Recruitment marketing covers many areas of talent acquisition, and one that’s not as often talked about is recruitment videos. Video can be used in a variety of different ways throughout the talent acquisition and recruitment process. In this post, you’ll learn everything you need to know about recruitment videos. 

Ways to Use Recruitment Videos

There are many ways you can use recruitment videos, and it all depends on your talent acquisition goals. When you look at the recruitment marketing funnel and the goals of each stage, consider how video can be used at each level.

Recruitment Videos on Careers Sites, Landing Pages, Microsites & Social Media 

In the top and middle of the funnel, recruitment videos can be used to build employer brand awareness and to attract and engage talent. You might see recruitment videos with these purposes on careers sites, careers landing pages or microsites, on employers’ social media channels or review profiles like Glassdoor, and more. Recruitment videos are also great to advertise your employer brand and/or jobs, using advertising platforms like YouTube or other social media advertising (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, etc.), or even through advertising networks. Video has high engagement, organically and in sponsorship, so don’t leave video job advertising out of your strategy! 

Recruitment Videos in Job Descriptions & Video Job Advertising

As you get further down the recruitment marketing funnel, you can use videos directly on your job pages and in your job descriptions to help convert candidates to applicants. Videos in job descriptions are great for sharing more detail about the job – for instance, a day in the life of that job from an actual employee who shares the same role, or a video from the hiring manager with more context about the job. Videos on job pages can be really great to not only help candidates self-select whether they may be a good fit for the job or not, but they can also help humanize the employer brand in the eyes of the candidates. Plus, according to Monster research, 65% of North American employers plan to invest in video job descriptions in 2020, and video job descriptions were the number one recruiting technology investment for employers in 2018-2019!

Video Interviewing in Recruitment

Additionally, once you’ve got your applicants in the door, you can even use video in the recruitment process post-apply. For instance, recruitment videos can be used throughout the interview process. This can be in the form of live video conference interviews using platforms like Zoom Conference, Webex, JoinMe, for example. Or, this could be in the form of pre-recorded video interviews using specific video job interview platforms like SparkHire. Using video interviews, in either or both formats, has become even more common due to the impact of COVID-19 and social distancing / stay-at-home orders. Plus, more than 63% of organizations have been using video for job interviews, and that’s only growing now due to the impact of COVID-19 on talent acquisition.

 Here’s a quick recap list of some ways you can use recruitment videos in your talent acquisition process:

• On your career site 
• In social media posts / profiles 
• On employer review profiles (i.e. Glassdoor, Comparably, Indeed, etc.)
• In job descriptions / on your job pages 
• In video job advertising 
• For video interviews (live or pre-recorded)

Using Video After the Recruitment Process

Of course, once you’ve attracted talent and made hires, you can even use video in the employee experience. This is a completely different topic, but in short, consider using video in your new hire onboarding process, in your employee engagement strategies, in your internal communications, and more! 

Different Types of Recruitment Videos

Now that you have learned some of the top ways to use video in your recruitment strategy, and before we go into the benefits of recruitment videos, let’s first review the different types of recruitment videos that exist. There are primarily two different types of recruitment videos – ones that are produced and ones that are employee-generated. 

Produced Recruitment Videos

Produced recruitment videos are ones that are typically scripted, planned out and filmed. This can be a high-production video, often executed by an agency or videographer and typically inclusive of specific lighting, settings and more. Or this can be a low-production video, still typically scripted and planned out, but often executed by in-house teams using cameras, iPhones or other handheld devices. Produced videos can be great for larger initiatives where you want to showcase the employer brand or company culture, for instance. 

Employee-Generated Videos

Another type of recruitment video, one that is becoming increasingly popular, is employee-generated video content. This is a form of user-generated content (also known as UGC). Employee-generated videos are ones filmed by your employees directly, often using an iPhone or mobile device “selfie-style” or using a video conferencing tool to record themselves (i.e. Zoom Conference). Employee-generated recruitment videos are great for gathering employee testimonials and for getting more “day in the life” sort of content to share across your recruitment channels. 

Why You Should Use Recruitment Videos

There are tons of great reasons why you should consider using video in your recruitment processes. As mentioned above, the impact of recruitment videos can be seen throughout the recruitment funnel. Whether your goals are increasing your employer brand awareness, improving brand perception, humanizing your brand, attracting top talent, engaging passive talent, or anything – recruitment videos can be used successfully to achieve these goals and more. 

So, here are 10 of the top reasons to use recruitment videos in your talent acquisition strategy with stats to support the benefits:

• Boost your SEO & improve your search engine results rankings! Google loves videos and ranks video highly for search, so consider adding recruitment videos into any of your indexed careers site pages, landing pages, microsites, and/or job pages. 
  • According to Brightcove, video drives a 157% increase in organic traffic from search engine results pages (SERP). 

• Increase your network and reach more candidates! People also love videos, and they are more likely to share videos with their networks compared to other types of content (text/images)! Post your recruitment videos to social media and on your job pages to get more shares and to widen your talent net. In turn, you may also end up receiving more employee referrals due to increased sharing. And we all know how great employee referrals can be!
  • According to Wordstream, video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined!
  • Video is shared 20X more often than any other type of content on LinkedIn.
  • 82% of employers rate employee referrals above all other sources for generating the best return on investment (Career Builder).

• Improve your job views and job seeker engagement! In today’s job market, it’s key to differentiate your job descriptions and to keep candidates engaged on your job pages. Adding videos to your job description pages can help your job stand out from the competition and keeps candidates more engaged and on your job page longer. 
  • According to CareerBuilder, job postings with video icons are viewed 12% more than postings without video!

• Convert more job views and get more applicants! Not only can adding video to your job description pages improve your job views, but it can also help convert viewers to apply. 
  • CareerBuilder survey has found that job postings with videos have a 34% greater application rate (compared to those that don’t). 
  • According to Monster, 80% of recruiters believe video has helped increase the volume of applicants!

• Improve applicant quality and culture fit! By having a video on your job page, you can share more detail about your company culture and the specific position which helps candidates better understand the work environment and the opportunity. This allows candidates to make more informed decisions about whether or not they would be a good fit for the job and for your company. 
  • According to Monster, 78% of recruiters believe video has helped improve the quality of applicants!

• Improve employee retention rates! When you have videos in your job descriptions or your job advertising, candidates are more aware of what they are signing up for when they apply, and this can help set your new hires’ expectations properly so that turnover is less likely and retention rates will improve. 
• Promote your company culture and connect candidates to your employer brand story! Bring your company culture to life by showing your story, rather than just telling it. Video is great for storytelling, and stories connect people by bringing an emotional aspect into play. This will not only increase your employer brand awareness, but it can also improve your employer brand perception. 
  • 82% of respondents in Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends survey believe that ‘culture’ is a competitive advantage. 
• Showcase your employees and build trust with candidates! Featuring your employees in your videos, whether produced or employee-generated, can be one of the best forms of video content. People tend to trust other people over brands, so why not let your employees tell their stories about their jobs and you as an employer? Doing so in an unscripted and authentic, transparent way can lead to major employer brand benefits! Not to mention, it makes your employees feel valued when you highlight them, too! 
  • “Candidates trust the company’s employees 3x more than the company to provide credible information on what it’s like to work there.” – Career Arc

• Save time! The above benefits of using recruitment videos allow you to get more applicants faster, which means you can save time across your talent acquisition team. Not only that, but incorporating video into your interview process can also save a lot of time by cutting down on commute or travel time, meeting prep time, and more. 
• Save money! For the same reasons mentioned above for time-savings, the same goes for budget-savings. By reaching more candidates and getting more applicants using video, you may not have to spend as much on job advertising. And, again, with video interviewing, you can save a lot of money if you don’t have to cover commute or travel costs associated with your interviews. 
  • An Aberdeen Group report, ROI of Video Collaboration, found that 72% of managers surveyed identified “reduction in travel costs” as the primary reason for using video interviews. 
  • Opting for a video interview instead can save as much as 67% on necessary travel costs as well.

What Makes a Good Recruitment Video?

Here are a few tips and tricks that make a good recruitment video.

1. Keep it short and sweet. These days, people have short attention spans. The best recruitment-focused videos are often less than 1 minute long.
2. Be transparent and authentic. Usually, the most compelling recruitment videos are unscripted, even if it requires a few takes to get it right. This leads to more transparent and authentic communication. While transparency is key, it is also important not to share anything proprietary. 
3. Have a steady hand, and consider lighting and backgrounds. If you’re asking your employees to film their own videos, they may do some “selfie-style” content where they are holding their mobile device. Suggest that they have as steady a hand as possible, or possibly suggest placing the device on a stand to keep it straight. Also, mention to your employees to consider their backgrounds and lighting. Generally, you want a light source in front of your face, not behind you. And, be sure there’s nothing inappropriate in your background!
4. Coach to avoid rework. Remind employees not to disclose any confidential information or mention any copyrighted material. It’s also a good idea to make sure nobody has music playing in the background (or added to the videos) since that would also be a copyright infringement.

Best Recruitment Videos and Leading Employer Brands Using Video for Recruitment

There are so many amazing recruitment video examples out there, and many of the leading employer brands are using video in their recruitment strategies. Here are a variety of lists of top recruitment videos and brands that you can look through to get some fantastic examples.

• Top 10 Recruitment Videos of All Time
• Show, Don’t Tell! 6 Brilliant Recruiting Videos
• 10 Best Recruitment Videos And Why They’re Great
• 26 of the Best Recruitment Videos – From A to Z

 
We would love to discuss video in recruitment with you, so leave some comments below!