< Back to Hiring Blog

Stand out to candidates with self-recorded videos

March 23, 2022
 
iCIMS Staff
5 min read

As expected, we’re seeing the candidate-driven market continue as we enter Q2 of 2022.  With recruitment and retention top of mind, what are you doing to ensure you attract and engage with top talent in the most meaningful way possible?   

Take a step back and look at your recruiting process. What does your outreach strategy look like? Are you transparent about responsibilities, expectations, qualifications, salary range, perks, and benefits? Are you showcasing what sets your company apart from all the others eagerly pursuing the same candidates? 

 

Improve your candidate outreach strategy with employee-generated content 

If you’re receiving little to no response from candidates or there’s drop-off during the recruiting process, consider changing up how you begin your candidate engagement experience with employee-generated content. Starting in early 2021, candidates with desired skillsets have been inundated with messages from recruiters across various communication platforms, offering gift cards, enticing sign-on bonuses, and ultra-competitive salaries. According to LinkedIn, 90% of people are open to learning about new job opportunities. So how do you stand out in the sea of hungry recruiters? 

Recruiters can no longer send their standard recruiting script to candidates via LinkedIn InMail and cross their fingers for a response. The time for copy-paste interaction has long passed. Taking the time to craft a personal video message with a screen and webcam recording is one of the best ways to set your company apart from the competition. With iCIMS Video Studio – Capture, you can start your candidate engagement experience with a more personable touch. By putting more than just a dated LinkedIn picture in front of your candidate, you can easily demonstrate that you’re genuinely interested in them, their expertise, and what they can do to help accelerate your company to the next level. 

LinkedIn Mail Screenshot
 

Use employee video testimonials to be up front with candidates 

Whether you’re prospecting candidates or they’re finding open positions on your career site, you should be transparent about responsibilities, expectations, qualifications, salary range, perks, and benefits within the job description. A candidate-driven market means they want as much as possible on the table before responding to your InMail or hitting “Apply” on your career site. 

Even if your job descriptions and recruiters are armed with all this information, how do you stand out? Adding a self-recorded video from the recruiter or hiring manager highlighting the critical elements of the role within the job description is another way to capture their attention and give them a better feel for the company, team, and position. 

Leveraging video job descriptions is a great way to engage with prospective applicants online. Screen recorded videos or employee testimonials bring the employee experience to life in a way that text-only job descriptions cannot. A recent study from TalentBoard states that video job descriptions were the primary planned technology investment for 2022, further emphasizing the importance of incorporating videos into your candidate outreach. 

According to CareerBuilder, job postings with video icons are viewed 12% more than postings without video and receive a 34% greater application rate.

 

Make employee-generated content fun and to the point 

When recording your video job description, don’t read through the job overview, responsibilities, and qualifications verbatim. Show your enthusiasm about the role and company while hitting on the key elements candidates want to know about. Consider including why you love working for the company. Plan your script ahead of time, incorporate slides, imagery, and stats to reinforce why a candidate should apply for this role at your company

You can humanize the recruiting experience and tell your company story with the help of employee-generated content. Want to learn more about leveraging employee videos to attract and engage top talent? Download a copy of Attract talent with employee videos 

Join our growing community

and receive free tips on how to attract, engage, hire, & advance the best talent.

privacy notice

Explore categories

Explore categories

Back to top

Learn how iCIMS can help you attract, engage, hire, and advance the best talent

Read more about Video studio

Enhancing the candidate experience with your employer brand

Read more

13 tools every recruiting tech stack should have

Read more

How to keep your TA strategy intact during an economic downturn

Read more