HMRC to expand use of video interviewing as recruiters urged to embrace new technologies
24 January 2014
Recruiters need to "throw away" outdated tools like Excel in favour of social media and other new technologies which make it easier to attract and identify top graduates, an audience has heard.
Fri, 24 Jan, 2014 | By Sam Sachdeva
Recruiters need to "throw away" outdated tools like Excel in favour of social media and other new technologies which make it easier to attract and identify top graduates, an audience has heard.
e-recruitment software supplier WCN's US managing director Jeanette Maister has called on recruiters to embrace technological advances at a breakfast discussion on the future of graduate recruitment this morning [24 January 2014], hosted by WCN.
Maister told the audience of about 60 people that many recruiters were still relying on long-standing tools like Excel, when there were newer solutions that could engage potential candidates at an earlier stage and keep them connected to companies.
"We need to throw away these old-school technologies and use real proper technologies, because you want to grab these candidates and hold on to them,” she told the audience.
Using QR codes and links to social media like Facebook and Twitter when promoting recruitment events would allow tech-savvy graduates to share the information with their friends and broaden the talent pool, she said.
"You can ‘like’ these events, you can share these events... these kids, they're all in social media, so let them do their thing and they will let everyone know about it."
Maister said using new technology also made it easy to collect a wide range of data on candidates, which could then be used to identify "top talent" and connect them with the department that best suited their skills.
"Here's the big secret: once you get them in the system, you can do so much stuff, but you have to get them in your system and have some sort of pipeline."
The subject of online video interviews also came up during the discussion. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) graduate recruitment manager Gwynne Goodfield said the government department had successfully trialled video interviews as part of its tax professional programme.
Goodfield said candidates and assessors had found the system convenient and easy to use. While some candidates were concerned about "missing out" on face-to-face interaction, assessors felt the format did not affect the quality of responses to the questions.
He said HMRC was interested in expanding its use of video interviews after developing the process further, with the possibility of using them early in the recruitment process to assess a candidate's communication skills before they arrived at an assessment centre.
John Lewis Partnership resourcing strategy manager Becky Wareham also spoke about the company's use of different interviewing techniques.
Credit Suisse campus recruiter Sharne Barclay and Civil Service Fast Stream chief assessor and chief psychologist Phil Wilson will give presentations later today.
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Recruiters need to "throw away" outdated tools like Excel in favour of social media and other new technologies which make it easier to attract and identify top graduates, an audience has heard.
e-recruitment software supplier WCN's US managing director Jeanette Maister has called on recruiters to embrace technological advances at a breakfast discussion on the future of graduate recruitment this morning [24 January 2014], hosted by WCN.
Maister told the audience of about 60 people that many recruiters were still relying on long-standing tools like Excel, when there were newer solutions that could engage potential candidates at an earlier stage and keep them connected to companies.
"We need to throw away these old-school technologies and use real proper technologies, because you want to grab these candidates and hold on to them,” she told the audience.
Using QR codes and links to social media like Facebook and Twitter when promoting recruitment events would allow tech-savvy graduates to share the information with their friends and broaden the talent pool, she said.
"You can ‘like’ these events, you can share these events... these kids, they're all in social media, so let them do their thing and they will let everyone know about it."
Maister said using new technology also made it easy to collect a wide range of data on candidates, which could then be used to identify "top talent" and connect them with the department that best suited their skills.
"Here's the big secret: once you get them in the system, you can do so much stuff, but you have to get them in your system and have some sort of pipeline."
The subject of online video interviews also came up during the discussion. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) graduate recruitment manager Gwynne Goodfield said the government department had successfully trialled video interviews as part of its tax professional programme.
Goodfield said candidates and assessors had found the system convenient and easy to use. While some candidates were concerned about "missing out" on face-to-face interaction, assessors felt the format did not affect the quality of responses to the questions.
He said HMRC was interested in expanding its use of video interviews after developing the process further, with the possibility of using them early in the recruitment process to assess a candidate's communication skills before they arrived at an assessment centre.
John Lewis Partnership resourcing strategy manager Becky Wareham also spoke about the company's use of different interviewing techniques.
Credit Suisse campus recruiter Sharne Barclay and Civil Service Fast Stream chief assessor and chief psychologist Phil Wilson will give presentations later today.
• Want to comment on this story? The Comment box is at the bottom of the page. Sorry for the glitch but just scroll right down and share your opinions!
