Whether you’re affected by COVID-19 or are just looking to reduce your recruitment costs, a virtual hiring process for apprentices is an option that’s becoming increasingly popular in today’s market.
What is Virtual Hiring?
Virtual recruitment is the same as your usual preferred method for testing, identifying and selecting your ideal candidates, except that you conduct the process online. There are a variety of virtual hiring processes, and by going modern with your recruitment, you open a wide array of new possibilities.
There are a few different options when it comes to virtual hiring, and your choice comes down to your company’s preference for selecting the perfect candidate. This is the case when you deliberate all steps of the process.
Although it is still largely important for several companies, virtual recruitment is not all about the interview. You now have options to provide virtual job fairs, tours of the company, and examples of a day-in-the-life of your staff members, or what the candidate would be doing should they get the job.
This is even more essential when considering the recruitment of apprentices, young candidates in particular. Those looking to start an apprenticeship are more often than not changing careers or just starting one.
As such, having these useful tools will make sure the apprentice is certain about the role before applying. This is significant when you consider you can’t get a refund if an apprentice quits halfway through their apprenticeship.
Virtual Interview
For the actual hiring process, there are two routes for your company to take: Active or Passive recruitment.
Active hiring is when you have a member of staff present during the interview to assess the candidate manually. This may be carried out the same way as a usual interview, just through a video call or another means.
Passive hiring is where you do not have anyone present to carry out the interview. This comes in many varieties, being a simple questionnaire up to a high-end AI system that can ask and answer a variety of appropriate questions. The latter is expensive to set up, but passive hiring is much cheaper in general, by significantly reducing the labour time and costs.
Many companies are choosing a blend of the two with an example being the civil service. They have candidates answer questions in a live recording, which recruiters then assess at a later date.
General Tips for Virtual Recruitment
For a company starting their virtual hiring journey, the most significant advice is, to take it one step at a time. Most companies are testing the water by merely having a first stage where the candidate goes through an aptitude questionnaire.
This reduces costs as it doesn’t require a staff member’s presence, and cuts out candidates not appropriate for the role. On the other hand, it presents those who were, in fact, capable but did not have an impressive CV.
The next best thing to consider is test, test, test! Using software is complicated for yourself and the candidate. Make sure the virtual hiring process for apprentices is as smooth as possible, so there are no hiccups along the way.
