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As we begin 2025, there's a straightforward enhancement to your recruitment tech stack that can significantly increase the percentage of qualified applicants, while reducing the number of unqualified candidates. This means your recruiters will spend less time sifting through unsuitable applications and more time engaging with candidates who are truly qualified, interested, and available. 

How do you achieve this? The key lies in aligning your outreach with modern candidate behavior. We know that most candidates skim—or completely ignore—traditional job descriptions. This leads to unqualified candidates applying and qualified candidates overlooking roles they might excel in. The issue isn't your job descriptions; it's how the information is presented.

Consider this: 84% of today's internet traffic is video-based. It's how people consume news, sports, and other content. Integrating a short, 20-second video from the hiring manager into your job descriptions can transform candidate engagement. When candidates "meet their boss," their behavior changes.

This is not video interviewing. This efficiency boost comes from brief video introductions embedded in job descriptions on your career site. The hiring manager introduces themselves and invites candidates to apply. Simple, but powerful.

Why does this work? When candidates "meet their boss," four important things happen:

1. The job stands out: Candidates remember, "Oh, that's the job with that manager." While written descriptions blur together, meeting the hiring manager creates a personal connection. 

2. Candidates envision themselves in the role: Seeing the hiring manager, candidates begin to imagine what it would be like to work for them, sparking deeper interest. 

3. Candidates slow down and read the description: Interest piqued, candidates spend twice as long reading the job description. 

4. More accurate applications: Better-informed candidates make more thoughtful decisions about whether to apply, resulting in higher-quality applicant pools. 

The results are clear. In a blind study with nearly 10,000 participants, candidate pools were significantly stronger when a hiring manager video was included compared to text-only job postings. The research demonstrated that teams using video-enhanced job postings achieved:

• 27% reduction in outreach efforts

• 33% decrease in candidate screening

• 31% reduction in assessment administration 

• 35% increase in candidates advancing to interview stage 

Implementation is seamless. With a turnkey widget, hiring managers can create a quick 20-second video from their phone, laptop, or desktop. The videos are routed for approval and automatically inserted into the relevant job posting on your career site. It's simple, secure, and scalable. 

If your team can afford to spend one-third of their time with unqualified candidates, your current system may be sufficient. But if you're seeking a more streamlined, efficient process, integrating hiring manager videos is essential.

Want to dive deeper? The complete research study, including detailed methodology and comprehensive findings, is available on our CXR Marketplace profile.

About SparcStart

SparcStart is the only solution that fully automates the integration of hiring manager videos with job postings. Our patented technology automatically requests, captures, and approves videos with no need for apps or downloads. These videos are seamlessly embedded into your job postings, working with any Applicant Tracking System (ATS) or career site provider.

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