🚀Entering Tech #75: The Reel Deal on Video Assessments | TechCabal

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Issue #75

The Reel Deal
on Video Assessments

Greetings ET people 🖖🏾

We’re back to sending new Entering Tech editions to your inbox every Wednesday. Let’s christen this new bad good behaviour! 

Do you remember when Marta Puerto, the product manager from Spain, made this video after she got laid off? 

That video broke the internet! People thought Marta’s approach to job hunting was a cool way to stand out and get employed. Well, did it work? Oh yes, it did! Marta got flooded with loads of offers. In March, HR professional Emmanuel Faith also did his own version. Shortly after, he announced a new role.

While Marta and Emmanuel are examples of going above and beyond to get a job, employers are now increasingly requesting video assessments as a requirement for getting a job. The conversation steered a debate on Twitter weeks ago. 

Classist, elitist, exclusionary, biased, superficial, and unnecessary some people call it. 

We took a poll on Twitter, and spoke to 3 HR professionals and folks who had completed video assessment to share their views.

Faith Omoniyi

Video assessments are not for all roles

When we spoke to JMB popularly known as “Oga HR”, he was surprised that this was an argument in the first place. According to him, video assessments are required only for customer-facing roles (or should be)—like sales reps, customer reps, front desk officers, etc.

Video assessments for these roles are non-negotiable and allow recruiters to assess a candidate’s ability to articulate their thoughts clearly, concisely, and professionally which is crucial for customer interactions. 

For these types of roles, video assessments can present candidates with hypothetical customer scenarios, allowing recruiters to gauge their ability to handle difficult situations, respond appropriately to customer concerns, and maintain a positive demeanour.

According to JMB, video assessment helps recruiters also screen out applications, just like the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) does for CV documents. He uses video assessments to trim down the number of applicants he works with.

Due to the video requirement, some applicants get discouraged from continuing the application process, cutting down the number that eventually sends these videos. The truth is, if it is a job you really want, you might just need to find a workaround.

Positive Reinforcement for You courtesy YungNollywood DEI-focused companies also require video CVs to reduce bias, promote diversity, enhance cultural understanding, improve candidate experience, and align with company values, according to Felix Bissong, a Senior People Associate at CCHub. 

By focusing on a candidate’s communication skills, personality, and cultural fit, video CVs level the playing field and help identify candidates from underrepresented groups.

So if you’re applying to a DEI-focused company and you come across a video-CV requirement do not be surprised. 

Now that we are clear on the roles that require video assessments, does it mean there are no downsides to video assessments? Of course, there are.

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Why are video assessments unliked?

We were curious to learn what you guys had to say, so we took to X (formerly Twitter) to ask a small group of people for feedback. 

While 63% of our 130 respondents say they have applied for a role that required video assessments, most people said they don’t like video assessments. 

Image source: Faith Omoniyi/TechCabal “It’s actually very annoying. After asking for a cover letter, you have to deal with the anxiety of applying for a new role. Seeing a request for a video application just makes it worse and I don’t think they actually go through all the videos,” said Adeyinka, a customer success manager. 

For most people, anxiety in front of the camera is the major reason for this disdain. 

Emmanuel Faith, a well-known People and Talent Leader believes this reason justifies why employers ask for video assessments.

“The reason video assessments are done is to confirm that you’re a confident person. If you’re not comfortable talking in front of the camera, how will you be comfortable talking to people,” said Emmanuel Faith. 

Lack of video editing skills and good devices were other reasons why people didn’t prefer video assessments. 

However, most said they’d be willing to do video assessments if it were required for their dream jobs. 

Image source: Faith Omoniyi/TechCabal Our poll respondents did not believe video assessment provided a fair evaluation of job candidates. We found that thread worrying and asked HR specialist Emmanuel Faith for answers.

“Video assessment can help you sell yourself better if you leverage it. But this is not a close-ended conversation; there is no right or wrong.”

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A thing for bias

Although people have argued on X That people with low-end devices may not have a good shot at getting gigs, JMB argues that sometimes, it’s not about the quality of the video, it’s about the eloquence of the speaker. 

Image source: Faith Omoniyi/TechCabal For Emmanuel Faith, this argument is different. 

“If a job requires you to record high-quality videos about yourself, there are always workarounds.” 

So next time you are faced with a video assessment, you can always borrow a friend’s phone or device.

While X folks have also argued about bias, Emmanuel Faith thinks there is bias in everything. 

“Saying video assessment is biased is like saying Oxford or Havard is biased to people that finished with less than Second class-upper. It just means that you finish with less than 2:1, you have slimmer chances of getting admission”

“There is bias in everything. Whether it is a written test or other forms of assessment, there is an element of bias somewhere. The pros for video assessments outweigh the cons; and, if anything, it is recruiters that should be complaining about the work.”

Another potential downside of video assessments is privacy concerns, according to Felix. Sometimes recruiters ask candidates to upload their videos to social media platforms, which can lead to potential misuse of personal information. 

Video assessment obviously has its perks and flaws, and opinions rightly remain divided.

But if you are camera-shy or have a bad device that you cannot record a video with, we suggest you stay away from these roles that require them anyway. But you have to ask yourself, “How badly do I want this?”

P.S: Did you like this edition of Entering Tech? Would you like more like this or less? Share your thoughts by responding to this newsletter or sending an email to newsletter@techcabal.com. 

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