“By 2012, 80% of recruitment process will be done online.

Friday 29th February 2008 5:05 am EST

By 2012, more than 80 per cent of the entire recruitment process will be conducted online, with perhaps only a final interview with the successful candidate done face-to-face, says international recruitment process advisor Kevin Wheeler.

In a presentation to be delivered to the Australasian Talent Conference in April, Wheeler says the migration of the process online is being driven by “technology natives – younger people who have grown up in a multimedia world”.

And it is being enabled by the availability of cheap video cameras, ubiquitous broadband connections, and “sophisticated, video-savvy workers”.

“A 2012 recruitment scenario uses multiple media to make the recruitment process richer and more efficient. A candidate watches videos to get a good understanding of the corporate background, products, and history. She views interviews with current employees, and can even email them. For example, she has a 10-minute instant message conversation with a recent recruit, where he gives her a lot of insight into the recruitment process and the on-boarding practices,” says Wheeler.

Prospective candidates would be asked to submit videos and careers sites would have directions on how to do this and would manage the process quickly and efficiently, says Wheeler.

“An internal recruiter does a 20-minute video interview with her using Skype and sets up a series of interviews for the following week. Because the candidate can get a link to the profiles of those who will interview her, she’s able to find short videos of each person that provide insight into their personalities and interests.

“After about 90 minutes of interactive, informative, and mostly fun online activity, she has learned a great deal about the company, positions, corporate culture, and daily activities, and she has had an initial screening and set up interviews,” Wheeler says.

While the technology to manage all the above processes is currently available, only the most sophisticated employers and recruitment companies are currently using them, says Wheeler.

But inevitably the process will continue to migrate, he says.

He offers three top tips to improve careers websites:
Use multimedia – incorporate short videos; candid interviews and simple tours are best. Limit each video to less than three minutes and make them fun.

Incorporate interactivity – keep candidates on your site longer, build short polls for them to take or ask them to get involved in a chat room discussion.

Keep it real – make sure the tone of your website is real and practical. No one wants to read PR language; they want a site that is honest and open.”

Thanks Jo, hope you don’t mind me pasting it in here