Recruiting & hiring
Ask candidates for a video before the interview, not after
Shortlisting is the slow, manual part of hiring — reading resumes, running screening calls, and still getting some of it wrong. A short video, requested before you schedule anything, moves that decision earlier and makes it faster on both sides.
It saves you time
Reviewing a two-minute video takes two minutes. Reviewing a resume and then scheduling and running a screening call to learn the same thing takes considerably longer, multiplied across every candidate in the pool.
It saves candidates a wasted trip
An on-site or first-round interview is a real investment of a candidate's time — sometimes travel, always preparation. Asking for a video first means the candidates who aren't a fit find out before that investment, not after.
Tell them what you want — or don't
Two ways to structure the request, both fine:
- Ask a specific question. "Walk us through a project you're proud of" gets focused, comparable answers across candidates.
- Leave it open. "Record a short video introducing yourself and why you're interested" works too — it tells you more about how someone communicates without a prompt shaping the answer.
Either way, say how long you expect it to be. Without a limit, videos run long and reviewing them stops saving you any time at all.
What this gets you
By the time you schedule a real interview, you already know the person can communicate clearly and is genuinely interested — the interview can focus on depth instead of on ruling people out.
Jikoreel works well for this: send a link, candidates record with no account or app needed, background blurred automatically, and you get a video back to review on your own time.