What Is
Video Interviewing?
Hire great people—in less time
and with fewer resources.
Applicant Interview GuideVideo 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 So, it’s no wonder why online interviews are replacing outdated, time-consuming processes such as phone interviews.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.
Chapter 1: Types of Video Interviewing
Chapter 2: Pre-Recorded Video Interviews
Chapter 3: Live Video Interviews
Chapter 4: Adding Video Interviewing to Your Process
Chapter 6: Fair, Ethical Video Recruitment and the Dangers of AI
Chapter 7: Video Interviewing ROI
Chapter 8: What to Look for in a Video Interview Platform
Chapter 9: Introducing VidCruiter
Chapter 10: Frequently Asked Questions
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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.
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
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
Step 2:
Ask Applicants to Participate in a Pre-Recorded Interview
Step 3:
Invite Most Promising Talent for Live Interviews
Step 4:
Schedule In-Person Interviews, or Simply Host Another Live Interview with Finalists
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
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.
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!
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.
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 the predictive validity of your hires by up to 65% 
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?
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.
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.
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.
We Know Video Interviews.
We have over 10 years of strategic recruitment experience
We’ve worked with tens of thousands of recruiters
We’re a leader in all things online interviewing
Ready to start video interviewing?
Video Interviewing FAQ
- Adopting the right video interviewing software has many benefits, including:
Decreased time-to-hire and other efficiencies,
Applicant empowerment and improved candidate experience,
Fair, documented process improvements,
A standardized, repeatable process,
Less biased hiring,
and Automation of time consuming administrative tasks.
