How recruiters can use video to secure top talent at every stage of the recruitment funnel.

August 11, 2022
If your job touches recruitment, you probably know all about The Great Resignation – the post-pandemic trend that has seen hordes of people quitting their jobs. It’s a trend that’s set to continue, with one in five workers across the world planning to switch employers in 2022.  While this movement is still playing out, one thing is for sure – standing out to candidates has never been more important. It’s a candidate’s market and talent can afford to be choosy. So how can hiring managers stand out at every stage of the recruitment journey?  In this piece, we’ll walk you through the new recruitment funnel that every recruiter and hiring manager should be across. We’ll explore how video will help you develop a personal connection with talent at every stage of their journey – and hopefully help you get a star recruit to sign on the dotted line and ready to kick goals at your company. You can also download the infographic and the Ultimate Recruitment Toolkit

Stage 1: Awareness

At this early stage of the recruitment funnel, you’re not filling a specific role or targeting an applicant, but enhancing your company’s perception as a great place to work.  Having a great employer brand will be essential in reeling in great candidates –  after all, ​​92% of people would consider changing jobs if offered a role with a company with an excellent corporate reputation. Start with some desktop research: how is your company presenting on your website’s career page, LinkedIn and Glassdoor? From there, think about how you can show (not tell) why your company is a great place to work by communicating its vision, culture and values. Here’s how video can help: 
  • Post employee testimonials on your social media channels. 
  • Create brand videos about what your company does and why your people love working there. Here are some great examples to get you inspired.  

Stage 2: Attraction

At this stage, you’ll hone in on a specific job opportunity. Start by publishing a job ad and encouraging your team to share it with their networks.  But here’s a surprising statistic: Only 30% of the global workforce is actively looking for work, meaning the remaining 70% are passive talent who aren’t actively searching for work. This means it’s less likely that your job ad will land in front of all possible candidates This is where recruiters can reach out to prospective talent who may not be actively looking for their new role and show them why your company is worth considering.  That said, blasting out a copied and pasted cold email just won’t do. After all, personalised InMails perform about 20% better than ones sent en masse. To grab their attention you need to show you’ve done your homework on the candidate and personalize your outreach tactics. Here’s how video can help: 
  • Create a snappy video telling the prospective candidate about the opportunity and why their skills would be a great match. 
  • Feature a video at the top of the job description that covers the job perks and company culture. 

Stage 3: Consideration

You’re seeing interest – great! Now you have to focus on nurturing top candidates with the ultimate aim of getting them to apply. Communication is everything in this stage: be sure you’re providing information about the role, the company and its values.  During this stage, you want to help candidates visualize what it would be like to work for your company. It’s also a good idea to involve their prospective manager at this stage to talk through the day-to-day of the role. This will help them to understand what the role will look like in practice and 94% of talent say being contacted by a prospective manager can make them accept a job offer faster.  Here’s how video can help: 
  • Send the candidate a video from their potential manager who can explain what a week in the life at the job could look like. 
  • Regular personalized check-ins are useful here too. Doing this will help the candidate feel engaged with the role and the company, so they’re not just talking with a faceless job ad. 

Stage 4: Application

Did you know that 60% of applicants abandon an application due to length or complexity? Don’t let this happen to you. You can counter this by clearly communicating what’s needed in the interview process and the timeframe they can expect. Be very clear on the interview process and the timeframe. Here’s a great example by Google where they walk through each stage of the process.  During this stage, it’s essential to show how easy the process will be and ensure they have a positive application experience.  Here’s how video can help: 
  • Share a video outlining each step in the hiring process on the job ad or Careers page. 
  • Detail the typical number of interviews, time frames and so on. This will help the candidate mentally prepare for the process. 

Stage 5: Selection

This stage involves assessing and narrowing your candidate pool. As well as interviews, this period will involve interviews, tests and reference checks.  During this stage, it’s crucial you keep the candidate informed throughout the process, even if they’re not successful.  Here’s how video can help: 

Stage 6: Offer

So close! But you’re not there yet. Applicants are pickier than ever – and in an applicant’s market they can afford to be. In fact, in the US around 17.3% of job offers are rejected each year.   During this stage, remember that remuneration is only one element that will factor into their decision-making. Showcase your company benefits as a complete package, covering opportunities for development, flexible work and the company culture.  Here’s how video can help: 
  • Create a video showing how the team works together and how the role would contribute to the company’s goals. 

Stage 7: Onboarding

Congratulations! Your ideal candidate has signed on the dotted line. But the recruitment process doesn’t end here. Quite the opposite! A negative pre-boarding and onboarding experience will impact how long they stay with your company. In fact, 91% of new hires are willing to quit within the first month and 93% during the probation period if the job doesn’t match their expectations During this stage, prioritize helping new starters find their feet and feel supported. You can also help them find meaning by showing them how their role will ladder up to the company’s strategy.     Here’s how video can help: 
  • Before they start, create a personalized welcome video from the team and encourage them to share how excited they are to meet them. .  
  • Use Shootsta Cast, our screen recording software, to demonstrate how to do certain tasks. 
Attracting candidate interest and guiding down the funnel is no simple task, especially in a candidate’s market. Recruiters are vying for candidates’ attention and incorporating video at every stage will help you stand out in this crowded space.
Mike Pritchett Author: Mike Pritchett, Founder & CEO, Shootsta

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Discover more about customer experience strategy best practices…

What makes a good recruitment video?

There’s a significant difference between mediocre recruitment videos and great recruitment videos. You’ll want to take all best practices into account as you design the conceptual components, such as:
  • Not alienating the audience with corporate lingo or jargon. Set a tone and expectation by communicating directly with applicants, pushing stuffy formalities to the side.
  • Using the highest quality footage possible. Use professional editing to give your video the cleanest possible look, then rely on post-production services to refine your final product.
  • Refusing to speak to candidates like just another number. Remember: job applicants are potential stakeholders in your company, and deserve the same level of respect as existing employees.
Of course, hiring videos should be tailored to the needs of each industry, created with a unique approach and level of personalization. Let’s explore how to make a good recruitment video for a variety of audiences.
  • Brands that rely heavily on teamwork should explain exactly what they expect from a candidate. Show, don’t tell viewers who they should be.
  • Technical industries must explore candidate qualifications and requirements up-front. Create a video that walks through these expectations with pleasing visual interest.
  • C-level hiring processes should communicate a higher level of professionalism. Personalization is expected at all stages and should be reflected in your videos.
In any event, the recruitment videos you create should always be designed around the target audience. The more refined your approach becomes, the more effective your videos will be.   

How long should a recruiting video be?

Generally, hiring videos should be between two and five minutes long. Any longer, and viewers might tune out from the footage. Any shorter, and companies won’t have the opportunity to communicate anything meaningful.

What is the importance of using video for business?

Sales video is an incredibly useful tool as part of a wider sales funnel. It’s not always the item that clinches the sale on its own, but it’s a useful way to build a connection over time and to make customers feel like you care. It’s easy to engage with, easy to share on social media, and feels a cut above standard approaches like form emails or sales flyers.

Why is good video content so important?

Put simply, there’s already a lot of bad video content on the internet — including other personalized sales videos. Investing in quality content will help give you an edge over your competition and present your company in the best possible light. As with any marketing, doing it properly will ensure that it reflects better on your business. 

How do you develop an outreach strategy?

It’s a multifaceted process. You need to know who your customer is, what they want and why they want it. Importantly, why should they use you over your competitors?  Then it’s a matter of considering the best ways to approach them over a set period of time. There will likely be some trial and error, along with testing and refining, in your process. Don’t feel like you need to go hell for leather with all of your clients and lead straight away — this can burn bridges if you get things wrong. Over time, though, you’ll see it evolve and become aware of better approaches and tactics to take. 

How do you introduce a video in an email?

Video email best practices suggest it’s not usually a good idea to embed a video directly into an email. Most video files are massive, so it’s much easier to get flagged by spam filters or just be outright rejected from your customer’s inbox. We’d suggest you use a clickthrough link or CTA button instead, perhaps featuring a still or GIF from the video itself to act as a teaser.

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