5 video tips for recruiters

So, you’ve got a job to fill, you’ve created a fantastic advert and are about to post to your ATS and social media channels, but you’ve then been told to include a video, or have heard about how including video can boost applications or engagement.

Great – but you’ve got no video, no video team, and you may not be the most creative recruiter out there. Fear not, as we’ve collected five quick tips to help you get those YouTube videos embedded into your careers site or posted on social media and be seen for the right reasons.

Tip one: Stop being a bore

There’s literally nothing worse than a recruiter holding their camera at arm’s length and talking about their “exciting new role with ‘my client’ who is looking for an experienced professional to join their growing business”. Just don’t bother.

If you think this is a good idea, then you’re probably better off posting your job advert without a video. It’s cringey for one, and secondly, it adds absolutely no value to the candidate.

Instead, make something dynamic that tells a story and focuses completely on the role, the organisation’s culture, and the team they’ll work with. Video engagement is all about gaining value, and unfortunately, a recruiter talking into their phone isn’t going to cut it. Plus, if you’re a recruiter who is still saying ‘my client’, please just stop it. If the candidate is really switched on and engaged, they won’t apply directly. The days of anonymous job adverts are long gone – candidates, who, remember, are in severely high demand, need to build trust and understanding before they share a CV with a prospective employer; and sadly, recruiters have developed a nasty reputation of blanket CV sending.

Tip two: Get some help

This one is as old as video itself: someone asks someone else a set of questions designed to give insights into something. This makes it ideal for talking about a new job role, but more importantly, it gives them the opportunity to be truthful.

Ask a friend to either feature as the interviewee or get someone to ask you a set of questions that explain the role and organisation. The viewers won’t hear the questions or see the interviewer, but they’ll focus on what is being said by the interviewee.

For example, if asked ‘why do you like working here?’, the interviewee will respond with ‘I love working here, because…’. Suddenly, you have several soundbites that can be made into a short, snappy video that can be added to a job advert page or uploaded to social media!

Really hammer home the video by interviewing someone who does the same or a similar role already, or interview the person’s line manager or colleagues. This will really help your job advert to stand out from the crowd. Ask them to talk about their experiences and to tell a story – this is by far and away the most effective technique for building bonds with total strangers who’ll watch the video!

Don’t be afraid to use humour and try your best not to choose ‘boring Dave’ to try and bring the role and company story to life…

And what should you ask? Here are a few starters for ten to get you going…

Tip three: Create an exciting fly-through of the office

Grab your selfie stick and take your applicants on a tour of where they’ll work! Stop off to chat to the prospect’s colleagues, show them where the team sits and make sure you spend some time checking out the beanbag chillout zone, expensive coffee machine, and endless free parking. A raw video with some great editing - easily done on a smartphone – is better than trying to replicate a professional video without the right tools.

Use services like Canva to add subtitles and use short, punchy cuts to give your video an edge. Get up close, then mix in a wide shot, and make sure your teams are visible. Get really creative!

Finish off your office tour with a quick recap or interview for bonus points.

Tip four: Add your (relevant) existing video

If you’re completely short on time or creativity, there’s nothing wrong with finding a video that already exists and embedding it into your job advert or reposting it on social media. As long as the subject matter is relevant to your role, it could end up supporting what you’re saying in your hiring messaging, and in the grand scheme of things, it’s better than nothing!

Remember that your candidates may have no idea who you are or what you do, so your corporate video could be a great addition to your job advert anyway. A really easy fix is to use that old values video which has been sitting on your website for ages, if you have one!

You can also apply a few quick fixes. Photos or images you have can be made into a montage, corporate videos can back up a story or invite people to look further and content previously used on social channels can be refreshed.

Speak to your marketing team (if you have one) and see if anything that is consumer-facing could be adapted. Even visualising the job title on a short, snappy video clip can make someone stop scrolling for a few seconds and potentially apply.

Just remember that the video needs to be relevant. Adding in a video of last year’s Christmas party or financial results launch when you’re hiring an admin assistant or warehouse worker isn’t really going to tell them much about the role.

Tip five: Hire the professionals

By far and away the best option is to engage with someone who knows how to wield a camera properly and plan out a video that is purposely designed to attract candidates to apply to your roles.

It’s an obvious one, but you’re better off engaging with someone who understands what you’re trying to achieve, and, hint hint, knows a thing or two about the employer branding world. You’ll also tap into a world of 3D and motion graphics, which can make a huge difference to engagement.

By investing a little, you’ll likely end up with a suite of videos that aren’t just good to add to one job, but could well be included on all job adverts moving forward, creating an engaging and immersive candidate journey from the moment your prospects see your job advert.

That’s not only more powerful than the other tips on this list, but will set you apart from lazy recruitment consultants and job boards who rely on generic job ads and their monopoly on candidate information to find the right people.

To summarise, here are a few takeaway tips for producing your own recruitment video:

- Don’t be a cringey, boring recruiter who shouts at their phone for four minutes
- Use a locked off camera on a tripod for extra professionalism
- Put your culture at the heart of your video
- Get stuck into real-world locations to bring the world to life
- Edit your videos and use quick cuts
- Add in real-world situations and humour
- Ask your people to give their opinions and input – tell a story
- Recycle old videos or include your standard corporate video if you have no resource
- Engage with the professionals for the best results

Do you already use video in your job adverts? Or do you feel they don't add any value? Join the discussion on social media or get in touch if we've inspired you to start making video!