The hiring industry has changed dramatically over the past few years. The rising popularity of remote work and advanced technology made most companies adopt digital recruiting tools to manage the things.
According to a survey, 78% of HR managers are planing to use automation tools to streamline their processes, 69% of them using or planning to use remote video interview software. It was discovered that 79% of hiring managers now leverage video technologies to evaluate applicants, reflecting a significant shift toward digital-first hiring practices.
Pre recorded video interviews have become one of the cogs in this process and have already proven to be a convenience for both employers and candidates.
What Is a Pre Recorded Video Interview?
A pre recorded interview is a kind of online interview during which the candidates record their answers to a set of questions before the interview session. Pre recorded video Interview is not conducted in real-time; therefore, there is no fixed time to be presented either for the candidate or the employer. Such flexibility allows employers to make a decision and makes the process less stressful for both sides.
What Is the Difference Between Pre-Recorded and One-Way Interviews?
One-way interviews and pre recorded interviews differ in approach. Both consist of candidates taping their responses to questions on the final schedule. However, “pre-recorded” is beneficial for the candidate to make their choice of questions and record answers flexibly, whereas “one-way” is preferred by employers who record answers without a specific schedule.
How Does Pre-Recorded Video Interviewing Work?
Here’s how a pre-recorded Interview typically works:
- Question Setup: Employers create a list of role-specific questions using an interview platform.
- Invitation Sent: Candidates get a link with instructions.
- Recording Responses: Candidates record answers on their own time, often within a given deadline.
- Review Process: Employers get the recorded responses, evaluate them, and move forward with the selected candidates.
As the scheduling of on-demand interviews and initial screening is timely, the use of this method is more effective in the hiring process.
Why Use Pre-Recorded Interviews in Hiring?
Employers are turning to pre-recorded video interview for several reasons:
- Streamlined Screening: Quickly filter out unsuitable candidates.
- Scalability: Manage high-volume hiring efficiently.
- Consistency: Standardized questions ensure fair evaluations across all applicants.
- Time-Saving: Avoid scheduling conflicts and reduce interview time.
- Flexibility for Candidates: Allows candidates to prepare and respond in a comfortable setting, reducing stress.
Effective Pre-Recorded Video Interview Questions to Ask
Creating the right pre recorded interview questions is vital for gathering meaningful insights. Below are some examples by category:
Behavioral Questions
- How did you address conflict at the workplace?
- Share with us an example of a goal that you accomplished under pressure.
- How do you generally react to the feedback of your colleagues?
Situational Questions
- What would your action plan be if a certain project has been delayed?
- How do you manage a problematic client?
- Explain how you handle yourself while dealing with more than one deadline.
Skill-Focused Questions
- Name the skills that make you suitable for this position.
- Share an example of a skill you’ve recently improved.
- How do you stay updated in your field?
Technical Questions
- Describe a challenging solution you have successfully implemented.
- Which tools or software do you consider yourself familiar with to perform this job?
- Tell us how you approach the debugging process.
Problem-Solving Questions
- Do you have some distinct approach to address issues in the working procedures?
- Share the methods you use to take a record while solving a particular problem.
- Share with us how you solved some problems you faced using your creativity.
Experience-Related Questions
- Describe your role in some recent successful projects.
- What unique experience makes you special?
- How did your previous work prepare you for this position?
Creativity and Innovation Questions
- How do you use innovation in the problem-solving process?
- Describe some creative and innovative solutions in your practice.
- What is your strategy for solving a problem creatively?
Personality and Interest Questions
- What motivates you to move forward?
- How do you prefer to spend your free time?
- What do you like about this field, and why?
Benefits of Pre-Recorded Video Interviews for Employers
- Better screening: Unless you’ve worked on hundreds of resumes a week, it may take several minutes to spot the best prospects.
- No scheduling: Time synchronization is not an issue because there is no need to arrange the availability of all participants to a particular meeting.
- Less successful candidates: As a result, it is more flexible and less stressful for applicants.
- Access to the world talent pool: You can directly select candidates for a job worldwide without worrying about their distribution across locations.
Challenges of Video Recorded Interviews
Despite their benefits, pre recorded interviews come with challenges:
- Technical Issues: Poor internet connections or some platform bugs can impact the interview process.
- Lack of Personalization: Candidates may find that automated processes are less personal compared to traditional hiring methods.
- Potential Bias: Evaluations may be slightly affected by subconscious biases.
How to Overcome These Problems
- Technical Training: Make sure that the candidates and the staff know what to do
- Inclusive Design: Use diverse questions and employ a range of concerns that are not likely to favor any candidate or group of candidates.
- Feedback Opportunities: Offer the candidates chances to report problems or to give suggestions.
Best Practices for Pre-Recorded Video Interviews
| Best Practice | Description |
| Use Structured Scorecards | Use a standardized method of assessing the candidates |
| Use AI Tools | Eliminate repetitive manual tasks (like initial screening) with AI enabled candidate screening tools |
| Perform Collaborative Reviews | Involve more than one independent reviewer so that decisions will be fair |
| Provide Clear Instructions | Make sure the candidates know how the process works. |
Popular Pre-Recorded Video Interview Platforms
Several platforms offer reliable pre recorded interview technology:
- 1Way Interview: A user-friendly, customizable tool for one way job interview.
- Spark Hire: Recognized for its scalability. But if you are looking for a more affordable and simple product, get started with Spark Hire competitor.
- Willo: Solutions for business clientele.
- HireVue: Integrates AI analytics in interviews. However, you can always try a free alternative to HireVue.
- Vidcruiter: Offers various asynchronous video screening systems.
Conclusion
In this ever-changing process of hiring, pre recorded video interviews are one of the best techniques for successful and cost-effective hiring. Employers can secure their competitive advantage by improving the efficiency of their channels to recruit talents, while candidates on the other side can be relieved from the stressful interview environment. You should include technologies such as 1Way Interview to improve the prospects of the modern recruitment process.
FAQ
How to Conduct Pre-Recorded Interviews?
Choose the right platform, create well-formatted questions, and establish realistic candidate expectations. Explain how the responses should be taken and where and how to submit them, make it simple.
How to Evaluate Pre Recorded Responses?
Evaluation should be systematic and analytical. It should employ criteria-based scorecards. Ask other team members to get different opinions and benefit from built-in analyses or AI tools.
Is Pre-Recorded Video Interview Effective?
Yes, it is effective, time-saving, provides high comparability, and flexibility for employers and candidates. It is particularly useful if you have to deal with large numbers of positions to fill or in case the recruitment process must be conducted remotely.
How to Choose the Right Pre-Recorded Video Interview Platform?
It has to be user-friendly and reliable. Besides, consider customization, analytics, and excellent customer support. For example, 1Way Interview makes processes very simple to set up and offers customization depending on the requirements of the organization.
How to Improve the Pre Recorded Interview Process?
Focus on effective communication, clear question formulation, and a strong technical flow. Provide candidates with support resources, and always adjust your process according to the feedback.
How to Implement Pre Recorded Video Interview?
Choose an appropriate platform, train your team, and give clear guidelines for the candidates. Perform test runs and use metrics to quantify the success. Increase use of analytical tools.
What Is the Role of Pre-Recorded Interviews?
Pre recorded interviews make the recruiting process faster by doing first rounds of elimination automatically, which enables employers to assess the candidates in a free, worldwide manner while providing the applicants with a stressful environment.
Content marketer at 1Way Interview with a strong background in journalism. Igor leverages his industry insights to create passionate content that helps employers and business owners optimize their hiring routine.