In 2023, it's hard to argue that video isn't a valuable tool. Every day, marketing teams across the country are finding ways to grab attention and gain new clients through online videos. Video is one of the most consumed forms of content on the internet, so it makes sense to lean into it for sales growth. However, when it comes to talent acquisition and the recruiting process, it's painfully overlooked.
We get that recruiting is difficult- and expensive. From job postings and recruiting firms to implementing expensive HRIS platforms to streamline processes... it gets complicated fast. These things all cost money, and the reality is, spending money on non-revenue-generating activities is always a tough ask.
Here's the deal - When you implement a video in your recruiting process, you will save money.
We'll break this down into two parts: first, we'll discuss the data points that support this, and then jump into the effect it has on your candidate experience.
The Data
Video simply attracts more candidates to your job postings, and encourages more candidates to complete an application.
Per Careerbuilder's internal data, job postings with video icons are viewed 12% more than postings without a video. When you have hundreds of eyes skimming past your job postings, that 12% adds up incredibly fast. But! the benefits do not stop there. CareerBuilder also released that their clients receive a 34% greater application rate when they add a video to their career page.
These are incredible stats that compound on top of each other to energize your recruiting efforts. You will get more visitors to your careers page, and gain more applications from qualified talent.
Outside of job boards and career pages, how effective is a video for social media? Well, LinkedIn released their internal findings and shared a massive piece of data that we should all consider: Videos capture more attention in the feed, and the audience is 20x more likely to share posts with video than any other type of post. If you have a video tied in with your job openings, you will gain a significant boost in engagement and reach.
Other areas we could consider: Per Forbes, Viewers retain 95% of a message through video compared to 10% with text and photo combinations. Not only does that help, but users recognize that aspect as well. Monster released its State of the Candidate Survey and found that 80% of Americans agree that a video discussing a role in job advertisements would help them better understand the opportunity.
There's a lot we can take away from this, however, there's one thing for sure. Video will improve your process.
Candidate Experience
Candidates want easy access to understanding a company, its culture, and work environment. People do not accidentally land on your careers page - they're there for a reason. It's crecial to maximize your conversions from interested candidates to completed applications.
Look at your careers page now (well, after you finish reading this of course) and consider what it looks like to a candidate visiting for the first time. If it's hard to grasp what the role entails, and what the experience is like working at your company, then chances are they won't apply. You don't want them bouncing off your page in favor of another company, and you don't want to force them to research outside of your site - going to forums, review pages, or Glassdoor adds friction and ultimately leads to candidate drop-off.
The idea is to treat your careers page the same way you would treat your services or products. There should be easily digestible content supporting the company and role requirements and expectations, authentic photos on site (no stock photos!), and a video that highlights the company culture and environment. Your video should feature actual employees, not actors, so candidates can see how employees feel about working there.
The Takeaway
If you're not using video to supplement your recruiting strategies, then you're losing out on qualified candidates. Video will drive more engagement, increase traffic to your careers page, and ultimately garner a significant increase in completed applications. It's 2023- video is only growing more popular, and at this point, it's expected to be there. Candidates are researching more now than ever before, and it's vital to capitlize on that. Don't lose out on qualified candidates by ignoring video in your talent acquisition strategy.