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      What to know before starting a remote job

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      PrepareDon’t wait for your start date to begin getting ready. Preparation should start immediately! Decide where your dedicated workspace will be and set it up to be a comfortable and productive area for you. Make sure your WiFi connection is strong and that you’re near an outlet. Living with family or roommates? Be sure to establish ground rules with the people in your home. Getting a jump start on the little things will make a difference when you get started and will let you focus on your new role. Check out our expert tips to help you get into the right mindset and ease the transition into remote work.Next, if your new company sends over any onboarding material (whether it’s an employee handbook or remote work best practices), be sure to read it! If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to the hiring manager or recruiter as soon as possible so there are no roadblocks on day one. If they send you any IT-related material, make sure all applications and extensions are downloaded and ready to go. Lastly, ask if there’s an IT representative in case there are any hardware or software issues in your first week.The best preparation will ultimately alleviate a lot of the stress that comes with starting a new job — especially a remote one.Understand expectationsWith remote work, you don’t have the luxury to turn to your manager with questions as you acclimate to your new role. This can make it difficult to know if you’re on the right track. On your first day, clarify what you’re accountable for — to your manager, your team, and the company overall. Use the time spent with your manager to understand how the business and your team measure success, and plan how you will make an impact. Confirm your standard work hours, communication preferences, daily priorities, and other metrics/KPIs that are being measured.Take initiative, and see what you can do to get ramped up as quickly as possible. Are there specific training materials that you should reference? Should you shadow certain colleagues? Don’t leave day one without a clear grasp of what’s expected from you.While it’s easy to stay hyper-focused on your specific role when you first start, remember to think of the big picture too. Recognize how your new responsibilities roll up into the success of the business overall. How? One idea is to set up meetings with different departments to learn about other areas of the company. These are also great opportunities to meet with coworkers that you might not work with on a daily basis.Ask questions to show that you’re engaged and thinking ahead. Which coworkers prefer which communication methods, or are there company-wide guidelines to follow? For example, would certain teams prefer a video call while others respond quicker to an email? Should instant messages only be used for urgent questions? In time, you will observe and adapt to the norms, but it’s a good idea to get familiarized early.As you continue to work, more questions will pop up. Instead of pinging your coworkers or boss every time you encounter a hiccup, bundle your questions so you can ask them all at once.Establish relationshipsWorking remotely doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice company culture. Socializing with your teammates is still a must — especially when you’re new!Start by introducing yourself to the necessary individuals (think: teammates, Human Resources, IT, etc.) Set up a quick video call to get to know these people better. It doesn’t need to be considered a “meeting.” Make it a quick coffee chat or a lunch hour – try to mimic the social interactions you would normally have in an office space! Use this opportunity to ask questions such as general icebreakers, perks, and benefits they enjoy, or tips on how to succeed at the company. Forming these relationships early on will make it easier to work with them down the road and give you great insight into your new company.When a colleague helps you during your first week, be sure to thank them. A little bit of gratitude can go a long way. Lastly, ask your manager what meetings you can join in on and observe. Simply showing your face in meetings can help establish your presence at the company and make future introductions more seamless.We recognize that starting a job remotely can be challenging. As you adjust to your new role, be sure to cut yourself some slack. It will take time to figure out a remote setup that works for you, but these tips will help you hit the ground running and ensure an all-star first day! More

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      5 Ways to Prepare Yourself for a Job Market Bounce-back 

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      Despite a lull in business for some agency recruiters over the past 12 months, the UK job market is expected to take off towards the middle of 2021, thanks to the vaccine rollout and easing COVID-19 restrictions. This means we can look forward to better, busier times ahead in recruitment! Here are a few actions you can take to ensure you’re fully prepared.
      Familiarize yourself with industry changes
      If you haven’t worked with clients within a particular industry over the past 12 months due to low hiring activity, now is the time to make sure you’re up-to-date on any industry-specific changes or new legislation. By reading up on sector publications and subscribing to newsletters from companies who work in that space, you’ll soon get up to speed on areas such as the sector’s unemployment rate, the impact of Brexit and competitor performance. It will also give you clarification on government policies, like furlough or other COVID-related schemes.
      Take advantage of the talent pool
      As we’re all aware, there has been an influx of fantastic candidates over the past 12 months. If you’re not as busy with live roles, it’s a great idea to register as many of these candidates as possible.  This will ensure you have access to a strong talent pool from which you can quickly pull candidates when jobs are called in. You can also take advantage of the people who are on your radar by communicating regularly with them. They can tell you how they’re finding their job search and where else they’re interviewing, giving you a better understanding of the market. It will help you to develop a relationship and a degree of loyalty among your candidates, which will be extremely important when the market improves.
      Showcase your expertise
      If you’ve always wanted to invest your time in developing your personal brand, take advantage of this opportunity and put yourself out there! As recruiters, we have a unique insight into the market, and our conversations with our clients mean we are well informed on workplace trends such as diversity and inclusion, wellbeing, and remote working. So, use your expertise and start producing your own content. Whether you want to try your hand at writing articles and publishing them via LinkedIn, or you want to start your own podcast or video series, the possibilities are endless.
      Prepare your candidates
      When talking to your candidates, it’s a good idea to give them an indication of when you expect the market to pick up, so they can prepare for it. Help them by working through their CV to ensure it’s up-to-date with no errors, and by practicing common interview questions. It’s also a good idea to go through any gaps on their CV, so they know how to explain them to an employer during the interview process.
      While we’re expecting an influx of new roles over the coming months, the competition for jobseekers is also likely to be fierce. As a result, you should prepare your candidates so they’re as responsive as possible. Let them know you will likely be moving very quickly from receiving a job spec to sending over a shortlist, so they need to jump on any opportunity they’re interested in.
      Keep your clients informed
      When reconnecting with your clients, remember that they may not have prioritized hiring lately. They’ll likely be interested in hiring trends in their industry, so prepare a handful of key points you can share. As many companies are likely to retain more flexible working practices moving forward, your clients may also have questions around remote hiring and onboarding processes. By preparing your best-practice tips, they will feel encouraged and supported as they tackle a new way of hiring while positioning you as a thought leader in your space.
      As recruiters, we can take advantage of quieter periods in hiring, allowing us to prepare ourselves for when activity picks up in our sector. If you know how to spend your time wisely, it will put you in good stead for the hiring boom to come.
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      5 Tips to Advance Your Career as a Technical Recruiter: The Path to Professional Development

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      You want to get ahead. At Hired, we’re here to help make it happen. 
      In this step-by-step guide, we’ll outline five actionable ways to advance your career as a technical recruiter: from implementing automation to tracking market trends and more.
      Together, these strategies will strengthen your recruitment process—and put you on the path to measurable hiring success. 
      Ready to reach your next career milestone? 
      Let’s get started.
      Download the Guide More

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      How Should Candidates Request Feedback from Employers After a Rejection?

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      For many job seekers, knowing how to progress in a job search without employer feedback can be frustrating. Interviewing takes practice, and like any skill, how can one improve without constructive criticism? In addition to possessing the knowledge and experience needed to help an employer’s business succeed, the quickest way for job seekers to become employees is to make a great impression in the application and interview process. For those to whom this doesn’t come naturally, or who are up against the stiff competition, feedback may be required in order to land their desired role.
      The simple solution to job seekers’ feedback requirement is to just ask for it. After all, employers should respect an applicant who seeks criticism and takes steps toward self-improvement, right? But there are reasons why hiring managers rarely provide feedback to candidates, as well as best practices for obtaining it. Let’s look at a few of each.
      Why Are Some Employers Reluctant to Provide Feedback?
      First, it’s important to understand why employers may be hesitant to provide feedback to candidates who aren’t hired. One reason involves legal liability. Regardless of why an employer rejects one candidate in favor of another, if the candidate who isn’t hired simply perceives the reason to be unjust and files a discrimination lawsuit, it could result in thousands of dollars in legal fees, months in court fighting the charges, and irreparable damage to the employer brand just to prove innocence. Often, it’s easier to avoid the risk by keeping hiring rationales confidential.
      A second reason is the time commitment. An employer may be looking to fill several positions in the company. Depending on the nature of the positions, each may receive dozens, if not hundreds of applications. Providing unsuccessful applicants with feedback on why they were disqualified could add weeks or months to the recruiting process. Even hiring managers with the best intentions can only help candidates if their schedule and workload allow.
      How to Ask for Feedback
      When requesting feedback from an employer, timing is important. Job seekers should make a point of following up within one day (two days at the most) to reaffirm interest and ensure their application or interview is still fresh in the hiring manager’s mind. Candidates should also respond using the same method of communication that they received the rejection (phone or email).
      When posing the initial question to an employer, job seekers should never ask why they weren’t hired. Instead, they should explain that they are looking to improve in their job search, and are seeking constructive criticism. They should then ask if the hiring manager can pinpoint any areas in the application or interview process where they were lacking and if the manager has any recommendations on how to better showcase their skills and experience when applying to future roles.
      Ending on a Positive Note
      If job seekers speak to or receive an email response from an employer who is willing to provide feedback on their application or interview, they should always keep an open mind and respond positively. Candidates should remember that employers are under no obligation to tell them why they weren’t hired. Managers who offer suggestions on how applicants can improve truly have their best interest at heart.
      Under no circumstances should job seekers act defensively or argue with a hiring manager’s feedback. This won’t change the outcome of the hiring decision and could make the manager regret trying to help the candidate in his or her job search. Also, there’s always a chance that the applicant who was hired for the position won’t work out, and the employer will need to choose a second- or third-choice candidate as a replacement. Or, the company may be looking to fill a similar role in the near future. By reacting positively to the hiring manager’s feedback and showing appreciation for his or her time, candidates leave the door open to consideration for future opportunities with the company.
      If a job applicant lacks the qualifications and experience a position requires to be successful, no amount of employer feedback regarding interview preparation or self-promotion will change the hiring outcome. However, for candidates who just need a bit of guidance on interview etiquette or how to market themselves for a particular role, a few helpful tips on where they’re lacking could be all that separates a job search that lasts several more months from one that ends shortly after their next application. Though they should be prepared to politely accept “no” for an answer, job seekers shouldn’t be afraid to ask employers for feedback after a rejection and show they are always willing to accept criticism, continue to learn, and better themselves.

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      Here’s What Motivates Your Candidates in 2021 

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      As hiring activity across many industries slowed in the wake of the pandemic, we experienced several unique challenges in the recruitment sector. However, as we step into 2021, the new year has brought with it a renewed optimism! Not only is the vaccine roll-out in full swing; the Brexit trade deal and US election result have also delivered a level of certainty businesses have been craving for a number of years.
      As these global events start to influence the market in a positive direction, identifying and understanding your candidates’ motivations throughout this period is essential to being able to guide your clients in attracting the best talent.
      At Tiger, we’ve just released our Salary and Benefits Review 2021, a comprehensive report which collates data from over 2,700 workers and jobseekers. We asked them about their priorities and anxieties, as well as the benefits they’d look for in their next role. The information below will help guide conversations with your clients moving forward, allowing you to provide reassurance where needed.
      Candidate priorities
      The top priority for job seekers in 2021 will be securing a competitive salary, followed by job security and, thirdly, work/life balance. This is likely a reaction to the uncertain financial situation many workers experienced throughout 2020. Despite this, salaries have remained relatively stable (with a nominal increase in some cases) and 46% of our surveyed respondents expect a pay rise in the next 12 months. Therefore, if your clients are in the position to offer a competitive, regularly-reviewed salary package, this will help them attract top talent in the market.
      Flexible working is another huge priority for candidates, with 49% reporting this as the number one positive aspect to come out of the pandemic. When taking into account the money saved on commuting and the time this has given back to workers, their reluctance to give up this new-found flexibility is logical. As such, it’s essential that employers continue to offer some form of flexible working in 2021, whether through an ad-hoc or hybrid scheme or by allowing employees to work from home indefinitely.
      Candidate anxieties
      The majority of our respondents (73%) reported that their main anxiety concerned their career, rather than their health. In fact, just 35% are worried about catching the virus – it doesn’t even register in their top five concerns. This suggests that employees value the security of their job above anything else. It follows that roles that offer longer-term stability will be highly valued by top candidates. Therefore, it’s essential that clients are prepared to answer candidate questions about personal development and career progression, regardless of the role. This will ensure workers are reassured about their value and future prospects, which in turn will increase productivity.
      According to our survey, 38% of workers are worried that the pandemic will have changed the office culture. This may be rooted in a shift to home working, or social-distancing restrictions in offices. Other cultural influences, such as team lunches, after-work drinks, or similar bonding activities may also be affected. This is then another important aspect for your clients to keep in mind – any extra steps they can take to foster a positive working environment will be beneficial to their attraction and retention in the long run.
      Top benefits for candidates
      A good benefits package remains absolutely integral in attracting candidates, and businesses should adapt what they offer to reflect the changing times. For employers to truly stand out, benefits should take a tailored approach. Whether this is in the form of encouraging flexible hours for those who have caring responsibilities or organizing private transport to prevent commuting, it’s essential your clients understand the power of offering these types of benefits.
      The best examples we’ve seen of adapted benefits include the provision of ergonomic workplace equipment for home working, along with online access to mental health support and subsidized health-related subscriptions. The majority of employees (67%) believe their employer is adequately supporting their mental health and wellbeing, which is essential as we continue to work through uncertain times.
      In summary, while candidates may be more cautious about finding a new role this year, there are many tools your clients can utilize to encourage the best talent to move. At Tiger, we believe 2021 will bring with it an extremely positive change, and, as such, recruiters should be standing by!

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      How to Smash Lockdown Recruiting and Retention

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      For all of us involved in scaling a business, having the right team is an essential ingredient.  The second half of that is to retain them.  When lockdown first hit businesses, many people looked with horror at both those challenges.  Some are still struggling.  I set out to find the expert secrets of the people who are triumphing.
      Finding people to recruit
      Jimmy Williams is the CEO of the Urban Jungle, which provides insurance to generation rent and millennials.  They doubled their team in 2020 and anticipate doing the same this year. Jimmy finds they are swamped with applications, but not necessarily people with the right qualifications, so they plan to improve their filtering.  They find Zoom works for interviewing, but they like to do practical tests, so they also plan to develop these in exploding formats to prevent sharing between applicants.
      Jimmy says that it is “harder is getting to someone’s personality, so we often ask more direct questions about that. It’s not like anyone has any out of work interests at the moment, so we have to get it out of them!”
      Donald Lindsay is People Operations Director at the hugely successful FreeAgent, which makes award-winning cloud accounting software for small businesses and their accountants. While FreeAgent has had low turnover, when Donald has needed to recruit, he too found a great pool of motivated talent in the market last year and expects to see much the same this.
      Natalie Lewis of Dynamic HR Services also feels that with so many good people who will be made redundant, the talent pool will be large in 2021, but the key will be in the selection.  The choice is even more comprehensive than before. Entrepreneurs worldwide are no longer restricted to employing people locally or even nationally.  A global company in San Francisco might be hiring someone who lives in a remote Cornish cottage.  But pulling precisely the right fish out of a worldwide ocean will challenge everyone in the business of recruitment in 2021.
      Integration post recruiting:
      Both Jimmy and Natalie agree, the biggest challenge is often not the recruitment but integrating them remotely.  “It’s not like it can happen by osmosis or down the pub,” Jimmy points out.  Urban Jungle encourages everyone in their team to bring their personality to work, but Jimmy admits it is hard to do.
      Companies have to create that crucial buy-in to vision, mission, and culture, and this has the crux of the lockdown challenge, which Natalie describes as behavior onboarding.  “Previously, with people in an office together, it was much easier for newbies to pick it the culture and internalize it from the people around them, what they hear and see, embodied in the physical room.”  Without it happening naturally, leaders have to create it.
      Natalie believes it is the companies that have been open to change and adapting that are thriving and cites Gitlab as a perfect example.  They have a flat structure, high accountability, and responsibility.  Natalie believes that even post-pandemic, companies like this will retain hybrid working.
      FreeAgent moved the whole company to remote work in March last year and quickly adapted to virtual recruitment.  Donald says this meant both updating their range of interview guides and processes so they cover online settings and upskilling their staff so they could properly manage and lead this work.
      “Even before the pandemic,” Donald adds, “we were looking at how we could strengthen the employee experience at FreeAgent. 2021 will see us building on these strong foundations.”
      Creating culture and retention from day one
      I asked all three of my experts for their top tips, practices that they find work best to build and retain great teams in new times:
      Jimmy’s top tips:
      Jimmy says that they work “very hard to keep the team both productive and happy.  “We’re trying to maintain our usual levels of transparency, despite being in a physically different space, which makes that difficult.”  One thing they do to maintain transparency is that some of their senior team members now have ‘open 1-2-1s’ with their direct reports so that more junior team members can eavesdrop on what is going on like they would in the office.”
      The second Wednesday in the month is “Workmate Wednesday,” which is just to have non-work chats with colleagues.
      They also use their social budget to send people little treats in the post and include some remote socials. “Remote cocktail making for the Christmas party was brilliant,” Jimmy adds.  In addition, having found that around 20% of their team were suffering from their mental health after lockdowns started in 2020, they replaced their social budget for a mental health fund, offering counseling and yoga session in place of after-work drinks. This does seem to have helped and the team is coping better with this lockdown.”
      Donald’s top tips are:
      Donald believes that “flexible working arrangements will become the new normal going forward when it comes to future recruitment with fewer roles requiring to be based full-time in our HQ.   There will be more of a hybrid split between office-based and remote working from home.”  He believes this kind of flexibility is likely to be an important factor for many applicants in the future, so it’s vital to adapt and meet these expectations as quickly as possible.
      Donald also plans to strengthen FreeAgent’s progression and personal development.  They will offer people the chance to upskill and also to explore other careers within FreeAgent.
      They will also aim to improve things like salary bands, inter-departmental movement, flexible working arrangements, and succession planning “so that employees feel properly valued and nurtured.”
      FreeAgent is also continually reviewing staff benefits packages to ensure they are as strong as possible.  Donald believes that “if our people don’t feel they have a voice or are valued, we simply won’t be able to retain the amazing talent we have here.”
      Natalie’s top tips are:
      For Natalie, it is all about building culture.  One tip is that everyone on a remote team to have google hangouts open all day.  People being able to see each other makes a crucial difference to isolation.  They can always mute for an important call.
      She recommends enforcing virtual coffee meetings a couple of times a day.  Her experience is that people embrace it at first and then lose interest, so you need to really encourage it until they see the benefits – which are huge.
      Natalie says that to retain teams, a culture of compassion and flexibility will be the absolute key in the future.   Many people have to juggle work and family responsibilities in these lockdowns, and they need understanding and flexibility to remain committed and happy.
      Guided by the experts, I conclude that selecting the right talent will be the challenge for 2021 from a vast global pool.  Integration is critical for culture.  And when it comes to retention, the keywords are flexibility, transparency, compassion, and showing you value your team in every way possible.  Just as they have always been, but much more so.
      Jan Cavelle has several decades of founding micro and SME’s behind her and is now a freelance writer and author. Throughout her career, she has worked on various campaigns to support and encourage other entrepreneurs.   Her first book is Scale for Success: Expert Insights into Growing Your Business, Bloomsbury Business, 2021.

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      3 Reasons Why We’ll Continue Remote Interviewing Post Pandemic 

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      Interviewing has gone remote. While some think this is temporary, it’s actually the future.
      When the pandemic began, businesses were focused on putting their heads down and weathering an uncertain economic environment. For many, this meant a temporary freeze on hiring. As things thawed, hiring came back; but this time, it was remote.
      A Gartner poll found that “86% of organizations were incorporating new virtual technology to interview candidates” by the second month of the COVID-19 pandemic. This mad scramble to integrate new interviewing tools was, for some, disorienting; but in tech hiring, it’s been a godsend. While we still appreciate face-to-face interaction, the digital nature of remote interviews comes with so many benefits that we won’t be whiteboarding coding challenges with candidates ever again. Here are three reasons why:
      1. Less Work; More Data
      I work in tech and love data. Tech companies evangelize harvesting data wherever possible, but before the pandemic, interviews were a data dark spot. Most of the information conveyed lived either in the mind of the interviewer or via their notes. Even if there were coding assessments that added a quantitative element to the interview, these were often done on whiteboards or pieces of paper that then needed to be digitally transferred. The result was that interviewers often spent an extra 30 minutes simply capturing what had already transpired.
      Today, the entire process is digital, which means that so much more data is automatically captured, and it’s now being put to use. We have transcription tools and video recordings that make reviewing the interview that much easier. According to HackerEarth’s State of Developer Recruiting 2020, 56.9% of recruiters said a major benefit of remote interviewing came from pair programming with a collaborative code editor, as this automatically captures and assesses a candidate’s coding skill in a collaborative, work-like environment. We even have automatic feedback generators that request performance input after specific questions. These are then compiled into an after-action report that simply needs to be edited rather than written from scratch.
      This means that interviewers spend less time writing and more time carefully weighing a candidate’s skill. Starting digitally puts all the data at our fingertips and allows us to make the most informed decision. Instead of a data dark spot, remote interviews are now richer than a resume.
      2. Geographic Flexibility
      There’s no question that tech has a talent shortage. Only 60% of all tech positions are filled. When we were dependent on in-person interviews, we constrained our talent pipeline even further. With tech roles only becoming more important over time, we can’t think locally about tech hiring anymore.
      The pandemic opened up new talent reserves in geographically diverse locations. We can now hire anyone from anywhere. According to HackerEarth’s State of Developer Recruiting 2020, 50.6% of recruiters say that remote interviews are beneficial due to their logistical flexibility. A further 40.4% said they saved significant time. Remote interviews with built-in features like pair-programming and real-time code editing, which now constitute 11.1% of all remote coding interviews conducted, have basically solved the problem of onboarding the most qualified candidates regardless of location.
      There is now a bigger pool of tech talent that can work from anywhere, and assessing them remotely has never been easier. In fact, 30.7% of recruiters said that remote hiring had actually increased their talent funnel. As the global workforce becomes even more accustomed to remote work, this means that remote interviews will be a feature of the hiring process for years to come.
      3. Reduced Bias
      57.6% of enterprises have placed extra emphasis on hiring for diversity in 2020. But as much as we love meeting candidates face-to-face, first impressions are often clouded by personal biases that can unintentionally limit diversity. Recruiters and hiring managers tend to prefer candidates that mirror their own backgrounds in what has been termed by researchers “Looking Glass Merit.” While interpersonal and other soft skills are absolutely important, face-to-face interviews sometimes overvalue them relative to hard skills.
      Thankfully, remote interviews add a layer of separation that gives interviewers input on things like body language without placing undue influence on them. While 10.2% of recruiters at SMEs say that challenging unconscious bias is still a major pain point, and 13% of recruiters are specifically choosing assessment tools that help eliminate bias in the interviewing process.
      One way to combat this problem is to mask personally identifiable information (PII) during remote interviews so a candidate’s skills can speak for themselves. This means things like their name, gender, academic background, etc. are hidden during the interview itself, so the interviewer’s impression of a candidate is solely based on their skills.
      A Remote Interviewing Future
      Even after a vaccine is widely available and things start to return to ‘normal’, we won’t be looking back at how we used to hire. We may still meet candidates for in-person interviews from time to time, but will certainly continue to use digital interviewing tools for a better interviewing experience. Pair programming is just better on a computer, and we shouldn’t want to go back to the days of whiteboards and hand-written notes.
      Today, tech hiring is more competitive and geographically untethered than ever, so we need to make the interviewing process as convenient and flexible for candidates as possible. In the end, remote interviewing saves the company and the candidate time, and more importantly, allows interviewers to limit bias significantly relative to in-person interviews. These more objective interviews are helping managers create the best tech teams where only skills matter.
      By Sachin Gupta, CEO of HackerEarth.

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      3 Common Misbeliefs About Video Interviews

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      As someone new to the HR industry, I’ve been spending the past month familiarizing myself with commonly-used recruitment processes and technologies among HR professionals and hiring managers. A particular process that sparked my interest was video interviewing to screen candidates and determine their suitability for an available role.
      Video-interviews are pre-recorded, self-conducted interviews submitted by candidates alongside their job applications. Candidates are provided with a set of questions and are required to film their response within a specific time period. Video interviews are not to be confused with live-online videos conducted in real-time between a candidate and HR/hiring manager, via video-communication platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
      While learning about all the benefits, efficiencies, and capabilities of video-interviews, I thought to myself – Why don’t all recruiters use them?
      After a quick Google search – I found my answer.
      What’s the consensus?
      I came across copious amounts of news articles and Reddit threads condemning one-way video interviews. These sources, which were written by both job-seekers and HR professionals, referred to the video interview process as ‘impersonal,’ ‘dehumanizing,’ ‘awkward’ and even ‘disgusting’ that employers aren’t giving candidates the ‘courtesy’ to meet with them in-person or on a live-call.
      After reading these negative perceptions, it’s fair to assume that many HR managers feel deterred from incorporating video interviews into their recruitment process out of fear that it will be poorly-received by candidates and relevant stakeholders.
      This caused me to question; If a candidate feels this way after a video interview, doesn’t that say more about the company implementing the process rather than the process itself? It’s the classic saying that ‘a bad workman always blames his tools’. HR managers need to learn how to implement video interviews correctly and how they are intended to be used.
      I’m going to debunk common misbeliefs regarding video-interview technology and discuss why they are so valuable in the recruiting process – if used correctly!
      Misbelief #1: They don’t allow candidates to express themselves
      Of course, if candidates are asked run-of-the-mill interview questions (think ‘what are your strengths and weaknesses’ and ‘where do you see yourself in 5 years’), they won’t be able to authentically express who they are and what makes them unique to every other candidate. Asking these typical questions also leads candidates to believe that there is a predetermined ‘right or wrong’ answer, hindering their ability to speak freely.
      HR managers need to ask themselves – Does this question warrant a video response? Or is there a question that would better showcase the candidate’s potential?
      Video interview questions should require candidates to think outside the box and show (not just tell) the hiring manager why they’d be a great fit. The process should be interactive and engaging! Hiring a salesperson? Ask them to sell you a random object in their house. Hiring a bartender? Ask them to make their signature cocktail. Hiring a marketing specialist? Ask them to pitch a creative campaign idea. The questions asked during video interviews make all the difference when getting the most out of the candidate.
      Misbelief #2: They’re more of a gimmick than a necessity
      In my research, I saw articles that referred to video interviews as a gimmicky ‘recruitment trend’ rather than a legitimate, viable method to assist managers with making recruitment decisions. This could not be further from the truth!
      Video-interviews are a handy tool to assist with candidate screening. They are designed as an insurance method to rule-out candidates who may seem great on paper but aren’t the right cultural fit for the company or role.
      So, why not just stick to the ultra-familiar phone call screenings? As HR professionals, we need to leverage the available technology to our advantage! Video interviews have the capability to use artificial intelligence to analyze additional factors such as body language and eye-contact to determine who could be a good fit in only a couple of minutes.
      Once the interview is completed, hiring managers can view the responses and an AI-generated report outlining candidate insights such as personality type, emotional intelligence, and soft skills. With the help of technology, hours of manual work can be eliminated. As a result, the time-to-hire is slashed, recruitment-costs are reduced, and the overall efficiency of the candidate-screening process is maximized.
      Misbelief #3: They result in a negative candidate experience
      There’s no denying that many implementations of video-interviews have resulted in a poor candidate experience. Common candidate pain-points of poorly-implemented video interviews are that the process feels:
      Uncomfortable, and
      Impersonal
      These negative associations can be dispelled with just a few minor adjustments.
      Modern recruiting software allows managers to adjust the video interview guidelines. For instance, users can allow applicants to refilm their video interviews more than once if they aren’t happy with the outcome. Additionally, the time allocated to answer each question can be adjusted, reducing pressure on the candidate. It’s important to understand that video-interviews are not the same as live interviews; candidates cannot converse with the interviewee to ask questions or clarify their answers. Giving candidates a little extra time or the option to have a do-over can instantly relieve stress and discomfort – resulting in a better candidate experience!
      Incorporating a human-voice can also add to the personalization of video interviews. Let’s be honest; video interviews, in-essence, aren’t as personal as live interviews. Including a quick ‘introduction’ video from the recruitment team or even having a company representative read the interview instructions can add a personal touch, boosting the candidate experience.
      Concluding thoughts
      Video interviews aren’t designed to determine exactly who gets the job. Instead, they should be used as a supporting act, helping hiring managers to decide which candidates are worth investing time and energy into and which candidates aren’t. Yes, the technology is incredibly advanced, but it needs to be used correctly if employers want to reap the time and cost-saving benefits and provide their candidates with a seamless and enjoyable experience. So, if you aren’t using video interviews to their full potential, you’re missing out on finding the best-possible candidates!
      Lucy Hill is the marketing specialist at MyRecruitment+.

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