How to Make Effective Recruiting Videos

In today's competitive job market, companies need to find creative ways to attract top talent. Many industries are currently facing a shortage of skilled workers and unfortunately, it’s not expected to get any better. According to a report by Korn Ferry, more than 85 million jobs could go unfilled by 2030. This means that the competition for skilled workers will only become more intense. Simple LinkedIn messages and job listings just won’t be enough to attract qualified candidates.

Now that nearly every social media platform has turned to video content, the best way to engage and intrigue potential hires is with recruitment videos.

In this blog, we will share tips, tricks, and even templates to help you create an effective recruitment video that drives results. Whether you're a seasoned recruiter or just starting out, you’ll learn everything you need to know to attract top talent to your organization with video. Let’s get started!

What is a recruitment video?

Recruitment videos showcase your company’s culture, values, and opportunities. They can be shared on your website, social media, and job sites to help attract potential new hires.

Recruitment videos are one of the many videos made by HR professionals. In fact, in 2022, recruiting and employee onboarding videos were among the most frequently produced videos across organizations.

These recruitment videos have paid off for businesses in a major way. Take Cisco for example, who got 800% more engagement from a series of recruitment videos than text-based job postings. Here’s an example of an effective recruitment video that you can easily replicate in Animoto.

4 signs of a successful employee recruitment video

Before we talk about how to create successful employee recruitment videos, let’s define what success is. Of course, the ultimate goal is to find qualified candidates, interview them, and find the perfect match for your role. But that’s not the only marker of success!

You can also view recruitment videos as a brand awareness tool for your organization. With every “about us” or “company values” video you share, you’re showcasing what makes you a great company to work for. Even if you don’t have an open role for your viewers now, once you do, they will already be excited at the opportunity to work for your company.

So with that in mind, here are four signs of successful recruitment videos.

• 1. It provides necessary information about your business. Your video should include all the need-to-know information about your business. This might include what industry you’re in, what solution your company provides, what benefits you offer, the requirements of the role, or where you’re located.
• 2. It shows why you're different from the competition. Not only will creating a recruitment video in and of itself help you stand apart from the competition, but the content can too! Use it as an opportunity to share unique benefits of your workplace including personal time off, workplace perks, mentorship opportunities, company culture, events, and more.
• 3. It provides a glimpse at your company culture. Company culture and culture-fit is extremely important for job seekers and hiring managers alike. According to BuiltIn, 46% of job seekers cite company culture as very important when evaluating potential employers. Additionally, 91% of managers say a candidate’s alignment with the company culture is equal to or more important than their skills. Use your recruitment video as an opportunity to accurately depict your company culture and find the candidate that will fit right in.
• 4. It puts your employees first. Job seekers want to know that they will be valued as an employee and an individual. Show potential applicants that you put your employees first by creating a video with your current employees. You can include webcam recordings made by your employees talking about why they chose to work for you and why they chose to stay. Or, include written testimonials and details of the perks you offer to help prioritize a healthy work-life balance for every employee.

How to make an effective recruitment video

Whether you have multiple open roles or want to position yourself to attract top talent in the future, here are some tips to keep in mind as you create recruitment videos.

1. Save time by starting with a video template

Creating a video can seem daunting, especially if you don’t know how to use complicated video editing software. Luckily, with tools like Animoto’s online video editor, anyone can create a video in minutes! Just choose a video template to get started with photos, a layout, song, and storyline that you can base your own video off of.

2. Start with a video script

Include a bit of personality to help build a personal connection with job seekers. You can use webcam recordings to speak directly to your audience and put a face to your brand. Or, narrate your videos with voice-overs.

No matter which one you choose, make sure you have a script to help you stay on track and seem confident while speaking on camera. This blog has everything you need to create scripts for recruiting videos and more.

3. Collect your assets: video clips, images, logos, and more

Keep your viewers engaged with a variety of content! Collect images and video clips of your team, office, and workplace events and add them to your video. Keep it on-brand from start to finish with a logo watermark. Once you’ve identified the assets you want to include, gather them in one place and get them ready to upload.

Or, if you realize that you don’t have the content you need, no worries. With Animoto, you can access thousands of licensed animations, photos, and video clips to help you tell your story.

4. Include essential information about your company

Ask yourself what job seekers need to know about your company in order to apply. Is your team fully remote, hybrid, or in-office? What industry do you work in? What mission or goal are you striving to achieve?

All of this and more can be included in a recruiting video.

5. Highlight your employees

Your employees are the organization. Warm up potential new hires to the team and let them get a glimpse of your company culture by featuring current employees.

Have them speak directly to the camera about their career, why they like working for you, and how they manage to achieve a work-life balance.

6. Apply your brand

Make sure your brand is instantly recognizable. Change the accent colors and font in your video and apply your logo in the intro/outro or as a watermark.

7. Add the right music

Music makes your video more engaging and professional. Use upbeat music to get viewers excited, but don’t let it overpower your video. Animoto has thousands of licensed music tracks to choose from for every mood and genre.

8. Include a strong call to action

Drive action by directing your audience to view available jobs, apply, or learn more about your company. Calls to action should be brief, clear, and placed near the end of your video.

9. Collect feedback from your team

The great thing about creating HR videos is that you’re surrounded by people who can provide relevant and helpful feedback! Show your video to members of your team, and especially recent hires, to collect video feedback and make sure that your content resonates.

10. Export and share your video

Last but not least, export your video and start sharing! You can post your recruiting video directly on social media (including LinkedIn), add it to your website, or upload it to job sites to get in front of top talent.

5 Types of recruitment videos you can make (plus templates)

Ready to get started? Here are six different recruiting videos you can make in minutes! Just click the “MAKE THIS VIDEO” button below each video to use the template and start creating your own video in Animoto for free.

All of the videos you see can be customized with text, photos, video clips, audio, and more with just a few clicks.

1. We're Hiring

This video does it all! Share the details of open positions, feature photos of your team, and highlight company perks all in one.

2. Company Year In Review

The goal of this video is to highlight all the achievements of your past year. In doing so, you’re showing job seekers all that they can achieve by joining your company.

3. Company Values

Many job seekers are very value-oriented. They want to work in a place that aligns with their own values and passions. Use this recruiting video to share what drives you and your team, and get your audience excited to contribute too.

4. About Us

The origin of your brand and your goals says a lot about where you’re going. Share an “About Us” video to connect with your audience and provide context about how it all got started.

5. Employee Testimonial

Last but not least, create a testimonial video with quotes from your employees! The video below features testimonials from clients. However, you can easily swap them out with testimonials from your team and snippets from press features.

6. Company appreciation

Demonstrate your company culture and appreciation for your teams with a fun, personalized video! This one was created for an internal audience but it can easily be tweaked to share on Linkedin or social media. If you are hiring, you can end the video by sharing the link to apply or browse open roles.

Recruitment videos are an excellent way to attract top talent to your organization. With just a few simple videos, you can make a lasting impression and differentiate yourself from the competition. Happy hiring!

Recruitment video FAQ

How long should a recruitment video be?

Recruitment videos should be 3 minutes long maximum. Just like any other platform or type of video, the shorter the better!

Should I add music to a recruitment video?

Music should be added to all recruitment videos. It can help boost engagement rates and make your video feel more professional, thus leaving a stronger impression on job seekers.

Where can I share my recruitment video?

Recruitment videos can be shared on job sites like Indeed, Glassdoor, and Ziprecruiter. They can also be shared on social media including LinkedIn, on your website, and more.