Live Interviewing: Best Practices

Using a live video interview platform will automatically improve your recruitment process, but you might not be getting everything you can out of it. Unfortunately, as it is with most technology, users typically play around with the software before they learn all the different ways video interviewing is helpful. VidCruiter staff and clients have spent years using the technology. We know what the best practices for getting the most out of a live interview platform are and have compiled that information in this article.

Through the recruiter questionnaire tab, you have the opportunity to record your notes and ratings about an applicant and save it in the system while the live video interview is ongoing. By letting recruiters take their notes and record ratings during the interview, as opposed to after it is complete, you’ll eliminate the chance of a recruiter misremembering something the applicant said, which could result in an inaccurate score. If a company has structured rating and note guides, it’s also possible for users to preload these guides into the system. Doing this before an interview begins allows for a smooth experience for both the recruiter and the applicant.

While having a digital copy of interview notes is an advantage in itself, recruiters can take it one step further by utilizing certain built-in features. When recording the live interviews you can time-stamp your notes to specific moments in the interview. You’ll be able to review what you wrote then jump to the time attached to that note to see exactly what the candidate said, cutting down the detail your notes require. You can also share your time-stamped notes with other members of your team by adding them to the applicant profile.

Recruiters can use our mobile recruiting app to perform live video interviews, but if you want to access all the advanced features available, it’s better to use a computer. If recruiters opt to use a desktop or laptop with a microphone and webcam, they’ll be able to use features such as notetaking, rating, or screensharing, and make the most out of the system.

Included with the live interviewing software is an interview scheduling software. The system syncs with your Outlook or Google Calendar so you only have to work in one place. You select your available times to perform an interview and the candidates will be able to choose a time from what you’ve already made available. By eliminating the need to coordinate schedules, recruiters will be able to focus on the interview and not be bogged down with calls or emails asking for a different time.

While you’ll be provided with a template detailing everything an applicant needs to know about using a live video interviewing system, it’s a much better experience if you change it to help make the applicant feel special. Since you can customize every email sent through your live video interviewing software, you have the option to delete irrelevant parts of the template or move up sections which are particularly important for the applicant to know. By slightly changing the template, you’ll be able to engage the applicant and provide a better overall experience.

The WebRTC program used by VidCruiter’s software makes it easy to perform a live video interview through a web browser, but doing so can also cause some connectivity concerns. To limit the risk of having connectivity issues, you should close all internet browsers and tabs which are not needed for the interview. If there is a connectivity issue, all you need to do is refresh the page to start a new connection without having to restart the interview.