Hiring is a challenging task at any company, and at a young and fast-growing agency like my own where we’re actively striving to create a unique company culture, it is crucial to do it correctly. Besides the obvious question of whether they’re right for the role, the larger question becomes simply: Are they right for the company?
Agencies need innovative and efficient methods of finding the right people for their team, but how is it done? The rise of the video resume in the modern era has allowed employers to get a feel for a candidate before meeting them, and some software offers features such as the one-way video interview in which candidates self-record video answers in the allotted time period.
These options have many benefits, but they do not necessarily help us answer the question at hand: Are they right for us? Candidates may feel more relaxed when answering questions through an interview platform instead of in real time, but that hardly serves us if the questions aren’t getting to the answer we need.
So how do we find the answer?
At my agency, we developed a method to learn more about our potential hires quickly. We call it the “Video of Awesomeness.” After a couple of interviews, we ask candidates to submit a video detailing:
• Three things that make them awesome.
• Three reasons why they want to join our team.
The open-endedness of these three “things” allows for candidates to tell us things beyond a bullet point list of software and skills. The reasons to join our team gives us insight into that “fit” issue: How do they view us and what about our company and our culture attracts them? It eliminates those who are simply looking for a job, leaving those who specifically want a job with us. The prompt opens a door for their creativity while clearly asking for the information we need.
Most importantly, the format and style of the video are completely open. Candidates can use any resources at their disposal. They can integrate music, graphics and voiceover, they can tell a story, and they can show their skills and interests instead of simply listing them. Normally, it’s the things they don’t say that tell us the most about them.
How To Create (And Leverage) Your Own Hiring Technique
So how can you use the “Video of Awesomeness” method to hire better employees? You could start seeing a difference by following these three steps.
1. Define the question. What question(s) will you ask the potential hire to answer in their video? The prompt you give them will define the results you get from applicants. Some tips to keep in mind when you’re creating your prompt:
• Ask things that wouldn’t be in their resume. There’s a reason we don’t ask our people to tell us about their work experience or their accomplishments. We want to know more than a laundry list of certifications and degrees.
• Encourage creativity. Anyone could sit down in front of their front-facing phone camera and record themselves talking, but I believe pushing applicants to do more will give them (and you) more interesting results.
• Include something about your business. We talked about the “fit” issue before; how will you find out the answer through the video?
2. Look for the answers. When you’ve received their submission, consider more than just the answers that come directly out of their mouth. Analyze:
• How long did they take to submit the video?
• Is it a high-quality video made over several days or a quick video sent the following day?
• Did they choose not to speak? (That’s not necessarily a bad thing.)
• Did they use a friend, an editing tool, graphics or an app? (This speaks to their resourcefulness.)
• Were they willing to look silly?
There are answers all throughout the video. Use these to make a hiring decision.
3. Share it with others.
• Share it with your company. Consider asking your coworkers and teammates what they think of a potential hire’s submission. They’ll have to work with them, too, after all.
• Share it with other applicants. Our marketing content writer wowed us with her video so much that we now send it as an example to new applicants. Many say they were intimidated after watching it, but we saw creativity rise exponentially in their submissions.
• Share it on LinkedIn. If you hire the applicant and their video was particularly good, get their permission to share it on social media. Others will benefit from this method, and it’ll make your company and your employees look good.
Whether you use the “Video of Awesomeness” or another similar method, your agency will benefit from a unique hiring process—one that goes beyond a resume, can turn applicants into team members and should ensure that you hire the right people for your company.
