Make a Recruitment Video That Stands Out in 9 Steps

Did you know that the job market today is 90% candidate-driven?

This means two important things for employers: 1) the way companies recruit has changed 2) it’s more competitive than ever before, according to a study by MRINetwork.

If you and your company want to attract the right talent — and hire them before the competition — you need to create the type of content that will speak to candidates best.

That type of content is video.

In fact, video content has been proven to deliver higher audience engagement than any other type of content, whether it’s used for entertainment, education, or marketing.

When it comes to recruitment, job postings with videos have a 34% greater application rate according to research by CareerBuilder.

A well-made recruitment video can attract, entice, and motivate the right candidate to apply. College recruitment videos are also a good way to attract students. But how do you make recruiting content that is both engaging, and effective for hiring candidates?

This post will highlight how recruitment videos can make your company truly stand out from the competition, and equip you with the best tips to create them in-house. After reading, you’ll know how to make recruitment videos that pique the curiosity of your candidates and can convert them into new recruits. So, let’s get started! Or click below to jump right into the tips and tricks.

Why recruitment videos make your company stand out

Creating a recruitment video can help set your company apart from the competition — allowing you to creatively ‘blow your own horn’ in order to attract the right talent.

To begin with, recruitment videos show your company’s human side. They give an inside scoop into the people behind the business, a look at the daily life of employees, and an insight into the values you stand by.

Showing, not telling can make all the difference when it comes to convincing candidates. In fact, video-based job postings get 12% more views than those that are text-based.

With the right video creation tools, making a recruitment video in-house is also simple and cost-effective. If you’re using ready-made HR templates to create your videos, you can save even more time and resources.

On top of that, you can easily share the video on your website, social channels, employers’ review sites, and on your job listing pages. Employees can also share these engaging videos on their own Linkedin profiles, boosting visibility for the open position even further.

5 elements of a good recruitment video

In this candidate-driven job market, you need to highlight what’s unique about your company in your recruitment videos. That means being authentic.

“Big-production” outsourced videos can sometimes be a turn-off for candidates: anything overly polished can look too good to be true. Not only that, outsourced recruitment videos can be expensive and take a while to produce. Meanwhile, creating this content in-house will allow you to express your company culture, your way, on your schedule.

Let’s go over the essentials of an effective recruitment video that will engage job candidates.

• It’s clear and clear and concise

An effective recruiting video gets straight to the point – introducing the company, culture, values, and employees, without being too wordy or long-winded. The maximum length of your video should be around 3 minutes when hosted on Youtube or on your company website. On other social networks such as LinkedIn, you need to catch and hold your audience’s attention — so aim for around the 1-minute mark.

• It provides essential information about your company and the role

The goal of a recruitment video is to help prospective applicants understand what your business does and how they’d fit in. An effective video can encourage the ideal candidate to apply, which saves you time from looking for a needle in the haystack of mediocre candidates.

• It highlights what's unique about your company

Whether it’s work-life balance, a remote-friendly ethos, or regular after-work events, a convincing video showcases a company’s unique selling points.

• It offers a glimpse into your company culture

A good recruitment video helps prospective candidates envision what it would be like to work at your company. This is far more powerful and convincing than a typical text-based job description.

• It’s packed with employee testimonials

Want engaging content to post on your Linkedin or website careers page? Post testimonial videos featuring employees discussing their roles, projects, successes, and ambitions. Engaged employees are the ultimate assets for boosting your employer branding and attracting new recruits.

The 9 best practices for creating compelling recruiting videos

So, now you know what makes a top-notch recruitment video and you have some inspiration to match. It’s time to start creating your video and landing the great hires your company deserves!

1. Include key information and highlight FAQs

First, you’ll need a clear idea of your video objective. Are you creating a company culture video to post on social media for your employer branding? Or are you making a video to promote a specific job position? Here’s a checklist of key information to include in your video, depending on your goals:

• An introduction to your industry and your company’s mission
• Your company values
• Details about your open positions: key missions, start date, how to apply, etc.
• Key aspects of your company culture
• Names and titles of employees giving testimonials
• Your company’s value proposition

This recruitment video by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, for example, presents an employee testimonial to promote the company's International Graduate Programme. The ‘3 questions with’ format is highly effective: it answers candidate’s FAQs; it gives key info about the employees' experience using photos and quotes; and it shows applicants where to apply.

Oh, and it was created with PlayPlay!

2. Feature your motivated and happy employees

The best recruitment videos are all about people. What makes your employees love your company? What motivates them to come to work each day? Whether you’re creating a company event highlights video or a video about your values, interviews with your employees will always engage your target audience.

Ask around for volunteers to appear in the company video, and choose employees who are comfortable speaking on camera.

3. Prepare a rough script

A video script is your roadmap of actions and dialogue. Use it to brainstorm, plot, and finalize your ideas until you get a clear outline of your content and structure.

Filming an employee testimonial as part of your recruitment video? Then you need it to look and sound natural. But having a perfect, spontaneous answer isn’t easy (or very natural!), so a little preparation is required.

Encourage your interviewee to get ready beforehand by giving them a general idea of the questions and topic. This way, they’re less likely to ramble and go off-topic while on camera. During the interview itself, they can refer to their notes but they should give some room to improvise.

4. Ensure good sound quality & add the right music

One key reason people stop watching a video is poor sound quality, so make sure to use a high-quality microphone if you’re recording employee testimonials. A popular microphone is Røde SmartLav+ Lavalier Microphone and it’s a worthwhile investment.

When recording, look out for particular noises like slamming doors, microphones rubbing against clothes, people coughing in the background, etc. These noises can make life difficult during the editing stage and even spoil your interviews.

You’ll also want the soundtrack to your recruiting video to reflect your company’s personality and reinforce your message. For example, a startup could use upbeat, modern music to reflect its dynamic, youthful culture. Meanwhile, an established company might prefer to use a more neutral, corporate soundtrack. Just be careful about music copyright and make sure your soundtrack is royalty-free!

Additionally, the right music should engage viewers, instead of distracting them — so reduce the volume when someone speaks in your video.

5. Be authentic: show the ups and the downs

Being real about your company attracts real talent. It tells applicants you’re genuine, truthful, and transparent. Your recruitment video should reflect this.

Discuss both the good and the not-so-good moments at your company. For example, recall a difficult period and how you emerged from it together, stronger than ever.

Using real, up-to-date footage of your employees at the office is also a great way to be authentic. This b-roll footage can be helpful when editing your video; cutaway shots jazz up your employee interviews and make for a more dynamic final cut.

This hilarious video by Fivver makes a mockery of all the cliché, inauthentic recruitment videos out there, using humor to great effect. Watch closely to see what not to do in your video!

6. Make it short, punchy, and dynamic

The average time candidates spend watching recruitment videos is around 1 minute and 30 seconds. According to Skill Scout, the average time candidates spend on watching recruitment videos is 1 minutes and 36 seconds. So try and keep your videos under 2-3 minutes.

It’s crucial that you hook your audience in right from the start. That said, don’t give too much information away — just enough to arouse viewers’ curiosity so they keep watching your video. Try opening with an attention-grabbing question, a blooper moment from an interview, a key figure about the job, or clips of employees having fun at a recent company event.

Once you’ve got your audience’s attention, you need to keep it. The best way to do this is by bringing rhythm and flow to your video, using a variety of camera angles, shot speeds and cutaways.

When shooting, try to use at least two cameras so that you have multiple angles to play with when editing. For an interview, try positioning one camera facing the interviewee and the second camera from at a 45 degree angle.

Here are a few examples of shots that will add variety and dynamism to your final edit:

• close-ups on details of the scene: an object, a smile, etc.
• wider shots that will set the scene of your video.
• moving shots that will add energy to your final video.

Avoid shots that are too long and too static: for an energetic atmosphere, cut between shots every 3-5 seconds. On the other hand, opt for sequences of 5-7 seconds to achieve a calmer, more relaxed tone.

7. Include a call to action (CTA)

The objective of a CTA is get your audience to take an immediate action. In practice, the CTA often takes the form of an instruction, with the use of an imperative verb: "follow us", "click here," or in this case, “apply now.”

Don’t forget to add an CTA at the end of your video to direct viewers to apply for the job. Keep your CTA clear and short by using 3-5 words, instructing them on what to do or where to look after having watched your video.

Have you managed to recruit good collaborators? Congratulations! Now it's time to prepare an onboarding video. Discover our best tips.

8. Include subtitles (always!)

No headphones? No problem. By adding subtitles to your recruiting video, your ideal candidate can watch wherever they are.

It’s no surprise that subtitled YouTube videos get up to a 40% increase in watch time: captions grab your audience’s attention from the get-go. They also boost your video’s reach, increasing accessibility to international audiences and those with hearing difficulties.

9. Promote your video far and wide

After creating your awesome recruitment video, you’ll need to promote it and get those job applications rolling in. First, you need to identify the channels through which you can reach your ideal candidates and get your message across:

• Social media: LinkedIn is the go-to social network for job-seekers, so it’s worth sharing your video in a post with a CTA to apply for the position. Ask your employees to tag relevant connections in their network, or to even share it on their own profiles for extra visibility. Boost your video’s reach further by sharing it on other social networks, such as Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
• Company review sites: Before submitting a job application, most potential candidates will check out your company on review sites such as Glassdoor, Indeed, or Welcome to the Jungle. Upload a recruitment video to your company profile page to stand out from the competition and catch candidates’ attention
• Your company career page: Job seekers rank company careers pages as one of the best ways to learn about a company. Rather than boring candidates with long paragraphs, upload a recruitment video to your career page and show them what’s unique about your job opportunities.
• Newsletters: Got some trusty subscribers to your newsletter? Then dedicate a section to your open positions. Who knows, one of your subscribers might become your next superstar recruit! Create a thumbnail image of an eye-catching scene in your video and insert a ‘play’ symbol over it to incite the click. With a link attached, you can then redirect readers to watch your recruitment video hosted on Youtube or your careers page.

5 Types of recruitment videos you can make to attract new talent

Now that we’ve covered what makes a great recruitment video, let’s explore what video types you can easily create in-house.

Employee testimonial video:

Employee testimonial videos are one of the most effective content types for recruitment. Convince potential recruits that your company is the place to be by letting them hear directly from your motivated and enthusiastic employees. Social proof is powerful: candidates are more likely to believe ordinary employees delivering a positive message about the company than the CEO.

Here are some examples of topics to cover, to help you develop your interview questions:

• Growth opportunities
• Work-life balance
• The company’s origin story and vision going forward
• The company’s product or service
• What’s unique about the company culture
• Social events

Employee testimonials are perfect for hosting on your website career page or your company profile on recruitment sites. But remember: these videos must feel authentic, so allow your speakers to express themselves naturally. In the next section, we’ll go over how to draw up a script that covers your main points while giving your interviewee room to speak freely.

Check out this excellent employee testimonial that DentalMonitoring created using PlayPlay's video creation platform:

Day in the life video

A day in the life video shows what an employee’s typical day at work looks like: from arriving at the office and grabbing coffee with colleagues, to getting down to the day’s tasks.

If you’re reaching out to candidates for a specific job, what better way than to put them directly into the shoes of someone already in the role? A day in the life video allows candidates to get a concrete idea of the position while giving them an insight into the company culture. Fun to film, fun to watch, and great for your employer brand.

Film your chosen employee as they go about their day, and get them to narrate a little on camera about what they’re up to. Or go for an influencer-style video and record in selfie mode!

Company event highlights video

Life at a company is so much more than the job itself: many candidates look for a workplace where they can build strong connections with colleagues and have an active social life.

With a company event highlights video, you can give candidates a taste of the perks that employees enjoy. Afterworks, sports classes, company retreats… Take some photos or clips at your next company event and edit the video highlights into a ‘top-5’ format. This type of highlights video is simple to make, easily digestible, and highly effective at attracting candidates’ attention on social media.

Company values video

When job-seekers are researching opportunities, they’re looking for a company that shares their values. In fact, 71% of candidates do their own research before applying to a company: they want to know what you stand for and what actions you take to make these values concrete.

Bring your values to life by presenting them to candidates in video format, with clips and photos of your projects in action. Promote it on social media or on your careers page to boost your employer branding and show candidates you don’t just talk the talk, but you walk the walk, too.

Meet the team video

Every candidate wants to know more about the people they would be working with before submitting an application. Meet the team videos are a great way to humanize your brand, show off your fun team and their achievements, and convince applicants that they would be a good fit.

These videos need to be personal: include pictures or short clips of team members, giving their names, their roles, and a few fun facts about themselves.

At PlayPlay, we create a monthly 'meet the team' onboarding video to welcome and introduce our new recruits!

Try PlayPlay to create your next recruitment video

Recruitment videos are one of the best ways to make your company stand out to candidates and attract the best talent. Forget big-budget, agency productions that all look the same and take forever to make.

Creating authentic content in-house can help you cut down on recruitment costs, boost your employer branding, attract top talent to your company, and make the perfect job offer so they can not say no — before the competition snaps them up.

With a video-maker like PlayPlay, making unique videos in-house is easier than ever. So, put some personality into your content and your talent acquisition team will reap the rewards! Make your first recruitment video now using one of our many awesome templates.