By: Alistair Rennie
The job interview process, from CV writing to face-to-face interviews has been largely the same experience for decades. But as the digital world continues to merge with our offline lives – the recruitment process is starting to do the same, thanks to innovations in the digital recruitment sector (like online video interviews) and the general way that we communicate – take snapchat job applications for example.
The numbers alone show that this change, while slow to start for the recruitment industry, will only continue to accelerate. In 2014, worldwide internet users hit the three billion mark and almost three quarters (72%) of these users are now active on social media.[i] What’s more, as digital natives grow up and start looking for their first jobs, they will expect to start and finish the process online.
Helping the next generation of job-seekers to feel confident and capable of entering the job market is important, and is a need that has been recognised recently by Foosle .com. The online job site and video interview service recently completed its second annual employment initiative with sixth form students at Cavendish School in Hemel Hempstead. The initiative is designed to train them in key skills and build their confidence for taking the next steps– be that looking for a job or heading off to university. For a generation that is already so familiar with photo and video in their personal and academic lives, it was unsurprising to see that the students embraced online video interviewing when taking part in a simulated video interview as part of the initiative.
Working with the job-seekers of the future got the team at Foosle thinking – what are the key digital trends that are going to shake up the recruitment landscape – from the rise in video interviewing technology through to the likely death of the paper job application. Here’s our forecast on four digital recruitment trends that will continue to accelerate in 2015 and beyond.
Social Job Seekers
Millennial job seekers are increasingly using the social sphere as a starting place for finding jobs. The term ‘social job seekers’ has become popularised as ‘those who search and apply for jobs via social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.’ Of these social jobseekers, three quarters (76%) found new positions through Facebook.[ii]
A similar proportion (73%) of Millennials use mobile to view job posts and apply for roles, which means jobsites, like Foosle must be mobile friendly in order to keep these social jobseekers engaged.
From an employer perspective, social media is also changing the way in which recruiters search and evaluate candidates. Nine in ten (93%) of recruiters check candidate’s social media profiles, and 42% have reconsidered a candidate based on their profile on social media – for better or for worse.[iii]
Video Interviewing
Video interviewing is really taking off as a platform, especially in the U.S, and is now gaining momentum here in the UK. Applicants and recruiters alike are now finding that paper CVs do not adequately represent the personality and skill-set of a candidate and more companies are beginning to conduct interviews using the medium of video to get much greater insight into what a job applicant is really like. Foosle uniquely offers a platform for candidates to search and apply for jobs, create visually enriched profiles and also to take video interviews all in one place, for a seamless experience.
We are seeing a gradual rise in the number of employers using video interviewing over the past couple of years, and it looks like video interviews will be a game-changing tool in the recruitment sector, especially as the next generation of job seekers enter the market, just like sixth form students we worked with at Cavendish school.
Video interviewing lines up with digital behaviour trends, outside the job market so it seems like a natural behaviour change for the industry. What’s more it can also save businesses time and money by assessing a group of potential candidates before they come in for face-to-face interviews. Using video interviewing brings the person behind the CV to life, and allows employers to assess their communication skills, personal presentation and professionalism.
Digital applications
There is a whole host of stories around creative job applications. Recently, one pub in Dublin were only accepting job applications via Snapchat – giving candidates 10 seconds to impress using the social app. Candidates can make use of social and digital tools to stand out from the crowd. It is becoming increasingly common that candidates are shirking papers CVs and considering the medium of application to be just as relevant as the content.
Video job posts
Along with video interviewing, job adverts being posted via video is also on the rise. Using video undoubtedly personalises an ad, and brings the role to life - something that can be difficult to do with just words on a screen. Announcing job offers through video and asking for video references is also something that companies are now doing as a means of building personal connections with candidates.
Visit Foosle.com to begin digitalising your recruitment strategy with video interviewing.