7 Exceptional Recruitment Videos That Attract Qualified Talent

Having a hard time attracting qualified talent for your company?

The problem may not be in your message, but rather the medium in which you're delivering it.

There’s an unspoken dilemna brewing over the demand for new talent in the tech and startup world that has not been seen in years. If you haven’t been paying attention, the scales have been tipped and the demand for the next brilliant worker now overweighs the demand for simply filling a gap within your company.

Wouldn't you love for your hiring campaign to be inbound rather than outbound? Traditional methods of hiring include newspaper ads, magazine features, radio and television, as well as online job boards. Now, with the popularity of YouTube, your company can post a video, not only telling but showing people what it's like to work at XYZ.

The result is fascinating because the prospect now has the ability to interview your company before you even realize who they are. The interview we are talking about it doesn't include the traditional suit, tie, and a resume but rather a short informative video easily found on YouTube.

Why it's Important to Have One

The Recruitment Video is the only tactic that a growing, successful company can utilize overtime to present themselves to highly talented prospects who are “fishing” for the latest, greatest company to work for. Once you have your video produced and uploaded to YouTube then it will always be accessible to anyone searching for it.

A well made video conveys the insights of real people while capturing the culture and atmosphere of that company. The Buzz Lab states, "by inviting your audience into a place they normally wouldn't have access to, you quickly establish a human connection with them. This sense of familiarity is particularly useful when the inspiration behind your message is a key part of the message itself".

When Do You Need One?

When a company has positioned themselves on a scalable growth model as we all strive to create or be a part of, the backbone of your organization will always be your staff. In order to be competitive and efficient with your hiring process, producing a recruitment video is a great way for you to attract the finest incoming fleet of developers, marketers, designers, etc.

Four Basic Fundamentals of Recruitment Videos

When developing your recruitment video, don't just grab five of your favorite employees and start filming. In a recent article  Josh Tolan points out the importance of having a recruitment video, stating,  “In 2011 the average cost per hire was $5,054, and the traditional recruiting process takes an average of 45 days to fill a position. This is a lot of time and money disappearing. Is it any wonder why more recruiters are looking at the popularity and usefulness of online video?”

Setting

You should be able to watch this video on mute and still catch that feeling of what it would be like to work there everyday and always look forward to the next.

Concept

In a matter of seconds you need to deliver a clear message of why an individual would want to work at your company over your competitors, or anywhere else for that matter. Just like when you developed a value proposition to provide  perspective customers a snapshot of what your company does and how you can help them. The same thing applies when you're trying to attract qualified talent.

Culture

Its absolutely necessary to show what its like to be a part of the overall social experience at your company because that is the trigger for getting the most out of your employees. If you love what you do (..and where) then you’ll never work again (..for anyone else). Right?

The Buzzlab also states, that it is extremely important to acknowledge that everyone has an “About Us” page describing how great a place to work their company is. But showing off the actual personalities, relationships and amenities that make up your culture really brings your workplace to life in a far more tangible way.

Branding

You want to leave your audience with the feeling that your company is not just a logo on a piece of paper, but a place where innovative projects are carried out by passionate people.

Top 7 Examples of Recruitment Videos

If your company hasn’t produced a recruitment video yet but your competitors have, then stop scratching your head and pay attention to what the following companies have done to position themselves ahead of the rest.

1. Cake Marketing

Cake's leading affiliate marketing platform lets advertisers track, analyze and optimize their online campaigns.

Our Perspective:

Carolyn: The setting of your video is really important. Don't just show people around your office. Cake did a great job of bringing that element into the picture, by focusing on the culture and atmosphere of the company. Upon watching the video you knew exactly what they do and the type of culture they have . Wouldn't you want to work there.

James: This isn't a video, its a piece of art! This is a beautiful recruitment video that held my attention from start to finish..and then off to their website (hint-hint).

2. HubSpot

HubSpot's inbound marketing software offers businesses an all-in-one marketing solution; blogging, analytics, social media, email, automation & more.

Our perspective:

Carolyn: Not only are they talking about all this cool stuff like FREE food or unlimited vacation, but how cool is it to share a room with everyone (even company founders?). I also loved how HubSpot showed several of their employees, highlighting some of the tasks they're working on.

James: Absolutely one of my favorites, this video really set the bar for what a recruitment video should look like: Professional, Fun, and Inspirational.

3. Shopify

Note: Video was deleted :(

Shopify is a powerful ecommerce website solution that allows you to sell online by providing everything you need to create an online store.

Our Perspective:

Carolyn: A great video that really shows the culture and brand of the company. They didn't just show you four key individuals within the company. You were able to meet people in various departments from accounting to designers to support. And who wouldn't love FREE catered lunch everyday!

James: After watching this video a few times I really gained confidence in a company that I've only heard about and never worked with before. Well done!

4. Gorilla

Gorilla Group provides e-commerce design, development, strategy, and website support services for Magento, Sitecore, and hybris.

Our Perspective:

Carolyn: Gorilla doesn't just talk about the history of the company or what the company does. They go into detail about the culture of the company as well as telling you why you would want to work there. If you aren't looking for an innovative e-commerce company that's big with the feel of a smaller company, they probably aren't a great fit. A great element of the video is being able to see the passion of the people that work there.

James: This is a perfect example of a company that can and will attract talent over their competitors with the a 2 minute recruitment video..for years to come.

5. Barclays

Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking.

Our Perspective:

Carolyn: Just because you're trying to grab the attention of future employees, doesn't mean you have to take the long and uneventful route. Use this opportunity to showcase the culture and personality of your company. Even though Barclays is quietly conquering the world of finance doesn't mean that they cannot use humor to engage with potential job prospects.

James: Although this one minute video might have a Hollywood budget, its absolutely priceless and definetely deserved to be on our list.

6. Kontagent

Kontagent empowers brands with solutions to build more engaging mobile customer experiences, and more lucrative mobile businesses.

Our Perspective:

Carolyn: A great thing Kontagent did was that they didn't just give you a two minute virtual tour of their company. They showed you "real" people working there and providing testimonials, telling you what its like to work there.

James: No wonder why their job offer rate is closing at 85%, this video portrays a great place to work, learn, and be apart of something special.

7. Rackspace

Rackspace Hosting is a world class leader in cloud computing and founder of OpenStack, an open source cloud platform.

Our Perspective:

Carolyn: Your video doesn't have to use words to grab the attention of your viewers, especially when visual content is processed over 60,000 times faster than text.

James: Initially I was waiting on a voice to explain more about this company but by the end of the video I felt like I just spent a year there!