These days, more and more companies are choosing to hold job interviews online. Currently this is due to the social distancing restrictions put in place due to the corona outbreak. However, even before the COVID-19 crisis, online interviews were already becoming increasingly popular. And this is a trend which will continue in the future, because virtual meetings save time and money for both the company and the candidate.
Some companies will have already been set up and experienced in holding online interviews. But for many others, hiring digitally may be completely new. If you are a recruiter or hiring manager and are worried about how to stay professional when recruiting online, keep reading for HR-ON‘s top tips!
Make sure you have the right tools
Arguably the first step in how to stay professional when recruiting online, is to make sure you have the right tools. Transitioning to digital recruitment does not mean that your recruitment process has to suffer. In fact, with a good e-recruitment tool, your recruitment will run more smoothly than ever before.
HR-ON offers an intuitive cloud-based e-recruitment tool which makes recruiting online a breeze. With HR-ON Recruit you can manage the entire recruitment process in one place, from posting jobs to extending offers. It also makes online interviewing easier, with a new feature which allows you to conduct online interviews directly in your browser. This feature has proven to be very popular, with over 5000 candidates invited for online interviews within the first week of its launch.
Preparation and planning
Once you have the e-recruitment tools in place, it is important to make sure everyone involved in the hire is set up and able to use the software. It is a good idea to have an online hiring committee meeting before any interviews take place. This will ensure that everything is working well and help you to stay professional when recruiting online.
Planning is also important. It is always a good idea to have a plan when holding interviews. And this is even more important when interviewing online, especially if there is more than one person taking the interview. When you are in the same room it is easier to have a more flexible structure. You can take it in turns to lead the conversation. With video interviewing this can be more tricky. So it is better to come up with a plan in advance of who will lead which parts of the interview. This will help you to stay professional when recruiting online and maintain a high-quality interview experience for candidates.
Check your surroundings
One of the 5 top tips for candidates doing online interviews is to think about their surroundings. And of course this is equally important for the recruiter or hiring manager holding the virtual interview. Despite not being in the office, you should still try to portray the company’s image and professionalism. Try to have an un-cluttered background and of course avoid having any kids or pets interrupt the online meeting.
Turn on the video and make eye contact
In order to maintain a high-quality interview experience when holding virtual interviews, always use the video. You should encourage all participants to turn their video on. It can even be a good idea to mention this when arranging the interview, so it is clear for everyone in advance.
Using the video is very important for creating a rapport between the company and the candidate. Remember to maintain eye contact as you would in a face-to-face meeting and to smile!
Hopefully these tips from HR-ON will help you to stay professional when recruiting online and holding virtual interviews.
According to the 2020 Global Digital Overview, 84% of people in Europe and 76% of people in the Americas are now using the internet. So it is certainly time for your company to embrace digital recruitment and online interviewing.
Get a few demo of HR-ON’s software solutions today.
