Traditional recruitment vs. modern acquisition

In the days of recruitment past, newspaper job ads were top dog. Then came the Internet, and online job boards, applicant tracking software (ATS) systems and social platforms like LinkedIn. So it’s not surprising that in this digitally-driven age, HR departments are leveraging channels like company websites and social platforms for their hiring process – and lure great talent by prioritising technology and trends in user experience, mobile devices etc. What’s next? Likely the biggest trend in content… You guessed it, video! But don’t just take our word for it – take it from our friends at LinkedIn: “to reach people, especially those you want to attract to your company, video simply must be an integral component of your recruitment strategy”.

How HR can leverage video for talent recruitment

When it comes to engaging talent, HR teams can leverage recruiting videos in two ways: for recruitment and employer branding.

Video for recruitment

While traditional methods like job descriptions (JDs) are still relevant, nowadays, it’s not enough to bullet point key responsibilities, experience and qualifications for big-ticket positions – or even smaller ones – and hope to attract the best and brightest. For example, start-ups (Shootsta included) often use company recruitment videos on social to communicate new roles in the hopes of targeting candidates for not just hard skills, but soft skills like problem solving and innovation, teamwork, communication and leadership, as well as the all-important cultural fit. These video job listings can easily position a role’s context within your company and its culture, making it easier for potential candidates to envision how they’ll fit in.

Video for employer branding

A company’s ‘employer brand’ defines its reputation as a workplace, and in today’s saturated market, video is the perfect way to differentiate your value proposition (especially versus competitors). Employer branded content may include ‘a day in the life’ HR videos to attract and engage talent, as well as omnichannel content that communicates factors for candidates like purpose, values, benefits and perks. These elements interplay to showcase a company’s culture, and its credibility as a place to work and build a successful career.

One of the big reasons why employer branding – and values and culture – are so important is the growth in Millennial and Gen Z workforces. According to LinkedIn, Millennials are “projected to make up half of the global workforce by 2020” – and their #1 pre-job application problem? “Difficulty visualising what working at [a] company would be like”. The good news: video is uniquely qualified to do this.

6 outstanding recruiting videos and what you can learn from them

There are so many ways companies can leverage video recruitment for hiring and employer branding. We’ve curated six of the best recruitment videos to show you how it’s done, so you can hook top talent:

1. ‘How We Live Our Company Values: Life First’ by Peakon

Why it works: Peakon’s 2-minute employer brand values and culture video just feels authentic. Using an employee testimonials format, the first interviewee addresses the confines of traditional corporate workplaces – which instantly sets up how Peakon is different. Staff share their thoughts on Peakon’s progressive policies that support the company’s focus on people and well-being, like flexibility, standing desks, unlimited leave, even yoga, set to a backdrop of relaxing slow pans and soft tunes. This is a brand that lives and breathes employee engagement, so showing they ‘get’ it and can walk the talk is super effective. A neatly executed piece.

2. ‘We're hiring! Business Development Manager’ (by us!)

Why it works: Short, sweet and to the point, the purpose of this video isn’t to provide a video job description – but to give candidates a feel for what it’s like to work at Shootsta (cue ping pong in the first 10 seconds), reinforced by the cutaway of our happy Sydney team. The call to action is just as concise: if you’re interested, apply by pitching yourself in a video. And all delivered in under a minute! Too easy.

3. ‘Finding A Job That Feels Like a Home’ by LinkedIn

Why it works: Starting with employee voice-over footage that spotlights personal stories, viewers are immediately hooked by identifying and empathising. Then, once the key message – LinkedIn is the answer – hits in the first 30 seconds, visuals switch to people speaking while looking off camera, signalling the shift from problems to solutions. It ends with uplifting music to voice-overs again, with people smiling, as the call-to-action, “Share how you found your job” (and the hashtag #InItTogether, to track conversations) rounds out the content. Strategically, it’s clever, and shows how a simple story and structure can elevate a message for success.

4. ‘What is an introvert?’ by Shootsta’s Daniel Griffo

Why it works: A unique take on the employee introduction video, Shootsta Editor Daniel Griffo’s introvert / surfing piece is part of a series affectionately called ‘The Shootsta Film Fest’ by our US team. The video hooks viewers with the question, ‘What is an introvert?’ (especially in the business world), then proceeds to answer it – leading into a heartfelt love letter to surfing, and recharging through mindfulness. Much of the video consists of Daniel’s voiceover paired with beautifully shot beach cutaways, including drone and GoPro footage, only cutting to him speaking to camera for core moments in his story; the tranquil ambience is furthered by peaceful guitar music and the crashing of the waves. Amazingly, this eight-part series averages a creation time of six hours per video – from concept to final edit – and while our Shootsta team certainly knows what they’re doing, it goes to show content creation doesn’t have to be time-consuming for an outstanding result.

5. ‘Inclusion & Diversity – Open’ by Apple

Why it works: Apple’s employer brand values video puts their intention upfront, setting expectations before you’ve seen anything but the title. It begins with simple, impactful white text on a black background to draw focus, before the atmospheric acapella music builds as the spoken word voiceover – mimicking poetry – delivers key examples of the company’s HR philosophy; “a new generation of Apple, more diverse than the one that came before” and “open is not just who we are, but what we believe as a company”. This is augmented by close-ups that morph into cutaways portraying people’s personal lives: kids, art galleries, baby swimming lessons, weddings, prayer etc., and back again. The message: difference is power.

6. Shootsta: The Movie

Why it works: While not an employer branding piece in the obvious ‘HubSpot Culture’ video sense, our ‘making of (the company!)’ video ticks a lot of the same boxes: humour, employee talent, flashbacks, and a host of behind-the-scenes video highlights that offer genuine insight around what it’s like to work for Shootsta. You also get to see our CEO and CTO poking fun at themselves, which speaks directly to our culture of humbleness, content creators – and fun!

Top learnings on how to create effective, engaging career video ads

• Follow the 3-10-30 rule: It’s a Shootsta classic, one we live by, and it goes like this – in the first 3 seconds, grab attention. In the first 10 seconds, set the scene (and your audience’s expectations). And in the first 30 seconds, communicate your key message; short and simple, so it sticks.
• Use emotion: If you follow our Shootsta Blog, you’ll know video is the most effective way to stimulate emotions. This generally comes down to empathy and how we identify with ‘characters’; their stories and their goals, and how they relate with our experience. To build a strong, positive brand association, think about your company and audience, and the characteristics they share; that should inform natural scenarios to explore (and film!).
• Put your values front and centre: If there’s anything we’ve seen from the examples above, it’s that flying your employer brand values flag is important. Giving potential candidates the context they need to make an informed decision about your company is essential to nailing the right cultural fit – trust us, your employees and organisation will thank you.
• BONUS TIP – Want a challenge? Try gamified videos: A precursor to interview-based ‘recruitainment’, gamified videos feature interactivity in the form of ‘choose your own adventure’-style, polls, quizzes and contests to make recruitment more engaging (and enjoyable)! Check out this interactive video by Deloitte.

Strategic places to feature recruitment videos

• Job posts: In this attention economy, adding rich media like job postings with videos is a no-brainer, especially considering “candidates spend on average 55 seconds viewing a text-only ad, whereas job seekers spend 5 minutes and 23 seconds watching a video advertisement”. The upshot? Video engages.
• Careers page: One of the main delivery methods for video recruiting. And no wonder, when Millennials and Gen Z are actively searching for information on a potential workplace’s culture, purpose and values. Plus, traditionally, “including a video on your landing page can increase conversions by more than 80%”. So it’s worth experimenting on your website’s careers page.
• Social media: When it comes to recruitment, LinkedIn’s job search and Talent / Marketing solutions – plus the Life / Jobs sections on its company pages – give it a significant advantage on social. But that doesn’t mean it’s the only choice; Facebook, Twitter, even Instagram, are all options, depending on where your target audience lives online.
  • Speaking of social, how about LinkedIn InMail? Linking to a hiring video when direct messaging potential employees is a great way to introduce contacts to your organisation / the role, in a non-intrusive way (think a short message, with a link to both the JD and your video).
• Career fairs: These can take the form of university / college fairs, or even industry events, and your company careers video is a great talking point. Tip: ensure your video functions with sound-off by leveraging captions to help tell your employer brand story, so you can play it at your booth.