The world of talent acquisition has changed dramatically over the years. In the past, many businesses relied on the recruiter’s “gut feelings” to quickly sift through the numerous candidates that applied to each role. While gut instincts can be helpful in several situations when you are trying to fill an important role and determine who the best fit for your team is, gut instincts are not going to cut it. More than anything, these instincts can perpetuate very homogenous work environments because they can be based on unconscious biases against certain races, genders, or personal beliefs.
One step that many businesses have taken that can help them to focus more on the qualifications of their candidates rather than the feeling the recruiter gets is opting for an online interview process rather than an in-person one. Now, many businesses may feel like online recruiting methods — such as video or phone interviews — take away a lot of the personality from the discussion and make the process more robotic and less engaging for candidates. While this can be true if you opt for a generic and boring interview script that candidates have heard hundreds of times in their job search, it does not have to be.
There are numerous online interview tips and tools that recruiters can use to offer a consistent and structured online interview that is still engaging and representative of your company’s tone and values. One of these tools is Qualifi’s on-demand phone interview platform. Qualifi helps you to create on-demand phone interviews, which, unlike traditional phone interviews, allow you to come up with a consistent interview script that uses authentic voices and allows your candidates to feel that they are interviewing with a real person even if they are taking the interview after regular business hours or on the weekend. These on-demand interviews also help to speed up the hiring process and keep your candidates more engaged and interested in working with your business because it shows them that you value their time and that you are keeping up with new technologies as a business.
One of the most complex parts of using an online interview is coming up with the questions you want to ask. This may not seem like such a big deal because you likely already have a list of questions that you already ask in your interviews, but you want to ensure that each question you are requesting has a purpose and flows nicely from the previous question. This is more important in an online interview because you will be using the same script of questions for all of your candidates.
So, when you are trying to come up with your online interview questions and answers that you want to receive for those questions, it can be beneficial to look at online interview examples that already exist. To find these examples, you may search for “sample interview question and answer” or “online interview example.” Once you have looked at some examples, you can create your own interview script. In your script, you want to ensure that you are keeping the human connection between your recruiters and your candidates by recording your questions in a single, consistent voice — preferably someone that a candidate would interview with later on in the hiring process — and that your questions reflect your brand’s style and voice.
As more and more businesses opt for online interviewing methods, more and more software options and platforms that provide these online interviewing solutions are becoming available. Because of this, it can be challenging to find the right hiring tool for your business if you do not have an idea of the type of tool you are looking for. That said, if you know what type of software or platform you are looking for, you should be able to find the perfect solution for your business with just a little comparison and research.
For example, if you are looking for a platform or software solution that allows you to create an on-demand interview experience for your candidates, then you can focus your search on these types of tools. One platform that may come up in your search is Qualifi. Qualifi is a platform that helps you to create on-demand phone interviews that speed up and simplify your interview process. With these interviews, you can screen candidates in just 3-5 minutes and focus on your best candidates more quickly. Additionally, candidates can take on-demand interviews at any time that works best for your candidate because they are pre-recorded. This means that you no longer have to spend hours scheduling and rescheduling interviews and instead can focus your efforts on evaluating your candidates.
As mentioned above, coming up with your interview script can often be the most challenging part of creating an online interview process. But, if you have looked at examples that you can take inspiration from, even this part of the process does not have to be that challenging. You can look online for examples of an interview script for interviewer or recruiter.
You may find it helpful to talk through any potential interview scripts or go through some job interview script role play with a coworker so you can ensure that the interview covers all of the essential questions and flows naturally. Once you have completed your job interview script sample, you are ready to create your online interview. These scripts can be quickly recorded and formatted into a consistent and structured on-demand interview using a platform like Qualifi. And once you have finished creating your interview, you can begin immediately sending it out to applicants as soon as they apply for a position and then review their answers as they come in.
Since more businesses are choosing to use online interviews rather than traditional interviews, it is no surprise that more and more types of online interviews are becoming available for companies to choose from. There are two prevalent types of online interviews today. These are phone interviews and video interviews. Both have their own benefits and drawbacks, but how can you know which one will be better for you?
A video interview is, in a lot of ways, more similar to a traditional interview because you can see the candidate as they interview. This can, at first, seem like a good thing because it can make the interview seem more personal. However, one of the disadvantages of this is that recruiters may still be affected by unconscious biases, whereas they cannot be in a phone interview. Both video and phone interviews can use AI (artificial intelligence) technology to help recruiters filter for keywords and specific qualifications. Still, if you are looking to mitigate bias in your interviewing process, a phone interview may be a better option than a video interview.
Due to the flexible nature of an asynchronous phone interview, candidates can conduct them whenever and wherever best suits them and their schedules. This allows them to focus on describing their qualifications and experience rather than worrying about being on time or dressed professionally enough for a traditional interview. Because of this, you can ensure that you make your decisions based solely on qualifications and not other external factors such as securing transportation or a professional interviewing location.