When recruiting, we often think that we are letting people know that we have a job available and then candidates will sell themselves to us. But those times have changed and are for the most part, over. Vanished. Caput.
Not only are we facing a talent shortage, but we are also seeing that younger people who enter the workforce are not just taking a job because it is a job. They are looking at who the company is, what they value, what perks and benefits they get from working there. Hiring has become just as much you selling your company to prospective candidates as it is them selling themselves to you. This is why the methods that we use to recruit is changing.
Arguably the biggest change that has come to how we recruit is the abandonment of text job advertisements in favor of video job advertisements. Video job ads and descriptions have a much different feel than boring text ads. When you read a text ad, it just feels like a company saying, “hey, we have this position open so send us your resume and we might consider you.” But with video job ads, it genuinely feels like a company is selling themselves to the candidates. This is a huge benefit of video job ads because this is the tone that employers need to take with this changing environment.
Video can achieve this feel due to several factors. One factor being that video allows you to show off your company culture and environment in a way that is impossible for text advertisements to do. The environment and culture of your company is something that many younger people care about. If you can show that you have a more modern and progressive work environment, you will have better luck attracting potential workers. Nothing beats being able to see the environment instead of trying to imagine it after reading your text job posting. The ability to visually show off your product, which is your company, is a great way to sell yourself to potential job candidates.
Another reason video is great at selling your company is that video does a much better job at capturing the attention of the viewer than text advertisements do. People are 78% more likely to check out your job description if there is a video for it. This is great for your company because the more people who take the time to check out your job post, the more likely that you will get higher quality applicants. If you can reach more people simply by changing up how you present the information to them, then this becomes a game changer for recruiting!
Another great aspect of video job advertisements is that you can be as creative as you want to be! You can have just photos and a voice over with text on the screen, or if you really want you can have essentially a short film. This can be great for recruiting (depending on your industry) because it will allow you to not only show off the culture and environment of your company, but you can even let potential job seekers “meet” your current employees. You could have your current employees describe what it is like working there and highlight some of the benefits. The possibilities are endless when it comes to video job ads and that is part of what makes them so effective.
When using video job ads keep, in mind that it is best to keep it short and to the point. If your ad is too long, the viewer will lose interest. It is also important to use visuals of your company as well because it is always nice to show off who you are to your potential hires. Make sure that your video ad doesn’t deviate too much from the job description, though, as you don’t want to just advertise your company, but you also want to advertise the job itself. So always remember to cover the details of the job. If used and executed properly, video job advertisements can have a great impact on your recruiting effectiveness!
