When it comes to recruiting videos, we’re not looking at a truly innovative or particularly extraordinary recruitment tool. It’s all the more astonishing that job advertisements in 2019 are still far too often accompanied by disappointing interpretations of motion pictures.
Between cringy attempts to be amusing, and crushingly dull corporate average, we remember only a few truly outstanding examples.
That’s why we give you five practical tips on how to bring your employer branding to life through recruiting videos:
1. Address your target group
What sounds obvious is rarely consistently implemented in practice. Be aware of what the target group of the job advertisement wants to know from you. A potential generation Z trainee has different expectations and needs than an experienced executive manager. These people also want to be addressed in their own manner and form.
This means that different videos may also become necessary for different job advertisements. This is an additional effort, but it will be worthwhile to ensure a more efficient recruitment process.
2. Storytelling as a priority
The average attention span on social media is only a few seconds. An engaging storytelling leads to longer playback times and is in the long run the most reliable way to high quality video content. Define a clear message at the beginning, which you want to deliver to the applicants. Create an interesting arc of suspense and thus remain in the memory of your potential applicants.
The New Zealand police corps uses strong storytelling to advertise in this video: The basic messages are the requirements for potential police officers. With a clever narrative from various everyday scenarios, a pinch of wit and self-irony, a topic that in itself is rather dry is conveyed in an extremely entertaining and exciting way. The result is a great recruiting video which has achieved viral popularity.
3. Sound, sound, sound…
„Smartphone videos are absolutely sufficient today.“ „The best camera is the one you have at hand.“ Yes, we’ve heard all that before. But we also ( too often ) had to endure bad videos. Don’t get me wrong: Smaller companies that don’t have the resources to hire external agencies and expensive video crews are of course allowed to use in-house production.
But the sound quality must be good! This is much more important than high resolution and fancy effects. Simple and basic audio equipment (microphone and recorder) can be rented at a relatively low price, on a daily basis and the necessary basics can be learned quickly with superficial Google education. With good sound recordings, even simple in-house productions appear noticeably more professional and are much more pleasant to watch.
4. Stay relevant
Concentrate on the essentials. This is not an image film: Boring company facts or gloriously formulated visions are superfluous here. Applicants can google this information later if they are specifically interested about the company.
The goal of a recruiting video is to convey a credible and appealing presentation of your values and corporate culture. In the recruiting video, mention (and more importantly show!) why it is worthwhile to be employed by your organization, what defines you as a company and what potential employees can expect from you. Originality and authenticity beat modern buzzwords.
Avoid the clichéd formula: Standard Recruiting Video = „Quotation company mission statement, page XYZ“ + „Cramped actors XYZ“ + „Everyday scenario XYZ in office space XYZ“.
5. Focusing on the big picture
See the Recruiting Video as a single component of your candidate experience. A single touchpoint with your candidates within multiple phases of the recruitment process. It is a mediatic extension of your existing instruments of employer branding and recruiting.
Video content therefore ideally forms a logical addition to the overall recruiting concept. Likewise, an excellent recruiting video will not be of any help if the remaining candidate journey is trash.
In competition for the next top candidate it is worthwhile using all aspects and media of communication as efficiently as possible. Think about exactly how you want to utilize your recruiting videos and let your creativity run free. This way you do not only catch up with your competitors, but also position yourself as an interesting and desirable employer at the first click.
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