Browsed by
Tag: job interview

EasyHire.me Recognized as Best Video Interview Recruitment Tool!

EasyHire.me Recognized as Best Video Interview Recruitment Tool!

We are very pleased to share that EasyHire.me has been selected in the Best Video Interview category by the GetApp Service!

Best Video Interview Platform

“The thing that stood out for me about Easyhire.me was the innovative features. The two features that I found most interesting were Google Assistant integration and interview transcripts. Google Assistant integration makes it easy for applicants to find and apply for a job by simply saying: find EasyHire.

Whereas interview transcripts help recruiters source global talent by breaking the language barrier. When added to the other features Easyhire.me offers, these capabilities make the hiring process easier for both recruiters and applicants.” – Bandita Awasthi GetApp Content Writer.

GetApp reviewers highlighted the following features in particular:

  • Well organized graphic user interface that makes it easy to set up questions
  • Prompt and supportive customer service
  • Panel interviews
  • Interview transcripts

At EasyHire.me we believe that remote interviews are now an essential part of any successful recruitment strategy. Employers and recruiters gain significant advantage over their competition when they leverage EasyHire.me video interviews.

Here are the typical benefits of EasyHire.me video interviews:

  • Time and $ savings
  • Reduced bias
  • Data driven hiring decisions
  • Improved process and company image
  • Stress free candidate experience

As employers adapt to the new working conditions under the pandemic, EasyHire.me is strategically positioned to offer its scalable, secure and best in class service to small, medium, as well as any recruiting team in a large enterprise.

EasyHire.me offers special pricing for small and medium sized businesses, with plans starting at just $20 monthly.

Now Launched: Live Video Panel Interviews!

Now Launched: Live Video Panel Interviews!

The EasyHire.me team is very excited to launch Live Video Panel Interviews!

This feature has been on our roadmap for several years now. However with the shelter-in place conditions under COVID-19, we’ve seen an increased demand for this feature from employers.

Panel interviews are live interviews where a candidate is interviewed by multiple interviewers. Interview panel usually consists of the hiring manager, team lead, HR representative, and senior team members. The panel team may differ according to the organization’s type. Also, Panel interviews are often used for internal audits of the interview process and practices.

Easyhire.me allows conducting video Panel Interviews with up to 4 interviewers. Every interview panel member can add the question to the interview and leave grades and comments.

To invite interviewers click on the “Add Panel Members” button in the “Set up live interview” form. The interviewer can select panel interviewers from their team members.

Panel interview members will receive an interview confirmation e-mail after the candidate confirms the interview date and time. After the interview has been finished, all participants may view interview playback and submit a scorecard.

While On-Demand interviews is still the most common and efficient way to pre-screen a large number of candidates, for many types of jobs Panel interviews are an essential tool in getting to know how candidates perform under stressful conditions.

Try panel interviews and let us know your feedback!

Six ways to create an enjoyable and comfortable on-demand interview

Six ways to create an enjoyable and comfortable on-demand interview

A vast majority of candidates we polled reflected that interview process is very stressful to them. They felt even more stressed about an upcoming video interview. This was because they did not know what to expect, given this format is fairly new. Additional stress was due to the lack of feedback during a one way video-interview.

 

So we decided to share some tips for making EasyHire.me video interviews more comfortable for your candidates.

  • Create a clear branded image of the hiring team using customization options!

You can add your company logo, corporate colors, the email signature to all emails that are sent to candidates. This feature is available on the Teams page – Customization tab.

Ask your hiring team to fill out their profiles and add their photos.This will significantly increase candidate’s level of trust and confidence.

Profile photo can be specified by clicking on the profile drop down and selecting the Settings option.

Each team member can easily specify their title, position and responsibilities in the “About Me” section of their profile.

 

  • Compose a friendly email invitation to the interview!

Easyhire.me allows hiring managers to customize emails that will be sent to candidates on behalf of the team. This option is available on the Team page, the Email Templates tab. Often candidates get acquainted with a vacancy from an invitation to the interview – create your perfect invitation!

 

  • Add a welcome video message.

Take the opportunity to greet your candidates by creating video messages. Candidates will see the welcome video before they start interviews. This is a great way for a hiring manager to introduce themselves, share exciting facts about the company and team, provide more details about the position and the interview process.

You can record one video introduction and use it for all your question sets, or record an unique introduction to each set.

 

  • Be creative when composing a question set! 

 

In order to diversify question set you may use any combination of the following types of questions:

  • Video questions
  • Quiz questions
  • Text questions
  • Technical questions with the code runner
  • Questions with attached images

Our candidate surveys showed that when candidates see a video question, they feel less anxious about their own video recording. Therefore we recommend creating at least one video question.

One good way to create such question is to ask several of your colleagues to record a video question. You can then combine these into a single question set. As a result, candidates would get to know their potential future team before the formal on site interview. This way they are more likely to be excited about the position and have a much higher chance of a more positive outcome of the interview process.

For Default questions use the editor to create a question, attach a picture or insert a link.

Add time to prepare to your questions so that candidates get the opportunity to fully understand questions and think about the answers before being recorded. This will result in more complete and detailed answers.

 

  • Begin the interview with simple and open-ended questions, for instance:

«Tell us about yourself»

«Why are you interested in the role?»

«Describe your current (or most recent) position»

and then add more complex questions.

 

  • Thank the candidate for taking the interview.

Add «Thank you» video-message to your question sets. In this video, you can thank the candidate for the interview and explain to them what next steps will be taken if they will be approved or rejected.

 

We wish you good luck in finding and selecting suitable employees, and Easyhire.me will make this process easy and fast!!!

6 Ways AI Will Enable Recruiting to Be More Human

6 Ways AI Will Enable Recruiting to Be More Human

We all have seen the news and know that more and more jobs are being taken away by robots and some people are even afraid of the future because of it. Well, there are pros and cons for every new technology that comes our way. Just like cars where it makes it so much more convenient for us to travel now but it actually pollutes the air we breathe. So let’s actually take a look at the five ways that AI can make the recruiting process more human and easy for a change.

 

AI will make job ads more targeted and effective.

Basically, this technique will give recruiters the ability to place highly targeted ads in front of the right people at exactly the right time. Data based potential clients browsing history and online activity will allow them to do this. Advertisers need to be able to understand each browsing activity using cookies or what you can say are pieces of data that follow people as they visit different pages. Tracking these cookies and knowing if there are candidates visiting a page will allow recruiters to compile these data and can be used to shortlist potential candidates. This can also be done by looking at prospective candidates browsing histories to check phrases they’ve searched and pages visited against those used by local talent who visited a certain webpage.

The truth is that we are living in a world where ads dominate a lot of peoples lives. In fact, Betterteam found out that “Facebook only shows your posts to about 2 percent of people who like your page. To give your posts a chance of appearing, you can use paid ads to target friends of people who like your page.” So having AI actually allows people to find the right job quicker.

 

Profile Augmentation will give a clear picture of candidate’s skills.

AI will soon make it possible to see not just a candidate’s job history but also what they are passionate about doing. Using the same technology that allows companies to model an applicants behavior based on browsing histories and interests. They could figure out a person’s interests and hidden skills and this then would allow recruiters to recommend jobs related to what candidates actually want to do and not just the job they are assigned to now. This is especially useful for roles that are hard to fill, like an Information Security Analyst. There are few people who can handle this type of job, but you would be surprised to know that there are plenty with experience in software development who would jump at the chance of levelling up their game and taking on the job.

 

Chatbots can do the initial basic questioning for you.

There are companies that are already using chatbots in recruitment. Some companies like Shamrock foods actually ask for a potential candidates phone number and name through chatbots. So it basically eliminates the need to fill out forms, meaning less paper consumption. Once this forms are filled out, the chatbot is able to collect that information, the persons’ profile then goes into a CRM system where human recruiters can do their work. Bots can even follow up with candidates if they aren’t actively progressing with an application. So the main advantage of it is that recruiters get their time freed up a lot and they can then focus on the more important aspects of recruitment.

 

Advanced competency tests can gauge emotional and cognitive abilities.

There are actually advanced competency tests can tell a lot about a candidate and you’d be happy to know that games are involved. Certain games that are specifically made to test out abilities are a great and innovative way to know a candidate’s skills that would otherwise be difficult to detect, like problem-solving. They can also help recruiters assess a candidate’s willingness to take risks by creating scenarios within a game. There are more and more companies already doing this, but it will definitely become bigger within the next 3 years or so. Companies like Shell, AXA and Generali Group are already using Knack to assess their potential employees.

 

Facial and speech recognition software in video interviews can reveal more.

Video interviews will soon take over the normal hiring process and be much more useful. In the future, a candidate may only need to speak to the camera while the machine takes them through a list of questions. Meaning that recruiters will only need to review those videos and can actually prevent potential bias because they did need to interact with the person themselves. This may seem too automated for some but it actually allows a fair chance for each candidate, which is still a better outcome. Also, you can expect that video interview software will, in the future, be able to analyze body language, the tone of voice that can help in determining the overall qualification of a potential employee.

And if you want to try the future for yourself, you can try out EasyHire and get their free demo to have a proper idea of what it’s like to interview through videos.

 

Reference checking will become quick and easy.

Checking a potential clients reference is one of the most tedious things recruiters have to do. You have to call a minimum of three people to check the credibility of the person you are hiring and while this is not the same for all companies, some still do this. Well, there are now tools you can use to do this and yes, AI is still involve. At TeleReference, they have an automated reference checking platform that will allow recruiters to make their hiring process more streamlined. They even have a video, telephone or written reference options that can fit any requirements that a hiring manager needs. Also, it gives the candidates a better chance because the hiring manager will have more time to look into skills and abilities rather than calling all day for reference.

 

Don’t worry about the future, because you can never truly take away the output that a human is able to do. We all need to just focus on what things AI can improve and not always think about the bad. In the end, we all just need to make certain adjustments and try to see AI for what it is, a helpful tool.

Human Resources Today

Why do you need a good interview process?

Why do you need a good interview process?

I landed my first entry-level inside Sales Associate job working in the cubicle trenches for a subsidiary of a massive global corporation. I was so thrilled! The interview process? All it took was a phone call and interview with the Inside Sales Manager (plus a meeting with the HR Manager of course). “Wow! that was almost too easy!” I later found out that it was, indeed, way too easy. I was too excited to really notice and he was as enthused as I was. The initial in-person 1:1 interview took the tone of a conversation between friends rather than what I imagined would be a high-pressure situation where I was to be seated in front of a tribunal full of people in highly professional attire firing questions at me about my SAT scores and college GPA. “Weird,” I thought, “but maybe my interpersonal skills are so good that a ‘real interview’ isn’t necessary!” Looking back – was this really the case? Nope.

Anyone reading with hiring experience will recognize my former manager’s hiring process was not only lacking, it was nonexistent! Is this freestyle type of interviewing good practice? Not by a longshot. People who’ve done research into the history of job interviews (they actually exist!) describe what I experienced as a laissez-faire interview. Essentially, where there should have been a process, there was a void. And it had serious repercussions.

It wasn’t until we, the company’s first Inside Sales team (all five of us hired in the span of a week), started our work when I realized something was up. We all had the same orientation, same training on an advanced technology product, and the same objectives. Off the cuff there were two others beside me doing amazingly; successfully making appointments off cold calls within a week, collaborating with the remote sales representatives, setting up demos and conference calls, and dutifully logging all communication in our CRM. We were the “A Team.”

However, while the A-Team garnered considerable traction, I started to notice (and I’ll put this politely) a severe divergence in the quality of work performed by the other two in our cohort; both had dread of making outbound calls, they did a mass send to twenty-five customers a day to keep their CRM activity log somewhat up to par, but the dollar signs speak for themselves, and it didn’t take long for the Sales Department to recognize that these two hires weren’t ready, willing, or capable of doing their work.

So who’s to blame here? The Inside Sales Manager who hired people he thought would make good pals? The two hires who didn’t work out? The company? Answer: none of the above.  This isn’t politics, this is business. Instead of wasting our time blaming people, let’s take a closer look at what were the systemic problems in this particular hiring process.

I found out later that the Inside Sales Manager, along with his own quota and sales responsibilities, was simply given a budget and orders to hire an Inside Sales team and to do it fast. That’s no easy task – especially for someone with no previous hiring or interviewing experience. Without enough time for screening, a hiring team, or methodical process for interviewing, it was impossible to build a consistent high-caliber sales team.

Solution? Outfitting your hiring teams with a Talent Management Platform ensures a consistent structure in your interviews. EasyHire.me, for example, provides the ability for hiring managers to conduct Live and On Demand video interviews that can be recorded for later review by fellow team members. There’s no room for the laissez-faire style interview in a situation when a dedicated and focused hiring team (not just a single individual) plans and collaborates around the most relevant questions to ask or projects to give. If the two Sales Associates who didn’t work out were made to do mock cold call for mock product demonstration, surely things would have taken a different direction.

For those of you reading who’ve been in a similar experience or are getting too many of the “wrong fits,” we’d  be more than happy to show how EasyHire.me can enable talent acquisition teams to conduct efficient, consistent, and meaningful job interviews!

Reclaim your lunch break

Reclaim your lunch break

Have you spent one too many “working lunches” at your desk, just to make time in your schedule for Skype and phone interviews? Have you spent half an hour watching a candidate struggle through your questions, wishing you’d taken a proper lunch and seen the light of day for once during the week instead? Time is money, time is a proper meal. Let EasyHire’s new on-demand interview feature put interviews on your time.

Let EasyHire.me do the hard work for you in the initial screening of candidates. Once you’ve selected a pool of candidates that match your criteria, an email goes out to each interviewee with a link to take EasyHire on-demand interview. There, the candidate will record themselves answering a pre-selected set of questions. You’ll get notified upon the completion of their interview and you and your team can watch at your convenience. You can fast forward and rewind. You can watch early or you can watch late, not having to work around the candidates schedule or different time zones.

Use EasyHire’s interview management to complete the interview process, whether it’s video, phone, or in-person, with those you’ve decided to make it onto the next step in your interview process. Hire great people. Reclaim your lunch break.

Structured interview – an easy upgrade to your hiring process

Structured interview – an easy upgrade to your hiring process

1. Understand the job requirement

Specifying the job requirements clearly is the first step in the hiring process. Not only can it help dictate the open dialogue between you as an interviewer and the candidate, but also save your staffing team valuable time in their sourcing efforts.

Writing a good job description requires an understanding of company’s roadmap and timeline, both from a business and product perspective. In other words, address today’s needs, while also envisioning what the role would be a year from now.

For example, let’s say, you are looking to hire a Sales Development Representative. Your current need may be to generate more leads and revenue. However, you envision this hire to transition into a marketing role down the road. What would be the job requirements? Are you looking for someone to setup drip campaign or are you someone to do social marketing,

It may be wise to create a generic job description that emphasizes on expectations and accountabilities, rather than specific tasks, thereby encouraging employees to focus on results rather than job duties. We would suggest that you understand the role and responsibilities and write a more wide-ranging job description. A little extra time spent in compiling a good job description would help your recruiting teams efforts in finding the right candidate, faster!

2. Identify the key competencies 

Identify the most important competencies that should be evaluated during the interview. Define the key competencies that are must have and good to have. It is important that the hiring team understand the skills that are important for the job. Ideally, it would be great to get a candidate who has all the desired key competencies but most often you have limited time and so would have to compromise and pick the best available candidate. It would be helpful if the team has a prioritized list of key competencies that you are looking for in the candidates. Next step is to develop a list of questions to evaluate the competencies. Three to six competencies are typically assessed, and one to three questions might be developed around each competencies.

3. Develop questions around each competency

The next step is to develop questions to evaluate each of the identified competencies. All candidates should be asked a similar set of questions to bring consistency in the interview and evaluation process. For example, a key competency for manager often entails the ability to resolve differences within the team. Plan on asking questions that would give an insight on the candidate’s approach in solving such conflicts. The questions may include something like “Describe a time when you had conflicting ideas about the strategy of a project. Describe the situation? How did you help the team to resolve this conflict?” If it is a software engineering position which requires specific language skills, plan to have a specific question on coding that entails the candidate to write a snippet of code.

4. Define the metric scale 

Metrics are essential in today’s labor force. Not only do they help gauge overall performance, but can also be the driving factor for making hiring decisions. As you structure your interview process, it is important to identify the types of specific behaviors and descriptors that can be used to evaluate the candidate’s actions. These anchors are typically developed around a three or five-point scale. Define the metric scale and format to capture the factors that are important to the job position as well as for the company. Next, define the standards for rating so that all the evaluation across interviewers are normalized. Here are two factors to keep in mind:

  • Relevant metrics to a role: Measure a candidate on similar metrics to what their role entails. For example, if you are interviewing a Marketing candidate, your objective may be to read a sample writing a piece on the spot.
  • Qualitative vs. Quantitative: Being able to reduce subjectivity in the interview process is important. We are a product of our environment and as such, do bring our personal biases in the hiring process. We can reduce these biases by quantifying the candidates on the set of objectives with a well defined metric scale 

In the end, a structured approach to interviewing and decision-making process will help you in scaling the team, faster.

What type of interviewer are you?

What type of interviewer are you?

Interviewing is an art! It is a self taught skill that you need to learn and master yourself.  There is no clear-cut course that teaches you how to be a good interviewer. An effective interviewer makes their candidate feel comfortable and relaxed to bring the best out of them in order to ascertain what skills they can bring to the table. They inspire the candidate to want to be part of their initiative and engage them in introspective discussions. They make the candidate contemplate on how they can improve themselves and their peers.

You can be more successful as an interviewer by being conscious as to whom you are interviewing. Before commencing the interview, first establish the role and the job you are interviewing the candidate for. Are you interviewing for a customer facing role or a product development role? Additionally, while interviewing, be aware of the type of person you are talking to. Are you talking to a fresh graduate or an industry veteran? Would the candidate be reporting to you or would he be joining the team as your peer? These are but few of the factors that you should consider before initiating the interview. By analyzing and deciding all of these factors, you can pick a candidate who is best suitable for your work style and the job at hand, and hopefully, a long-term contributor to your company.

Here are some crucial qualities that you can pick from as the interviewer:

  • Assertive: If you are going to be their manager, establish the company’s hierarchy and accountability in a positive manner. Act like his manager and give the candidate a realistic glimpse on how you see them fitting in your company.
  • Collaborative: If you are interviewing your peer, solve problems together with the candidate. Your interview should aim in not only finding out how suitable the candidate is for the job but also how good it is to work with him.
  • Inquisitive: If you are interviewing your boss, talk about his vision and plans for the company and evaluate if he has the abilities to execute on them. Share your passion and commitment towards the job and find out if they are aligned with his.

Your evaluation on the candidate should depend on the interview session. If you were a tough interviewer, go easy on the evaluation. If you were collaborative and friendly, be tough on the evaluation. Finally, the choice is yours to pick a persona and conduct the interview accordingly.  Plan ahead – study the candidate, choose the appropriate persona, and provide a rounded, insightful evaluation on the candidate.