A Beginner’s Guide to One-Way Video Interviews [+2 Platforms]

Are you a job candidate or recruiter? Is the term one-way video interview new to you? Then this is the ultimate guide for you to learn this hiring technology from the foundation. 

Job recruiting technology think tanks are always looking for novel concepts that can make the recruiting process cost-effective, affordable, and faster than the existing process.

Such brainstorming has given rise to some phenomenal hiring technologies like applicant tracking systems (ATS), recruitment software, etc.

One less explored technology is a one-way video interview to automate the screening level of the hiring process.

Continue reading to learn the basics of a one-way video interview process, its benefits, drawbacks, and tips for improvements. The hiring managers and candidates, both will benefit from this concise and brief discussion.     

What Is a One-Way Video Interview?

The remote and hybrid working model has promoted the evolution of the recruitment industry. Now, the industry prioritizes automation to screen, shortlist, interview, assess, and offer faster than the existing manual process. 

The one-way video interview is a cornerstone technology of such automation concepts. Top multinational and Fortune 500 companies are resorting to one-way video interviews to extract the best candidates from millions of job seekers.

#1. Candidate’s Perspective

It is essentially an asynchronous way of interviewing mainly used to screen candidates from bulk applications. As a job applicant, you will sit in front of your smartphone or computer to take the interview. 

Through one-way video interview apps, the employers ask you some preset questions which you need to answer using a webcam and a microphone. The video interview platforms will record your video and send that to the employer.

The hiring manager will review all the videos to screen the best applicants who are savvy with video conferencing and good at communications. Not to mention, accurate answers to the interview questions also play a role in the screening process.

#2. Recruiter’s Perspective

You mainly get access to the videos through platforms that assist you in recording such short interview videos. Depending on the platform’s features, you may need to use a laptop, smartphone, or both to review the interview recordings.

The video interview platform may also provide additional content like video transcription, candidate resume, etc. so that you can easily mark successful and unsuccessful applicants.      

Working Process of One-Way Interviews 

Here is a simplified version of how this process works:

• The candidate receives an interview link from the recruiter.
• They open it on a laptop, desktop, or smartphone that can record video and audio.
• At first, there is a testing session that assesses the accessories before recording the final interview.
• The candidate can navigate the one-way video interview app in the testing phase to get confidence.
• Then, the main event starts where the interview platform may show text-based or audio-based questions.
• There could also be domain-specific assessment.
• You must answer the questions within a specific time frame. 
• There could be a re-take or non. It depends on the employer.
• The candidate submits the recording.
• The interview platform forwards the videos to the device of the recruiter.
• The recruiter reviews those for body language, confidence in virtual communications, assessment answers, etc.
• Then they select or reject candidates for the next level of hiring.

As a job applicant, you must possess a device on which you can record audio and video. You also need to open your email on an app or web browser to access the interview link.

As a recruiter, you need a laptop or smartphone that can access websites or apps to download recorded videos. Your company could also use a recruitment CRM to automate further processes in the hiring pipeline.  

Not to mention, you must be able to play those videos. However, the one-way video interview platforms mainly offer an embedded system for video playback and candidate scoring.     

When Do Recruiters Use One-Way Video Interviews?

Candidate Screening

Sometimes, phone-call shortlisted candidates do not perform well in front of the manager who interviews them. It is a non-productive use of the manager’s schedule. Hence, staffing agencies and recruiting staff use this technology to become more confident before passing them to managerial interviews.   

Remote Work

When businesses hire employees for remote and work-from-home positions, they use video interviews of all the applicants. It helps the recruiter understand the candidate’s confidence in front of the camera, microphone, and monitor. 

Because the staff will need to use the video conferencing medium for the rest of their tenure in the company.  

Process Bulk Applications

Some enterprise-level businesses use complete automation to analyze the candidates from one-way video interviews. These automation technologies involve: 

• Audio transcription
• Analyzing the candidate’s body language from the video
• Scoring applicants based on the assessments

Once all the above is complete, the hiring CRM just forwards the prescreened candidates’ list for the next round of interviews. 

Save Time

One recruiter can shortlist hundreds of candidates by reviewing asynchronous video interviews when compared to individual phone calls or video conferences. Thus, you hire faster.   

Identify Skills Quickly

One-way video interviews quickly reveal skillful candidates if you structure your questions wisely. 

Understand Personality

It is easier to understand a candidate’s personality when you are reviewing their video interviews. On phone calls, an applicant can follow a script but that will not be possible in front of video calls. 

Collect Organized Data

Many hiring agencies and recruiters want to collect organized data on the candidate through one-way video interviews. It helps them build a database of possible candidates for the future. Not to mention, recruiters can easily score applicants based on the data collected from a video. 

Reduce the Length of the Interview Process

Recruiters use this hiring technology to cut down some hiring process steps and shorten the overall process. For example, a one-way video interview can replace steps like resume review, phone call, personality test, assessment, etc.

Reduce Hiring Budget

Sometimes, hiring executives need to travel to different locations for the following:

• Conduct pre-screening interviews at institutions
• Interview bulk candidates at staffing agency offices

Such travels involve a cost. Businesses cut down this cost by using one-way video interviews.    

The Pros of One-Way Video Interviews

• The hiring medium is convenient for the job applicant and the recruiter.
• As a candidate, you can give your best shot from the comfort of your home or a cyber cafe that you often visit.
• It saves both the hiring company and the candidate some travel spends.
• Recruiters often get a one-shot in evaluating a candidate during in-person or phone call interviews. But in one-way video interviews, a recruiter can watch the video multiple times before passing or failing a candidate.
• Candidates can appear for the interview whenever they find some free time. Job applicants do not need to take an unplanned leave from the existing office.
• You can feed the videos to AI-based hiring solutions to screen candidates automatically according to preset metrics.
• An organization can review all the applicants through one-way video interviews. Sometimes ATS tools make some mistakes that you can avoid by using this hiring technology.
• Those candidates who appear for the process have the necessary device and accessories to participate in a video conferencing session. Those who do not exit the hiring process. Hence, you know that the pre-screened individuals are suitable for remote work.         

The Cons of One-Way Video Interviews

• Candidates from remote places where the internet is not easily accessible will not be able to apply.
• Job applicants who are not confident in front of a camera will also exit the system.
• If you are hiring for on-site job posts and choosing the one-way video interview for pore screening, you are putting too much burden on the candidates. Because they now need to source video conferencing devices which they will not need if they are hired.
• In most cases, this interview process comes with a time limit for the candidate. Hence, some applicants may not perform well instantly but they possess the skills you need.
• If you set the wrong set of questions for such a hiring process, the interviews may not become fruitful at all.
• Most companies rely on third-party video interview service providers. If there is too much workload on the service provider on a specific day, your hiring process may get affected. You need to choose the managed service provider after performing due diligence.
• Appropriate disposal or safekeeping of such video is necessary or else your organization might face privacy breach suits.     

One-Way Video Interview Platforms

Now that you know the one-way video interview process inside out, it is time to discover some platforms which often help organizations conducting such interviews: 

Criteria

Criteria is a full-service platform for conducting one-way video interviews. It comes with a drag-and-drop interview creation workspace. You can just choose interview questions and domain assessments from a vast library of Criteria. The library offers questions from most industries.

You can directly send candidates invitations from the Criterial workspace. No need to copy a link from the tool and share that via email or another medium.

Criteria also provide the video conferencing interface that the candidates will use to record their responses. Furthermore, it offers you the option to customize the interface with your brand assets to promote your organization.

Finally, recruiters review and score candidates on an interview review platform that Criteria provide to you. The tool also integrates with many automated hiring solutions in case you want to export screening data to a CRM.    

Hireflix

Hireflix helps you conduct one-way video interviews by complying with international privacy regulations. The platform has a SOC 2 compliance certificate. It means they handle customer data in the best possible stringent way to eliminate privacy violations. 

The key features of this video interview service provider are: 

• Reduces time on scheduling
• Enables recruiters to focus on interviewing and hiring
• Interview thousands of candidates with just one digitally recorded interview
• Enables recruiters to collaborate by sharing interview videos
• Candidate-friendly UI
• Integrates with popular ATS solutions

Currently, Hireflix is offering a free demo and a 1-month free trial. So you can sign up on the platform and try it out yourself to experience the difference.  

Tips to Enhance the Quality of One-Way Video Interviews

#1. Job Applicants

• Employers may use such video interviews to judge your ability to follow directions. Hence, read the interview instructions carefully before proceeding.
• Dress up professionally for the video interview.
• Test your video and audio accessories before moving to the final interview recording session.
• Find an isolated space to appear for the interview.
• Ensure you answer all the questions within the given deadline. Recruiters give you better scores for time-bound answers.
• Practice some obvious interview questions in front of a mirror before starting the interview. 
• Sit straight and professionally like you are in front of an interviewer.    

#2. Recruiters/Employers

• Choose interview questions and assessments wisely. This section will determine whether you get actionable data or not.
• Use an online one-way video interview tool for the process.
• Connect your video interview tool with the hiring management software.
• Dispose of videos by adhering to international and local privacy regulations.
• Use a time-bound answering process.
• Make personally identifiable information redacted for an unbiased video interview process.
• Allow a few re-take options since some candidates are bound to make mistakes during the recording process.      

#3. Staffing Agencies

• Review collected video interviews for multiple job roles. It will help you get high-quality candidates for multiple clients.
• If storing the videos for screening in future job openings, encrypt the content so as not to breach any privacy regulations.
• Work closely with the client for whom you are hiring to select the most appropriate questionnaire.   

Conclusion

The one-way video interview is here to stay since businesses are going digital and they need digitized ways to evaluate job applicants. 

Candidates who do not know about this hiring technology must go through the above knowledge resources to make them prepare for their upcoming high-tech interview sessions.

Recruiters who are fresh entrants in the recruiting industry can also become confident about this new hiring technology by reading the complete article.

Not to mention, both of you will find above the tools that companies use for the one-way video interview processes. 

You may also be interested to learn about the best developer interview platforms to hire the best developers for your projects.