5 Tips for Hiring Better Talent in a Virtual World

Now that so many are accustomed to remote working, firms may face increasing demand to recruit and hire people without actually meeting them.

If you feel uneasy selecting candidates this way, here are some tips to get you started:

1. Identify the Ideal Medium to Find Candidates

It may require trial and error, but find your ideal medium and use it to streamline candidates that fit your specifications for experience, pay grade, etc.

2. Host a Virtual Career Fair or Company Presentation

To build rapport before any interviews take place, consider hosting a virtual career fair or company info session to interact with prospects.

Here you can weed out candidates you don’t want to interview or gain access to a more diverse talent pool.

3. Utilize Skill Assessments

Training can be challenging if you hire a remote workforce, so hiring competent individuals is especially important.

If you are onboarding offsite employees, you may want to add extra steps (like aptitude tests, writing samples, or mock presentations) to the interview process. 

4. Use a Variety of Question Formats

Since in-person interviews offer greater nonverbal communication insights, you’ll probably need to craft more strategic questions for virtual interviews.

Start with basic questions (e.g., “tell me about yourself”), move to targeted queries that align with your company culture, and use behavioral questions that uncover character and critical thinking qualities. Finally, try assessing live performance as you ask a candidate to complete a task live (e.g., performing a technical function as they share their screen).

5. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

To build a strong relational connection, eliminate as many distractions as possible.

It may help to send pre-interview packets to candidates to add efficiency to your meeting. Streamline the scheduling process by allowing candidates to sign up for an interview online. Test your technology 15 minutes before the call and have a backup plan if a malfunction occurs. And create a unified scoring system, so candidates receive standardized grading criteria.

Virtual recruiting will allow you to quickly and efficiently hire high-quality team members while adding flexibility. Implement a uniform system, so you have the skills you need to recruit and hire with confidence!