Human Resources Blog - Spark Hire
7 Elements of a Business that Convey Corporate Culture

How to Combine Your Virtual Interview and Employer Branding Strategies

Put yourself in a job seeker’s shoes.

You follow a company on social media and love the content they share. Wanting to learn more about the organization, you check out their website and career page. You watch employee testimonial videos explaining everything they love about the company. By this point, you’re excited and could see yourself joining the team. Luckily, there’s an open position that’s a great fit for you and you apply.

But once you enter into the hiring process, the company’s energy completely disappears. You receive generic, automated emails. The questions in the virtual interview are dull and you learn nothing new about the organization. You begin to question whether the company is truly as wonderful as you thought.

This is a common issue with employer branding. Showcasing what the workplace is about is a priority when companies look for talent. But as soon as the job seeker has applied, employer branding takes the back seat. As a result, candidates lose interest in the role and move on to different opportunities.

If you want to keep talent engaged throughout your virtual interview process, you need to keep employer branding incorporated in every step.

Scheduling a virtual interview

When you invite a candidate to conduct a virtual interview, it’s tempting to just focus on scheduling. You send qualified job seekers a link to your calendar and that’s it. But this is a missed opportunity to give candidates more information about your company.

Start including employer branding information with your virtual interview invitations. Use your company logo as well as branding colors and fonts. Also, read your invitation email with the eyes of a job candidate. Look at the word choices in the communication templates and change anything that doesn’t match your company culture and messaging.

The virtual interview invitation is also your chance to build a relationship with candidates. Show them you care and want them to succeed. Since the hiring process can be stressful, focus on resources that will put their mind at ease.

One good option is a video message from a company leader. Record them welcoming the candidate and explaining the main values of the organization. They can also list what types of qualities the company is looking for. This will help the candidate better picture themselves as a potential employee.

Conducting a virtual interview

The virtual interview allows hiring professionals to get a better understanding of each candidate. But it’s also a chance to share more about the company culture. By asking the right interview questions, the candidate will see what matters most to the organization.

Start by writing a list of the characteristics that define your culture. From there, craft questions that will provide insights into whether a candidate exemplifies what you’re looking for. Be clear with the phrasing so there’s no confusion about what the company stands for and expects from candidates.

It can also be helpful to include real situations that occurred in your workplace. For example, many companies value transparency and honesty. In the virtual interview, explain a situation where an employee did not act with transparency. Then ask how the candidate would’ve reacted. This will give both you and the candidate an idea of whether your values mesh.

Following up after a virtual interview

Automated communications have saved hiring professionals an immeasurable amount of time. Instead of having to compose each email, there are multiple tools that will send out the necessary communications. But from a candidate’s perspective, these communications seem impersonal.

After a candidate completes a virtual interview, don’t leave them hanging. While you’re deciding whether to move forward with an individual, give them more employer branding information to digest. For example, you can include a list of articles from your blog that provide deeper insights into what the team does every day.

It can also help to share photos or videos of company events. Let candidates know what organizations employees volunteer for. Or show them what the office holiday party is like. This will ensure that they are more likely to continue with the hiring process.

Your employer branding determines whether your company will attract great talent. But once a candidate has applied, it’s important to keep introducing them to different aspects of the organization. By making employer branding a part of each step of the virtual interview process, you can reassure candidates that your company is a great place to work.

What are some other ways to include your employer branding in the virtual interview process? Let us know in the comments!

Josh Tolan

Josh Tolan is the Founder and CEO of Spark Hire, a video interviewing platform used by 6,000+ customers in over 100 countries.

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