During the COVID-19 pandemic, video-conferencing technology for virtual job interviews skyrocketed, and polls indicate that the practice has now permanently entered the recruiting process.
In a study conducted by HireVue, a company providing video interviews and assessment services, 41 percent of 1,140 hiring leaders said they plan to use in-person and virtual interviews. In the same study, researchers found that 23 percent of respondents plan to interview online exclusively.
Based on such observations, experts believe that if the traditional interviewing method were to come back, both techniques would be combined to adopt a majorly virtual hiring process.
Let's move on to understand more crucial aspects of virtual interviews and why do recruiters use virtual interviews during recruitment process.
According to forbes, virtual interviews have become the new resume in the world of technology. The foremost reason behind the popularity of virtual interviews is more job openings. Researchers claim that there are more job openings than the unemployed workforce. And virtual interviews are the fastest way to close them.
Using virtual recruitment tools, such as iMocha, employers can reduce their screening time by 50%! Virtual recruitment services cost companies much lesser than in-person interviews.
Nowadays, hiring managers are rigorously using virtual interviews;
1. Remote work:
With more companies embracing remote work, virtual interviews have become essential for hiring managers to screen, interview, and evaluate candidates from anywhere.
2. Technology advancements:
Video conferencing tools such as Zoom, Skype, and Google Meet have become more accessible and reliable, making virtual interviews more practical and efficient.
3. Time-saving:
Candidates and recruiters can both benefit from time-saving virtual interviews. Candidates can take part in the interview process from the convenience of their own homes or offices, and recruiters can conduct interviews with applicants who may be located in different time zones without the need for travel.
4. Cost-saving:
By removing the need for recruiters and candidates to travel, virtual interviews allow businesses to save a lot of money.
5. Environmental impact:
By eliminating the need for traditional in-person interviews to travel by car or plane, virtual interviews can lessen their carbon footprint.
Virtual interviews, which provide flexibility, convenience, and speed, have generally emerged as a popular and successful method for recruiters to screen and interview candidates.
As per our research through verified sources, here’s our findings on why do recruiters use virtual interviews.
Convenience
1. Ability to conduct interviews from anywhere:
One of the most common drawbacks of traditional interviews recruiters come across is how far the candidate will have to travel for just one interview. The traditional interview will cost the candidate time and money.
Whereas virtual interviews can eliminate this annoyance. Virtual interviews are convenient for both recruiters and candidates, as they can be conducted anywhere via internet.
2. Increased flexibility for both recruiters and candidates:
Virtual interviews can be scheduled at any convenient time for recruiters and applicants. Additionally, any candidate globally will have an equal participation opportunity, allowing more diversity and inclusivity in the organization.
Wider Pool of Candidates
1. Consideration of candidates from different locations:
Virtual interviews allow a wider pool of candidates to be considered for a job. With virtual interviews, candidates can interview from anywhere worldwide if they have internet access and a computer or mobile device.
Increased Efficiency
Virtual interviews can increase recruitment efficiency in multiple valuable ways. Try iMocha's one-way interview question to reduce hiring time drastically.
Here's how virtual interview has proven to increase efficiency.
1. Ability to conduct multiple interviews in a shorter time:
Virtual interviews allow recruiters to conduct multiple interviews faster than traditional in-person interviews. This is because they eliminate the need for travel time and allow recruiters to interview candidates back-to-back without downtime.
2. Streamlining the recruitment process:
The hiring process can be streamlined from beginning to end by adopting virtual recruitment technologies like online job postings, applicant tracking systems, and virtual interviews. As a result, it takes less time and effort to locate and hire top talent.
3. Helps in escaping the scheduling maze:
One of the biggest challenges in traditional recruitment processes is scheduling interviews that work for both the candidate and the recruiter. Virtual recruitment tools can help recruiters escape the scheduling maze by providing more interview flexibility.
For example, with virtual interviews, recruiters can conduct interviews outside of regular office hours or on weekends, allowing candidates with other commitments during business hours to still participate in the interview process.
Decreased bias
1. Increased evaluation process objectivity:
Instead of relying on external factors like age, gender, race, or physical appearance, hiring managers may now evaluate candidates based on their qualifications and responses to interview questions thanks to virtual recruitment. As a result, it encourages rationality during the review process, enabling recruiters to base recruiting choices on merit rather than sentimental considerations.
2. Enhanced equality in the process:
All candidates are evaluated equally, regardless of their background, location, or personal characteristics, through virtual recruitment. As a result, it promotes fairness in the hiring process, ensuring that every candidate has an equal chance of being considered.
3. Minimising unconscious bias:
Through the elimination of specific visual and auditory signals that could influence recruiters' bias, virtual recruiting can help to lessen unconscious bias. For instance, recruiters are less likely to be influenced by unconscious biases relating to appearance, colour, gender, or other personal qualities when conducting blind interviews (when the recruiter cannot see the candidate).
Technical Advantages
1. Access to advanced virtual interview tools:
Virtual recruitment provides access to various advanced interview tools, such as video interviewing software, online assessment platforms, and AI-powered interview software. According to a report by ResearchAndMarkets, the global video interviewing software market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.5% from 2021 to 2028 due to the increasing demand for remote recruitment solutions.
2. Integration with recruitment software:
Virtual recruitment can be integrated with various recruitment software, such as applicant tracking systems, candidate sourcing tools, candidate management software, and HR management software. As per MarketsandMarkets demographics, the global applicant tracking systems market is expected to grow from $1.21 billion in 2020 to $1.81 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 8.3% due to increasing demand for integration.
3. Improved virtual collaboration and communication:
Gartner says 90% of HR leaders plan to prioritize technology that improves collaboration and communication among remote teams in 2021. That's why hiring managers must deploy virtual recruitment to enhance cooperation and communication between recruiters, candidates, and different recruitment team members.
iMocha is a comprehensive skill assessment tool that empowers recruiters to make informed and data-driven hiring decisions using AI-powered skills assessment features and expert guidance.
If you're wondering why do recruiters use virtual interview feature at iMocha, here's why
Pre-screening candidates: iMocha allows recruiters to pre-screen candidates before inviting them for a virtual interview. The platform offers the world's most extensive content library of 2500+ skills to help recruiters evaluate candidates' skills, competencies, and cultural fit. This can help recruiters to identify top candidates more efficiently and reduce the time and effort required for virtual interviews.
Customized assessments: iMocha offers customizable assessments tailored to specific job roles, skills, and competencies. This can help recruiters evaluate candidates based on the job's specific requirements, ensuring that they have the skills and competencies required for the role.
Remote proctoring: iMocha offers remote proctoring services, which can help ensure the assessments are conducted securely and fairly. Remote proctoring allows recruiters to monitor candidates' activities in the evaluation, ensuring they don't cheat or engage in unfair practices. Their remote proctoring suite includes
Integration with ATS, LMS, and CRMs:
iMocha offers plug & play 1-click integration with various legacy ATSs like Lever, Taleo, Jobvite, Workable, and more to manage the recruitment funnel seamlessly. Recruiters can use iMocha to assess candidates' skills and competencies and invite shortlisted candidates for a virtual interview without switching between different tools.
In short, iMocha can help recruiters to streamline their virtual recruitment process by providing a range of assessment tools, customizable assessments, remote proctoring, and integration with video conferencing software, live coding interview, and more such useful features.
By leveraging these features, recruiters can make more informed hiring decisions and attract top talent more efficiently and quickly.
To conclude the above information, though virtual interviews cannot beat the experience gained during in-person interviews, they can empower recruiters with considerable cost and time-saving features. That's why investing in recruitment tools is worth the money.
Some top virtual recruitment tools, such as iMocha, Mercer Mettl, HackerRank, etc., can help recruiters and HR professionals conduct virtual interviews more efficiently and effectively.
Overwhelmed with too many virtual interview tools in the market? Get analytical information about the top 10 video interview software and platforms for virtual interviews in 2023, obtained by rigorous research through verified sources.
Also Read: Are video interviews the future of recruitment?
A virtual interview aims to conduct interviews with no geographical boundaries, time restrictions, and the financial burden of traveling. Additionally, it also has other minor advantages, such as reducing bias, filling positions quickly, improving the candidate experience, and more.