From the job post to onboarding, video offers a plethora of ways to differentiate your company and your job openings. Surprisingly, video is a recruitment tool grossly under-utilized but that window for a competitive edge won’t stay open for long. It’s time to get started using one video in one or more of the following recruitment stages before everyone jumps on the bandwagon.

Companies that use video in their job listings experience a 12 percent increase in views. Even if the individual viewing the video isn’t a candidate, videos get shared 1,200 percent more than text and images combined. That might be why companies that use video in their job postings get 34 percent more applicants.

Career Page

Your career page is ground zero for your recruitment efforts. With unemployment at record lows, nearly every skilled and qualified worker has a job. Before jumping ship, they want to know what it’s like to work for your company. Most companies gloss over their career pages, while some don’t even have one. What does that message send to candidates? First impressions matter and video is an easy way to engage candidates fast and tell your story. Web pages with interesting and relevant video, such as employees sharing personal accomplishments at your company or customers using products the employee might make, increase your chances of getting ranked on the first page of Google by a factor of 53!

Employee Profile

A tour of your facility may be interesting and a message from the CEO is welcoming. But what employees really want to know is what it’s like to work at your company. They want to hear from current employees and their future boss. These are the people who they will interact with every day. Record an interview with them or just let them share their story — why they like working for you or opportunities they’ve had for advancement and learning. But keep them short. These are not documentaries. One to two minutes is an ideal length.

Job Listings

Text-based job descriptions are boring and were never intended to advertise jobs. But video can easily turn that around. Forget copying and pasting job descriptions.Job posting are ads, and there’s perhaps no better way to market a job (or your company) than with a compelling video. Text-to-video software, such as Lumen5, uses artificial intelligence to turn your online job description into a short, effective video.

Virtual Interviews

Do you want to wow a prospective employee? Offer to connect with the candidate immediately using a video interviewing platform or even Skype, Hangout or Zoom to do a face-to-face interview on the spot. If the timing isn’t right, Consider recording a quick video to invite him or her to an interview. You can record the video using a tool like Loom or Dubb. Simply click on the browser extension, record a very short video, copy the link and send it to the candidate. Good candidates have opportunities. Don’t let the good ones slip away.

YouTube Channel

Did you know: YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world? That alone should be enough incentive to get you started. Well, that and the fact that YouTube is owned by Google, which loves video, and nearly 75 percent of all job seekers start their search on Google. Every company needs a YouTube channel and jobs playlist.

Welcome Video

If a candidate forgives you for using a boring job description to recruit them, don’t blow it with an inane response. Replace the canned, corporate “Thank you for submitting your application” with an introductory video from the recruiter, hiring manager or even future co-worker. It could just be a quick, “Hi, my name is Ira. I just wanted to personally thank you for submitting your application. We’ll be in touch as soon as our team reviews it. Thanks again!”

Conduct Live (Virtual) Career Fairs

With times-to-hire getting longer and open job vacancies growing, traditional career fairs just don’t take place frequently enough to meet the demands of a tight job market. Besides career fairs cost money, take time, and divert resources. Why not use video and schedule a “live” career fair? Use free cloud software like Google Hangouts or Zoom, or social media platforms like Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and Instagram or IGTV. If you’re recruiting a tech-savvy crowd, then a virtual reality career fair can really set you apart. You might even put a weekly Q&A live event on the calendar.

Google My Business

Did you know that you can get Google to promote your job listings for free? And, no, there aren’t any catches. Google has combined quite a few of its functions into what the company calls Google My Business. It’s basically the “knowledge graph” that pops up when someone searches your company name. Part of that knowledge graph is called Google Posts. Posts allow you to add articles, images and videos for free. Why not add your job listings? Just upload an image or short video with some text about the job and a link to your application. It’s easy and free.  And while you’re add it, promote events like career fairs and employee achievements or company celebrations. Anytime a candidate or customer searches your company, your Google My Business pops up. Another bonus is that Google loves fresh content, which only enhances your company brands. So, post often!

ABOUT Ira Wolfe

Avatar photoIra S Wolfe is the “Millennial trapped in a Baby Boomer body” and the Chief Googlization Officer at Success Performance Solutions. Fueled by his fierce passion for technology its impact on people, Ira has emerged as one of HR’s most visionary thinkers and influencers on the future of work, jobs and talent acquisition. Ira is an accomplished speaker, author, writer and podcaster. His latest best-selling book is "Recruiting in the Age of Googlization." He also hosts the "Geeks, Geezers and Googlization" podcast.