Cisco has announced that its managers will now conduct job interviews via video. And whatever Cisco does other technology firms are sure to follow.
Video interviewing is increasing in popularity among recruiters due to the opportunity to lower costs and increase the efficiency of the hiring process. E-Trade, for example, used HireVue -– an online video interview management system -– to hire 150 new employees in 60 days. Free messenger services, such as Skype and MSN Messenger, make interviewing in another market as easy as making a telephone call. Time.com offers up tips on how to use Skype in your recruitment process.
Fastcompany.com, which always seems to have the pulse of the technology industry, profiles video interviews this month in Webcam Job Interviews: How to Survive and Thrive. There are lots of good tips and useful information on how your video will be evaluated by recruiters. Worth noting is the two video interviewing formats — the standard format with a live interviewer and a question-and-response format without an interviewer. The latter approach then allows the recruiter to compare you with other candidates and even line up your videos side-by-side.
The ability to zero in on candidates answer-for-answer and gesture-by-gesture means the interviewee, you, should be more prepared. Substance matters. Ensure your responses are knowledgeable, focused and detailed. The highlighted articles above will help you prepare for the cameras and action.