top of page
Search
Writer's pictureSmartList Admin

"Look beyond the resume" – Screen for skills through one-way video responses



The Premise:

Imagine yourself hiring a centre forward for a football team that you manage. You would not include someone in your squad basis what was achieved in earlier teams. You would go for on-field trials, see them play, and hire them for their skills. Why is it that companies rely so heavily on past achievements - RESUMES?


Resumes are things of the past and are at best self-stated narration of past events, which may contain a host of half-truths and falsehoods. Relying on them would mean making decisions based on selective narratives and misleading statements. Resumes also propagate bias in the reader as we humans hold biased perceptions of past experiences. In high volume hiring automated screening processes, the tool discards top candidates if they do not bring the right keywords on their profiles. Organisations have substantial time costs to screen hundreds of resumes if done manually.


Today is the day to discard the resume and hire based on performance, not background or achievements. It is time to test for skills to eliminate bias and surface the most qualified candidates at the beginning of the screening process.


The Opportunity:

Imagine screening applicants by watching a two-minute video response from candidates responding to customer interaction scenarios/technical questions/team handling situations etc. Using such recorded responses can lead to better screening, focusing on applicants' performance and not past glories. These one-way video responses can also replace a first in-person conversation and help one take better screening decisions.


Using one-way video responses is an objective way of bias-free evaluation of candidates' skills, making the screening process more robust. It can save the recruiter time going through umpteen unqualified resumes as the platform handles large applicants without any external intervention.

It can be a substantial competitive advantage as a shorter screening process would lead to a positive candidate experience. Also, focusing on skills to perform on the job and not past achievements would mean high job success changes, thus reducing turnover.


How SmartList helps:

SmartList allows you to create video questions on the platform on topics you deem suitable for job performance. Its unique assessment builder helps you set up video questions in simple, repeatable steps.


Step 1

On you have finalised the assessment block, you can go ahead and add questions. For that, you need first to choose the question type and proceed.


Step 2

On selection of the question type, you can add the question detail and save the video response question to the assessment block

SmartList allows you to grade the video responses once candidates respond to the questions. You or your business team can grade the responses in simple steps.


In the review and rate section for candidates whose assessments show as grading pending, we need to:

  • First, watch the video response by clicking on the play button. If it's a text response, then we need to read the response

  • Secondly, "Give Points" or rate the response basing our rating approach

  • Thirdly, populate views on the response in the "Add a comment" section

  • Fourth, click on the "Submit" button to register our response



You will need to repeat the review process to submit your ratings on all remaining responses. On completing the submission of all your responses, the "Review and Rate" section will disappear from your screen, and the "Grading Complete" button will be activated. Please click on the button to register all your grades.


This simple process can help you add any video assessment question on the SmartList platform and grade the candidate responses seamlessly.


What makes this special?

Using skills as an anchor for screening helps screen the most qualified candidates for the job. It helps shortlist applicants based on performance without regard for background, past performance, employment history etc. After all, no resume can predict future job performance.

Adding video questions to screening can save enormous recruiter managers' time and thus organisation money. It can therefore help increase efficiency in the recruiting process.


As hiring managers, you will enjoy using the platform and love its value to your organisation. It will help your recruiters save time reviewing unfit applications that cost your business lots of money. From the beginning of the recruitment funnel, quality candidates will positively impact your organisations' performance, culture, and morale.


Write to us if you want to know more about how SmartList can help your organisation's hiring journeys

123 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page