How Video Interviewing can Rescue your Summer Vacation

 The sound you should be hearing right now is your vacation calling you. It might be the ocean, the mountains or a dude ranch with a fly-fishing river running through it. The fact is recruiters are exceptionally susceptible to burn out at the same time that they are the employees least likely to use up their vacation days.

So many recruiters leave vacation time on the table because they feel as though they can’t afford to leave. In summer, colleges unleash a storm surge of newly qualified candidates to review. In fall, the government’s fiscal year begins with swollen budgets and new projects in need of hiring managers. In winter, there is finally time to write all those overdue reports and get organized before the New Year. In spring, construction, healthcare, finance and education are among the top industries that traditionally go into full interviewing mode. When can a recruiter get away with a getaway?

Many employees aren’t going to cause organizational problems when they go on vacation, but the hiring process can grind to a halt when a key recruiter is away. The prospect of a recruiter taking a leave of absence can be terrifying for the staff left behind when even a simple business trip can throw a spanner in the works.

How to Take a Vacation

If a recruiter hopes to take some needed time off, he or she must first find someone to cover his/her responsibilities and requisitions. If the replacement doesn’t keep up with candidates or demands, the company could lose highly valuable talent or leave the candidate with a poor impression of the company. Vacations have proven to be a valuable tool in fighting burnout and fatigue. Instead of neglecting your vacation this year, below is a better way to keep things running smoothly in your absence.

Leaving notes is a good start, but no one can cover every contingency with Post-Its. CRM systems are better at preserving candidate information and assessments, but they don’t do anything to keep the process flowing.

One answer is video interviewing. Video interviewing allows candidates to record responses to the recruiter’s questions in a similar environment. Candidates benefit by taking their time and answering fully without the stress of scheduling the pre-screen. For the hiring staff, there is no longer a need to rely on subjective interpretations. Anyone can view the video and make his/her own assessment of the candidate at any time. A recruiter who is absolutely bound and determined to do some work on vacation can even view the video interview on a mobile phone while stargazing on a sailboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Interviewing for the 21^st Century

In a world of 3D printed resumes and holographic salary reports, why are recruiters relying on 19^th century interviewing processes? In the end, the hiring decision depends on meeting the person and making the call based on experience. In between the job ads and the handshake, though, there is plenty of room for technology to lower expenses and ramp up efficiency.

Pre-recorded vs. live online interviews

A resume is not an ideal tool for early round screening, but there just isn’t enough time to meet everyone that sounds good on paper. Pre-recorded interviews give the hiring team a way to assess candidates quickly and efficiently using a streamlined process. That in turn allows the lead recruiter to get some much needed rest without worrying about things falling apart in the office. On the other hand, the best way to see if a candidate’s knowledge and personality will fit in well with the current team is to let those doing the job ask the questions. The team can ask highly technical questions to assess the candidate’s skills while the live panel video interview allows team members to pick up on millions of little non-verbal clues without the massive expense of bringing in all the candidates in person.

The best of both worlds

Video interviews provide many of the benefits of an in-person interview with none of the travel expenses or scheduling delays, allowing more candidates over a wider geographic distribution to be seriously considered. Interviewers can even review the candidate’s resume and make notes without disrupting the candidate’s train of thought or worrying about what next question to ask. Not to mention that all of the above can be accomplished by your hiring department while you are hang gliding over Costa Rica.