Stanley, the leading social media recruitment chatbot, can now conduct full video interviews on Facebook Messenger

Video interviewing, also known as virtual interviewing, has been around for over a decade. During this time, companies such as Hirevue, Sonru, Montage, Sparkhire and many (many) more have been steadily growing their business and their customer base. After the initial excitement, HR decision makers soon realized that while the potential for this technology was promising, the market needed time to mature because most candidates were still uncomfortable with the experience. Millennials excluded, most of the talent pool did not like talking to a computer screen. Initial traction was slow, feedback was mitigated, but the tech leaders managed to keep investor interest levels high.

Video calls: no longer weird

Over the past decade, changes in consumer behaviour definitely helped the adoption of video interviews. With the majority of mobile traffic shifting to smart phones, it became relatively easy to ask candidates to install video apps on their phone. Consumers embraced video calls in their personal and professional lives, through Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, Slack and many more. It has never been easier to show your face to someone.

No more apps please! Candidates don’t want to install more apps on their phones

So, with this mobile and video revolution under way, why does it still feel like the video interviewing industry is still trying to validate its value proposition? Two years ago, the market starting to notice that asking for people to download apps was a sure way to send them off. Since then, the volume of app installs has been decreasing in mature markets. Asking candidates to download one more app is no longer a friendly way to welcome them. Can you risk turning off your next great hire because he or she has no more storage space on their phone?

As easy as a taking a selfie: Talkpush releases video interviewing over Facebook Messenger

Talkpush is launching the first-of-its-kind recruitment chatbot to conduct video interviews over Facebook Messenger. Employers simply install Stanley on their Facebook page and all the incoming traffic is handled, with each candidate invited to do a video interview that really feel more like a conversation. For the 1.3 billion potential job seekers with Facebook Messenger already installed on their phone, no install necessary: they can complete the assessment in just a few minutes, sending their video answers just the same way they would send a selfie to their friend.

Integrated with all the usual features of Talkpush, the leading volume hiring software

Talkpush lets employers decide whether they accept answers in text, audio or video questions. In fact, they can even collect documents, images, etc. whatever they feel will help them qualify the best candidates. One notable restriction: Facebook currently restricts the length of video files sent over Messenger to 15 seconds. As bandwidth and usage continues to grow, we hope that this restriction will be released. For the time being, those 15 seconds per question are more than enough to test a candidate’s communications skills, presentation, motivation and get a sense for their personality. This new feature comes with all the standard Talkpush benefits: candidate and recruiter analytics, integration with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), automated scheduling, social media sourcing, and multi-channel (email, SMS and voice) communications.

Try it now!

To experience this as a candidate, simply click here to open your Facebook Messenger and you will be asked a series of 3 video questions to work in an imaginary hotel. Have fun and send us your feedback on hello at talkpush.com