If a picture’s worth a thousand words, a video is worth well more than that. And when it comes to engaging with a new generation of talent, using video to showcase your company’s culture and value propositions can be a smart way to inform prospective employees about what makes your company great. While there are a ton of awesome recruitment marketing videos out there, some companies have developed a standout strategy to use video to their advantage. These companies have embraced video, effectively incorporating it into their careers page and other platforms. Looking for some inspiration on how to use video to your advantage? Here are some of our favorite approaches:
GE
GE has an entire YouTube channel dedicated to showcasing the work life of their employees, and videos seem to be updated regularly. Some of their videos include insights on certain teams or roles at the company, while other focus on company initiatives like #SheInspires. There are also videos that showcase the company culture and “Day in the Life” videos that humanize the giant company by showing what an employee’s real life is like. Having a YouTube channel where all your company’s video content can live makes finding relevant videos easier for candidates and keeps things simple all in one place. GE’s motto is “Imagination at work,” and they showcase this on their careers site by adding video of their latest accomplishments in science and innovation. For example, even on their Corporate HQ careers page they add a video of their automotive 3D printing technology because it fits the brand’s voice and mission.
Credera
This management and IT consulting firm stands out for the wide selection of recruitment marketing videos and their strategic placement on Credera’s careers page. In the first featured video section, three videos illustrate what sets Credera apart as a workplace and as a company, giving candidates a glimpse into what a career at the firm would be like. In the culture section, candidates can learn more about the people at Credera, opportunities for growth, social impact initiatives, and how core values foster the company culture. All of these videos combined with detailed information throughout the page gives candidates a holistic view of what it would be like to work at Credera, making this an effective way to leverage video in recruitment marketing.
Starbucks
Starbucks is a great example of how a global company can use video to center their work on people. They prominently feature a video on their culture & values page about a multi-generational farming family that received coffee trees donated from Starbucks to help grow their family business. This video is placed alongside their corporate responsibility initiatives and employee testimonials, including a few links to more videos about their commitment to ethical resourcing and community values. This is a smart way for a large company to show that their people are the core of their business, and show candidates that they are committed to fostering a community and a sense of belonging.
Zappos
Zappos video recruitment strategy demonstrates why the best way to showcase your company to candidates is just by letting the current employees talk. They feature not just one or two employee testimonial videos on their site, but 11. While this may seem like a lot of content for candidates to take in, it works well to give candidates a diverse group of employee videos to choose from because they’re bound to find someone they can relate to. This also gives candidates the opportunity to hear about 11 different roles at the company, and how each team works. In addition to those employee testimonials Zappos also features a video where an employee explains their Holacracy system. The “no management” system is an unfamiliar concept to most candidates, so having an employee go over all the frequently asked questions was a great approach.
Vimeo
When it comes to a company’s recruitment video, staying true to the brand’s style is what makes the content feel authentic and real. As a video sharing website, Vimeo hits the mark with their creative and artistic animation. The video titled, “Why We Work Here,” has no voice-over or employees interviews, but gives candidates a comprehensive view of what it’s like to work in the Vimeo office all through attention-grabbing editing. They also, of course, have their own Vimeo staff channel where they post helpful tips and tricks for other video-makers as well as a behind-the-scenes look into life at the Vimeo office. One video titled, “Come work at Vimeo,” highlights their fun, quirky office atmosphere in under 60 seconds. These shorter videos are perfect for sharing across social platforms to spread the word.
Deloitte
Deloitte decided to take their recruiting strategy to a whole new level when they created their interactive game-style video. The video creatively integrates a typical “day in the life” story in their Auckland office with clickable decisions that correlate with the company’s core values. Longer recruiting videos can often get tedious or lose someone’s interest, but making a video interactive will have candidates engaged and maybe even having fun. The typical day they showcase in the video might seem a little theatrical (complete with a high-speed go-kart race), but at the end of the video candidates can then choose the line of service that their role would fall under to learn more about the team in a more serious setting. While this video really stands out as a unique approach to recruiting, Deloitte also creates compelling videos for their YouTube channel Life at Deloitte, and features more traditional informational videos on their careers page.
Dropbox
Another strategy that took things down an untraditional route was Dropbox’s “Working at Dropbox” video featuring all the employees as puppets. They put a clever spin on traditional employee testimonials by creating an entire exaggerated Dropbox puppet workspace where instead of working on projects they’re seen sitting over a table of legos. What worked well about this approach was how the employees voices were giving real, serious reasons why they love working at Dropbox, so although the puppets were entertaining and engaging, the content of the video was authentic. Dropbox also has a Facebook page “Life Inside Dropbox” that has plenty of easy-to-share videos showcasing company events and the workplace culture in all of their different offices around the world.
HubSpot
HubSpot sets themselves apart by creating a narrative throughout their careers page. They showcase the workplace culture and environment by showing a variety of employees featured equally in their videos, with the president and COO’s testimonial adjacent to a business development rep’s on the home page. They start by answering the question “Why HubSpot?” then they allow the viewer to click on the team they’re interested in, so the rest of the experience is personalized to the right position. For example clicking into the marketing team page allows a candidate to meet the whole team through an engaging video and then read through what a day in the life is like there. There’s even a creative video shot from a first-person view that shows what a video editor’s life really looks like every day there.
GoPro
GoPro is a great example of utilizing the company’s product to create a unique and entertaining video. The GoPro careers page starts off with an action-packed video of the opening of their new office building. It still has the standby features of a classic recruiting video: footage of the new office space, employees having fun together, but it also has skydivers jumping out of airplanes. They kept their video authentic as a company with a policy of “two dedicated hours during the week to explore your passions and capture it with your GoPro.” This video is a great way to show the energetic company culture while also promoting the use of their product and what they stand for as a company. It also works well to get candidates excited about a potential career there.
Adidas
One thing that really stands out about the Adidas recruiting video is the lack of employees actually working. This video focuses instead on employee testimonials given in a neutral setting, and then showing footage of them doing the activities they’re passionate about. The video also has an intense tone with dramatic music and the employees talk about how they don’t shy away from challenges at work. This is a great strategy to showcase their company culture and how it’s an atmosphere of go-getters and passionate people. This video implies that the work they’re doing is important and they all work just as hard in the office as athletes do on the field. A lot of candidates will be pulled in by this narrative and excited to apply.
All of these companies utilize their video recruiting strategy in an engaging way. Even on a smaller budget, companies like Zappos show that all you really need for a successful video are employees willing to talk about how much they love their job. Whether it’s through a game-style interactive video or a quirky animation, trying something new in your video recruiting strategy can draw more candidates in while showcasing an authentic look into your workplace.
