual interviews to hire candidates. You’re likely experimenting with what works best. Here are some tips to improve your process!

Since pre-recorded and live online interviewing offer unique benefits and serve different purposes, many HR professionals opt to use both technologies. Together, these two tools are a recruitment powerhouse. Members of your team can choose to virtually interview candidates either in real-time, or on their own time.

Your preferred interviewing process will depend on your short- and long-term recruitment objectives, as well as who needs to be involved in candidate selection. That said, a common approach to multi-tiered on-camera interviewing is this:

Step 1:

Pre-Qualify Candidates in Applicant Tracking System

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Step 2:

Ask Applicants to Participate in a Pre-Recorded Interview

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Step 3:

Invite Most Promising Talent for Live Interviews

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Step 4:

Schedule In-Person Interviews, or Simply Host Another Live Interview with Finalists

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This is just one example of how both types of video interviewing may be incorporated into your hiring process. You can 100% customize each step to mirror what’s working in your existing recruitment—and make it even better.

The Benefits of an Online Video Interviewing Platform

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Accelerate Time-to-Hire

VidCruiter’s platform automates repetitive tasks and manual data entry, so you can focus on more important priorities—like making informed hiring decisions.

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Hire Cost-Effectively

On-camera interviews offer a high return on investment. Since time is money, the more time you save, the more money you can save, too!

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Improve the Quality of Your Hire

Hiring the best possible people is every talent acquisition professional’s goal. Great hires do wonders to advance your organization, and minimize the frustration and expenses of turnover.

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Positive Candidate Experience

Employers of choice take proactive steps to ensure their recruitment process is a positive, inclusive one for all applicants. Failing to provide a positive candidate experience can cost you more than you might think.

Fair, Ethical Hiring Made Easy

Incorporating a structured digital interviewing methodology into your online interviewing process eliminates guesswork and allowing for a fair evaluation of all applicants. Everyone is given equal opportunity and consideration for employment thanks to a standardized process that’s proven to work. You can add question guides and rating rubrics to fight hiring bias, helping you hire the absolute best person for every job.

Increase Predictive Validity by 65% Increase the predictive validity of your hires by up to 65%
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Should You Include Artificial Intelligence in Your Web Interviewing Process?

Ideally, no. Your hiring process should not include any artificial intelligence, facial analysis, or voice-to-text software. It’s just too risky! AI can introduce unnecessary dangers, raise privacy and human-rights concerns—and can actually increase hiring bias.

Instead, all applicants should be evaluated by real human beings. Sound judgement and experience paired with time-saving automation and a structured approach to interviewing is much safer than using AI. Keep the human in human resources when you’re making important decisions such as hiring.

97% of people say flexibility in their job would have a positive impact on their overall quality of life.

Why should interviewing be any different?

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Video Interviewing ROI

A professional web interviewing platform is a smart, money-saving investment. It helps reduce hiring costs—while simultaneously increasing candidate quality to reduce turnover.

The right software can help minimize many hiring-related expenses, including:

  • Time-to-hire
  • Travel costs
  • Salaries and overtime
  • Third-party recruiter fees
  • Job posting and promotion costs
  • Relocation costs
  • Turnover expenses

Your web interviewing ROI will depend on your hiring goals, your existing recruitment process and, of course, the software you choose. VidCruiter can help you measure whether it makes financial sense for your organization.

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What Should I Look for in a Video Interview Software?

In our digital age, there is certainly no shortage of HR tech options. But not all video interviewing software is created equal.

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Some things to consider when choosing a solution:

  • Ease of use
  • Pricing
  • Support & Training
  • Candidate Experience
  • Brand Promotion
  • Dedicated Implementation team
  • Collaboration Features
  • Customization & Scalability
  • Mobile-Friendly Technology
  • Integrations
  • Happy Customers
  • Multilingual Capability

You can find the right interviewing platform
by asking the right questions.

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Video Interviewing FAQ

  • What is video interviewing software?
  • Video interviewing software connects employers with the best possible talent for their team. Thanks to technology like this hiring teams can meet with potential employees anywhere in the world, any time.
  • What are the different types of video interview software?
  • There are two options: pre-recorded (asynchronous) and live (real-time) web interviews. Both types should be treated with the same seriousness as a traditional, in-person job interview—but rather than all individuals being in the same room, interviews are conducted 100% virtually (or as a digital/in-person hybrid).

    In pre-recorded online interviews, applicants record their responses to set questions; there’s no need to arrange a set time to meet.

    In live video interviews, hiring teams meet with job applicants face-to-face online at a mutually-convenient time (interview scheduling software makes this a breeze).

    Neither type of web-based interview is “better” than the other; their use simply depends on the recruitment objectives and the hiring process.
  • Why use video interviewing software?
  • Adopting the right video interviewing software has many benefits, including:
    Checkmark Decreased time-to-hire and other efficiencies,
    Checkmark Applicant empowerment and improved candidate experience,
    Checkmark Fair, documented process improvements,
    Checkmark A standardized, repeatable process,
    Checkmark Less biased hiring,
    Checkmark and Automation of time consuming administrative tasks.
  • What do I need for my online interview?
  • Participants will need an electronic device with a strong connection to the internet. This might be a laptop, cell phone, or tablet with a built-in camera and microphone, or it could be a desktop computer with a webcam and headset/microphone. Since you want to succeed, you’ll want to find a quiet place to participate in the online interview.
  • How do I join a meeting?
  • How you join depends on what software the interview is being hosted on. Some platforms require participants to set up usernames and passwords and/or download an app. Ideally, there are no usernames or passwords to set up. You simply click a unique, secure link in your email invitation to attend.
  • Why are pre-recorded web interviews so valuable?
  • These save both the hiring time and candidates time! The built-in structured approach to interviewing is more fair, allowing all job applicants to present themselves as best they can. Top talent rises to the top where they can be quickly identified and made employment offers. Pre-recorded interviews introduce greater convenience for all while minimizing hiring bias.