Q. We are a newly established engineering firm in the region, and are currently looking to recruit for specialized technical positions, particularly from abroad. So in the coming months we will be interviewing most of these professionals remotely. Any advice on how to carry out these interviews? – Santosh J.
A. Hi Santosh, this is a great question considering the fact that ‘
social recruitment’ is already achieving widespread recognition in the recruitment field. It is only a matter of time until the latter half of the recruitment process, i.e. interviewing, makes the jump. Conducting your interviews with these candidates virtually could be a good solution in your case.
In fact at Bayt.com, in true fashion of being ahead of the curve, our
Virtual Job Fair (VJF) platforms have already broken ground as being the first in the region to take the concept of a job fair to the virtual sphere. These career fairs allow jobseekers from all over the world to apply to jobs in the MENA region, as well as interact in real time with MENA employers at these virtual ‘booths’. At a fraction of the cost compared to a traditional brick and mortar job fair, the
Bayt.com Virtual Job Fair is a great opportunity for companies to cast a much wider net to scope out the talent market.
One of the features accessible to employers on the VJF platform is the ability to conduct video interviews, along with having interactions with candidates on chat.
Below are some of the benefits of video interviews from the HR experts at Bayt.com:
1. Save time and valuable resources
The process of screenings and interviewing is quite time consuming. Not only does your team end up spending more time scheduling them, but candidates also have to take time off and travel to your country. In your case, where the candidates are not based in your home country, physical interviews are not practical.
2. Project a creative employer brand
By being an early adopter of video interviews you are ahead of other organizations in your industry who are vying for the same talent pool. This creates a great impression to the candidate also, and you show yourself as an innovative organization. The Bayt.com poll on
Employer Branding in the MENA (February 2014) clearly indicates that when it comes to choosing a place to work, jobseekers are selective. In fact, 6 in 10 of them give importance to an employer’s brand name when judging a new job offer. They also value face-to-face interaction as they may not be able to project themselves adequately over a phone interview. In this case having a Skype interview is a great option.
3. Enjoy better record management
Skype interviews give you the advantage of being able to record your video interview sessions, which makes it easy for you to manage your records on a candidate. These video files can then be retrieved and accessed later on not only by the hiring manager, but also the by department manager.
As you can see Skype interviews can be a blessing to busy hiring managers. They offer you more time and better flexibility with options for post-interview decision making.
What about you, do you conduct Skype interviews? Do you have any tips to share with other employers? Use the comments section below to share your views!
