Lights, camera, RECRUITMENT

Skewed ties or even the slightest hint of scruffiness will come under the spotlight like never before during job interviews as employers receive a new tool in their bid to get the right person for the job.

The introduction of Digital Video Recruitment (DVR) by Recruitment Zone, Scotlandís leading independent recruitment agency, will enable employers to by-pass time consuming job interviews and pinpoint those candidates that display the right skills and knowledge.

DVR aims to bridge the gap between CV and candidate by showing individuals answering competency based interview questions. Employers would then be presented with a CD ROM, which would include clips of the final stage candidates as well as their CVs.

Among the employers to have already benefited from DVR is HBOS which utilised the service in its recruitment of a new branch manager for the Edinburgh City area.

Traditional methods of recruitment by agencies generally involve identifying suitable candidates, interviewing them either by telephone or face to face, and then forwarding the candidateís CV to the employer for consideration. The employer could then be faced with a time-consuming interview process as they hunt for the skills not portrayed through a CV.

Although still in its infancy, Andy Barton, Director of Edinburgh-based Recruitment Zone, believes that DVR fills a significant gap in the recruitment process and fully expects it to become a favoured tool among employers.

He said: ìDVR is not there to supplant traditional methods of recruitment but technology has moved on, giving employers a cost effective way to enhance the recruitment process and identify the best person for the job.

ìFace to face interviews with employers will always be important but DVR will help identify the best candidates for the final recruitment stage. Our role is to handle the entire pre-selection screening and competency interviews to produce a video shortlist. The employer than has greater insight into the candidateís suitability for a role than would be gained through a CV alone.î

While the benefits to employers are easily discernible, serious candidates have nothing to fear and should, in fact, welcome DVR according to Andy.

He said: ìEmployers are generally looking for candidates that are committed and interested in the business they wish to enter. The knowledge of candidates that prepare fully for interviews is going to come across far better on video while also giving them the chance to convey their personality in a way that has not been possible until now.î