talent development Archives - EasyHire.me - Video Recruiting Platform

4 Ways to Increase Candidate Engagement in Higher Ed

July 26, 2018 Dana Rocha

Don’t miss out on a Nobel because of bad process

Higher education institutes have always grappled with long hiring processes. Of course we’d like it to be faster, but we also recognize the search process as inherently longer because of the nature of the position. Each search is conducted with careful consideration and the hope that taking time to make the right decisions is mutually beneficial for new hires and the institutions. That said, it’s difficult to maintain candidate engagement throughout lengthy decisions. Here’s a few ways to cut down on the “black hole” effect. Don’t lose your hires because of bad processes because you’ll be kicking yourself if you lose a candidate and see them winning a Nobel prize at another school a decade down the road.

1. Be thoughtful when building an application process.

Ensure your application process is flexible and includes only the information necessary to make a decision. Too much information required upfront can discourage some of the best candidates from applying. For example, references are often not required during the initial round of review. Requesting more information from candidates who are qualified later in the process will keep them engaged if they see your process as logically sequenced and relevant. Essentially, don’t push away smart candidates with dumb process setting.

2. Manage Expectations!

Be upfront with your candidates about the timeframe. You may have a period of when applications are accepted before anyone at all gets reviewed. You may have expected delays such as breaks or other known periods where the hiring team will be busy or unavailable. Look at your calendar, assess, and establish a realistic timeframe for your candidates by attaching dates (or date ranges) to each application step and review.

3. Communication is your friend!

According to a recent hiring survey conducted by Robert Half, “when faced with a lengthy hiring process, 39 percent of survey respondents lose interest and pursue other roles, while 18 percent decide to stay put in their current job.”

Use your institutions marketing software or the thousands of free or paid tools you can find on the internet to set up an email sequence. Letting candidates know you are still interested in them as well as providing more details about your Institution and community to keep them engaged. In the final rounds or if it comes down to the candidate choosing your institution rather than you choosing them, hosting events and tours can be another great way of keeping candidates engaged.

4. Have a personal touch

Sending updates via personal secured video messages are easy and cost effective – sometimes free! Vidyard Go Video for example is sleek and simple way to communicate with candidates or employees via a personalised video.

Simply record a quick video that personal and effective. This tool also tracks when candidates or employees actually watch the video and how many times viewed.

Check out EasyHire.me – by far the best platform for integrating video interviewing, live or recorded, into your hiring process for faster acquisition times and consistently higher quality candidates.

Jeremy Hoffman
Vice President, Sales
EasyHire

Scaling Fast? 3 Questions HR Can’t Afford to Forget

June 29, 2018 Dana Rocha

Don’t forget the essentials – especially in times of fast-and-furious growth

Job interviews can be a jarring, if not a downright anxiety-provoking event for many, especially when it’s not for a mere ‘job,’ but for the brave next step in a candidate’s career. Depending on the position, interviews can be high stakes for candidates and hiring managers alike. With recruiting agencies, advertisements, time spent on training, cost of low productivity, possible upfront moving costs and even hiring bonuses, the wrong decision on a hire can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Unstructured interviews with a lack of consistent questions can sometimes have HR and hiring managers forgetting the most basic questions:

-Can you do the work?

-Will you like the position and bring your best in every day?

-Will you fit in with the company?

These are, of course, the very basics. There are thousands of articles and blogs containing the words: “Top Interview Questions” and most questions do assess one of these things. However, companies of every size need to be cognizant that gaps can start growing if they lack quality HR processes. Make sure to having screening tools, consistent interview techniques, and collaboration processes. For example, an enthusiastic ‘thumbs up’ from the department head should not be the ultimate decider in the hiring of a candidate.

Finally, I’d be an irresponsible blogger if I didn’t mention EasyHire. Which, by total coincidence has sponsored this blog space (too weird!) This software is used by HR departments and staffing professionals to screen large pools of candidates with intuitive video interviewing technology.

One last thing: for job seekers reading this, I think these questions are just as valuable. If you don’t know the answers to these questions with regards to companies you’ve applied for, maybe you should find out!

–The EasyHire Team

How Well Do Your Candidates Interview?

June 23, 2018 Jeremy Hoffman

Grill candidates with video interview prep to cool their nerves and increase confidence on game day

Whether you’re working in a search firm setting or a corporate environment as a contract recruiter, think for a moment how much of your time you spend sourcing, screening, and recruiting candidates. A lot. Now think: how much time do you spend preparing your candidates for actual interviews?

Before in-person interviews are scheduled between the candidates you’ve recruited and the companies you represent, it goes without saying you’ve already done a whole lot of work developing the matches, the “good fits.” However, understanding the role and its context within the company and confirming a genuine candidate is great due diligence, but is it enough?

Question for you: “How well do your candidates interview?” If you don’t know, you need this article.

Preparing candidates for real-life interviewing is critical to your success. Using a video interview platform allows candidates to comfortably practice on their own time and gives you the opportunity to review and provide feedback where needed.

1: Record, Review, Refine…

In the few days, hours, and minutes leading up to the interview, everyone gets nervous. No matter how much coaching you provide, it’s simply how we’re wired. Video interviews can help simulate some of the same pressure felt in in-person interview. Additionally, get used to curveballs. Prepare candidates for questions they may not have thought of candidate can be asked questions they might not expect. Being able to practice this scenario over and over will create flexibility in candidates’ responses.

2: “Why do you want to work here?”

The well-prepared candidate should know the company he or she is interviewing for better than their own resume. If candidates don’t prepare for this question, it will not only be obvious, it may be a dealbreaker for their candidacy. Asking this question and reviewing it in a recorded video interview will help your candidate avoid the longest most awkward silence ever.

3. Ready, Set…

Video interviewing platforms such as Easyhire can simulate the challenging interview environments by prompting candidates with similar questions in a live or pre-recorded scenario. Alongside timed assessment, multiple-choice, extended text, including coding / whiteboarding windows, written response, and others, you can be more confident in your rockstar candidates on their big day.

4. Go with confidence!

Even with years of experience and qualifications a candidate may have, don’t take chances and assume your candidates will do great until you’ve seen it with your own eyes. Some may be ready to go off the bat. However, many candidates may have been out of the market for a while or are entering a new industry. With new technology, preparing candidates with video interviews may be innovative to some, but it’s really just common sense.

-Jeremy Hoffman

VP Business Development

EasyHire