A digital interview is an interview that’s set up online by an employer and sent out to candidates. In a digital interview, candidates can chat live on their webcam with members of the hiring team, or record themselves answering questions for the hiring team to review at their convenience.
Growing your team and bringing new people into your company is exciting. But, reading resumes, phone screening, interviewing candidates, and debriefing with colleagues afterwards might soon consume all your work hours.
What if, instead, you could find your top candidates faster, and then spend this time building stronger relationships with them?
Traditional interviewing is costly and time consuming for a company, and for the person being interviewed – because at most companies, the interviewing process is unstructured and inefficient. One-to-one meetings are typically unscripted, inconsistent, and wholly dependent on the skills and bias of the interviewer. Without real scalability, companies are wasting time and resources on a process that doesn’t always lead to great hires.
This is why more companies are exploring digital interviews as part of their hiring strategy.
What is a digital interview?
Digital interviews come in two forms: pre-recorded and live.
In a pre-recorded (or on-demand) video interview, employers select questions from a question library or an interview guide and ask candidates to record their answers. Candidates are usually given a minute or two to think, and then a few minutes to answer. Candidates can complete their recording whenever and wherever they’d like. Some employers go the extra mile to record themselves asking the questions to candidates, rather than simply showing the question in text on the screen. This gives the interview a two-way feel and is a great way to introduce candidates to your brand, culture, and people.
A live interview can be any kind of two-way chat over video. You can use the same video conferencing tool you use for meetings, but a video interview solution will give you extras, like the ability to create branded interviews, plus record, share, and leave feedback.
Of the 9,000 talent leaders and hiring managers surveyed in LinkedIn’s Global Trends Report, 18% said they have mostly or completely adopted new interview tools, and 56% rated new interview tools as an extremely important.
What are the benefits of a digital interview?
Efficiency
Some digital interviewing solutions, like Harver’s, can cut screening time by 60% and increase recruiter productivity by at least 4x. These more productive recruiting teams can then easily collaborate on hiring decisions with access to the same real-time technology and data across an organization, improving efficiency and filling positions with the best candidates faster.
Flexibility
Not only do hiring teams have the flexibility to review interviews when and where it best fits their schedule, candidates are able to complete a digital interview from any location, any time. For retail or hospitality employers, this flexibility helps multitasking location managers put on their hiring hat at the most convenient time. For job seekers, this is critical in a tight talent market where most candidates are already employed and not available during normal business hours.
Diversity
Digital interviews help companies cast a wider net and reach a larger, more diverse pool of qualified candidates. By eliminating the need to travel to or even live in a certain area, digital interviews give more candidates the chance to tell their story and show who they are beyond their resume.
Quality
Digital interviews create a consistent, structured interview format that leads to improved hiring outcomes. Research shows that consistent interview questions leave less opportunity for unconscious bias, and scoring systems create much-needed structure and accountability in interviews, resulting in better quality hires for your organization.
Innovation
All companies want to attract the best candidates. With digital interviewing, companies not only showcase their innovative approach to hiring, but also engage potential talent from across the globe. Just as candidates’ videos bring the resume to life, companies can leverage video to illustrate the best elements of their culture and brand.
To learn more about digital interviews, check out our comprehensive guide to digital interviewing.
