A recent article, “Insurance Industry Poised to Add Jobs Over Next Year: Survey” on InsuranceJournal.com stated that 54.4 percent of insurance companies who were polled intend to increase their staff within the next 12 months due to an increase in business volume. 

Are you one of those companies who would like to hire additional staff members, but can’t find the time to set up and host multiple interviews?  Saving time and money is a common goal that all companies in today’s economy have.  With that being said, you will begin to notice some business owners relying more on video-conferencing platforms such as Skype or Facetime to conduct job interviews. 

Some companies use telephone interviews as a pre-screening for final interview candidates.  The drawback with telephone interviews is you cannot see the person and read their body language to get a better understanding of the individual’s real personality.  The online interviewing process is convenient and can also be a good indicator as to how a person handles challenges such as random interruptions like a child crying in the background, a dog barking, the doorbell, the telephone ringing and/or poor internet connection, etc.

The same rules of basic interviewing apply to video-interviewing.  If you are interested in this process, here are a few things to keep in mind when conducting an online interview:

• Keep it professional – It may seem less formal, but you as the interviewer must set the tone for the interview.  Make sure you are in a professional setting (i.e. either your office or a place with little or no interruptions) and that you are dressed as you would be to conduct an interview in your actual office.
• Pre Determine who is calling who!   Don’t wait until the last minute to try to figure out how you will be connecting on the video-conference call.
• Keep Eye Contact – it is suggested that you look directly at the camera, not at the picture on your monitor of the other person to maintain eye contact with the interviewee.
• Make Sure the lighting is good.  Try not to sit in front of a bright window or light.  These will cast a shadow on your face making it harder for the other person to see your facial expressions.
• Check your technology and internet connections before you begin the interview.  Complications such as static and/or a lost connection can give a bad impression about your preparedness for the interview.
• Keep an eye out for ‘Red Flags’ – these can vary from differences in time zones, having trouble setting up the initial interview and/or what their Skype Account Name is (it should be professional, such as a variation of their first and last names).   Also, this is a live interview, make sure to notice if they are dressed professionally and have prepared for this interview as they would an in-person interview.
• You Can Record the interview!  Rather than frantically taking notes and trying to remember all aspects of the interview, try recording it so you can replay each candidate’s interview to help aid in your final decision making process.  A great plugin for recording that you can use with Skype is Vodburner.

What are your thoughts on interviewing job candidates online?  Has your agency tried this method yet?  We’d love to hear your feedback!

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