Getting more qualified job candidates with less effort

This post is about how I'm using video to recruit candidates. I learned how to outsource to the Philippines by using John Jonas' lessons.

I've decided to hire yet another writer, and based on my past experience in using OnlineJobs.ph I found that it was highly useful to actually post a job rather than to simply filter through resumes. I find that the people who reply to the job postings are usually very keen, so it saves time having them come to me.

That said, I get a LOT of replies to my job postings that are one-liners such as, "I'd like to apply for this job, here is my resume at OnlineJobs.ph". I'm not interested in spending the time to look through everyone's resume, decide whether or not I need to contact them to send me a sample of their writing, confirm with them what their availability is, etc. That's a lot of work.

So here's what I started doing just with this last posting: I put a basic job posting up that says, "I need amazing writers to work online for me. Get the full details at this link: http://the-link.com"

The link that I give them is a video presentation that I whipped together with Apple Keynote (could also be Powerpoint). I export Keynote to a flash file, but I could have also used Jing to do a screen capture for free.

In the presentation, I talk about what kind of writer I want, and I tell the candidates exactly what they need to send me in order to apply. I ask for desired salary, number of hours per week, writing samples that have been written and edited by them (and only them), and a few other basics.

If people reply with a one-line email, it gets deleted. No exceptions. They obviously don't know how to follow instructions or don't care to take the time.

About half of the replies I've been getting are from people who DID watch the video, and I already have 3 solid writing candidates who have impressed me with their English skills.

Not too shabby. I like the new method. When I originally joined "Replace Myself" it came with free access to OnlineJobs.ph - and I never thought I'd be coming back to make so much use of this job site. Great resource!

If you have questions post a comment. I'll be happy to do more posts answering them to the best of my ability.