If you're looking for top level performers to fill open positions at your company, you know you won't always be able to find them in your backyard. To bring the most talented people to your team, you need to be able and willing to reach them no matter where they are.
Once you've identified the right candidate, however, it can be just as difficult to schedule a meeting. Flying them out to your office gets costly, especially if you are considering multiple candidates. Plus, it's not always realistic to expect they will be able to take the time off to make the trip, especially considering championship-level talent are typically more passive candidates would have to step away from their current job to meet you.
While a phone call would allow the two of you to talk about the opening, it rarely creates the level of connection that could spark a passive candidate's interest. An effective video interview, on the other hand, can foster a much stronger connection between you and the candidate, making a world of difference with highly sought candidates.
To make a stellar first impression with your next video interview, keep these tips in mind:
- Prep the interviewee: While many job seekers have been to plenty of in-person interviews or taken many interviews on the phone, far fewer will be as comfortable on a video call. To help them know what to expect, try sending them a brief note a few days before the call to let them know with whom they will be speaking as well as a quick agenda for the interview. This will help give some structure to what could otherwise be unfamiliar territory for the interviewee.
- Test: Especially if you haven't logged in to your video conference account lately, take a moment at least a few hours before the call to sign in and make sure everything is working properly. Although everyone can understand "technical difficulties" sometimes crop up, a smooth call will present a much more polished image of your company.
- Keep their phone number handy: In case a technical problem arises during the call, having the candidate's phone number within reach will allow you to pick up the call right where you left off with as little interruption as possible.
- Beware of bright backdrops: One consideration you should make before you get started is how you will sit in relation to the light in the room. As a general rule, keep light sources (including bright windows) in front of you. Otherwise, your webcam will expose for them and you will be left as a silhouette.
- Maintain eye contact: While you surely focus on this for in-person conversations, maintaining eye contact can be much harder on a video call. One of the biggest distractions during video calls is the window that shows you what the other participants can see, because it is so tempting to use it as a mirror and adjust your hair or surroundings. Once you've set yourself up in the frame so you know you're easy to see, try minimizing that window so you can focus on the candidate.
Working with a global executive search firm can help you identify top talent from around the world, whether they're actively looking or not, giving you the resources to hire the best candidates as quickly as possible.
Finding people is easy, but finding the RIGHT people is not. YES Partners helps companies FIND the right people for all company functions, across many industries and globally.
