Although recent market shifts have led executive leadership at a few large corporations to bring employees back to the office several days a week for a hybrid work environment, the remote workplace is still the new normal for many workers across the globe.

As an employer, this means that you have the benefits of a global workforce. You can find the best talent no matter where they live.

But, it also means you need to get comfortable with conducting video interviews as part of your hiring process.

Here are a few video interview tips for employers:

1. Treat the interview like an in-person meeting

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it's easy to get caught up in the informality of a video call and forget that this is still a professional meeting.That means you should dress the part, be on time, and have a list of questions prepared.

2. Set up your space in advance

Where will you be during the call? In your home office? A quiet coffee shop? Be sure to pick a spot with good lighting and minimal distractions or background noise.

And, if you're interviewing from home, be sure to remove any personal items or clutter from your space. The last thing you want is for the candidate to be distracted by a photo of your family on the bookshelf behind you.

3. Use video interview software

Pillar's AI-powered video interview platform is the perfect tool for conducting virtual interviews.

The software offers a number of features that make it easy to conduct an interview, including the ability to:

- Schedule and send interview invitations
- Automatically record and transcribe interviews
- Review interview recordings and transcripts
- Provide feedback to candidates

Pillar also includes preset virtual interview tips and question prompts to make the interview go smoother and help the interviewer stay on track.

4. Work with team leaders to create a list of semi-structured questions to ask each candidate.

You can also access a database of these questions in your Pillar dashboard. Each position has behavioral, technical, and title-associated questions to ask candidates.

Your questions should be based on the job requirements and the competencies you're looking for in a successful candidate.

For each question, prepare a few follow-ups to get a more complete picture of the candidate's skills and experience.

5. Encourage candidates to prepare in advance

Just like you would for an in-person interview, encourage candidates to prepare in advance by doing research on the company, reviewing the job requirements, and preparing answers to common interview questions.

6. End the interview with a clear next step

Be sure to end the interview with a clear next step for the candidate.

Virtual interview questions and answers are a great way to screen candidates and get to know them better. With a little preparation, you can ensure your video interviews are as successful as in-person meetings.

7. Consider using video interviewing for all stages of the hiring process

While video interviewing is commonly used for the first round of interviews, there's no reason you can't also use it for the whole process.

If you'd like a guide to walk you through building out an efficient interview process from phone screen to offer, check out our ebook, “How to Hire Great Software Engineers.” It'll walk you through each step in detail.

Zoom Interview Tips for Employers

Seamless Zoom interviews start with the interviewer's mindset. Here are 11 zoom interview tips for employers:

1. Consider your energy and mental state before joining the interview.

As the interviewer, you set the tone and pace of the interview. You want to be professional, yet personable.

2. Mute your microphone when you're not speaking.

This will help reduce any unwanted background noise and make it easier for the candidate to focus on your questions.

3. Use video whenever possible.

Video interviews are more engaging than audio-only calls and give you the opportunity to see the candidate's body language and non-verbal queues

And remember, on video, your body language is important too. Studies show that between 70 & 90% of communication is non-verbal so your candidate will probably be able to read how you're feeling about them without you even knowing it.

4. Make sure to have a good internet connection.

This seems like a given but I can't tell you how many times I've been in meetings and interviews where the internet connection is awful and someone tries to continue anyway.

This is incredibly disconcerting to candidates. Especially, if they feel they're interrupting, talking over you, or out of the flow of conversation.

5. Set up your Zoom meeting in a quiet place with no distractions.

You want the candidate to be able to focus on the conversation and not be distracted by anything going on in your environment

6. Prepare your questions in advance.

Preparing your questions in advance will help you stay on track and make sure you get the information you need from the candidate to assess their qualifications for the role.

7. Know your candidate.

Research the candidate in advance of the meeting. Review their resume, social media profiles, portfolio, and online presence.

The better you know the candidate, the more targeted your questions will be and the more likely you are to uncover information that will help you assess their qualifications for the role.

8. Ask follow-up questions.

Who? How? What? When? Where? and Why? These deeper questions will give you clarity and context helping you better assess a candidate's fit for your company's culture.

9. Use the Pillar Zoom app to provide question prompts, real-time candidate feedback, and interview guidance.

The Pillar Zoom app will help you stay on track, provide question prompts, and give you the ability to take notes and provide real-time candidate feedback.

10. Watch for meeting burnout and Zoom fatigue.

If you feel yourself getting tired or feel scattered take a break. Grab a cup of coffee, go for a walk, or play a game for a few minutes.

Try to disengage your brain for 10-15 minutes so that you can come back to interviews refreshed and clear. This will feel better for you and anyone that you're interviewing.

11. Have a wrap-up question ready and a close prepared.

End the zoom meeting with a question that allows the candidate to share any final thoughts or questions they have for you. This is also your opportunity to provide them with the next steps in the process.

The points listed above will help guide you as you consider how to conduct a video interview.

After the interview, communicate clearly with the candidate about how they did during the interview, expectations, and next steps.

Don't leave them hanging if they're not a good fit for the role. Call them and deliver the bad news gracefully.

No one likes to be left in the dark, and it will help you and the candidate close the chapter with clarity.

Whether you're a first-time Zoom user or a seasoned pro, following these tips will help you deliver a great interview and leave a lasting impression on your candidates.

Video Interview Questions and Answers

The sections above list many of the video interview tips we've found to be effective when building a great team.

When asking your candidates questions, here are a few concepts to keep in mind:

Video Interview questions and answers will generally fall into 3- 4 categories:

Technical Questions - These are designed to test a candidate's knowledge of the specific skills required for the role they're interviewing for.

Cultural Questions - These questions help you assess whether or not the candidate is a good fit for your company culture.

Behavioral Questions - Behavioral questions are designed to assess how the candidate has responded to various challenges and situations in the past.

Past Performance - Questions about past performance are designed to give you insight into how the candidate has performed in similar roles at other companies.

Each category will give you insight into a candidate's fit for the open role.

If you build a call framework on these questions, the interview should have a good flow, and go something like this:

1.) Opening, why we're here.
2. Past Experience & Qualifications required for the role.
3.) Cultural fit for the company.
4.) Behavioral or past performance questions.
5.) Questions from candidates.
6.) Next steps and Close.

Using this framework will help ensure that you're getting the information you need from each candidate while also providing a great interview experience.

If you're currently building or optimizing your recruitment process right now, check out our Pillar's AI-powered interview intelligence software.

Pillar will help you streamline your recruitment process, assess candidate skills and qualifications, improve your time to hire, and make better hiring decisions.

Over the past 12 months, Pillar customers have cut turnover by 50%, cut time to hire in half, and increased diversity hires by 40%.

‍Request a demo to see how it can help your hiring team, today.