Hiring outside of your industry can be a tricky move. This idea might meet some opposition, as these employees will require more time and on-boarding training than a simple transfer within the industry. However, the perks of hiring on an outsider are well worth the resources spent training them. 

These hires can bring a fresh new perspective to the workplace. Having a new point of view in your midst can be great for problem solving, creative thinking and employee engagement. Video interviewing is a great tool to utilize in your outside of the industry recruiting process.

It takes a certain type of candidate to be able to transition smoothly from a different industry, which makes candidate evaluation a little tougher. The ease at which you can offer an interview is enticing to these types of candidates because there is no time wasted. No one has to schedule anything, commute, and sit through a lengthy interview. 

Video interviewing allows the candidate to interview in a time and place of their own choosing. This type of interview is simple, and candidates have nothing to lose. Time, energy and gas are all saved.

On a side note, video interviewing portrays that the company embraces technology. This is a huge selling point. Today's top talent aren't working on ledgers, they're obsessed with mobile and gadgets and that isn't going to change.

Does the candidate have skills that will easily translate to your field? Consider what software they are used to, what programs they are efficient in and what connections they might have to your industry. 

Finding out what these candidates are capable of can be rather time consuming with traditional interviews. Again, in the interest of saving time and money, you can evaluate them more efficiently with video interviewing. When you have a skill set in mind, it makes creating the interview questions all the easier, and the entire process goes smoother.

With video interviewing you don't waste time on the initial evaluation. You are able to be more selective about who gets an in-person interview, and of those interviews, there are more likely to be viable candidates.

Due to the nature of hiring outside of your industry, there might be some skill gaps here. This means that attitude and cultural fit become all that much more important. Video interviewing lends recruiters and hiring managers a snap shot of exactly this. And again, when you focus on creating questions that will uncover attitude and cultural fit, it does wonders for your evaluation process. Posing questions in a thoughtful manner can make this process easier on everyone.

Consider why are you looking outside of your industry. Odds are you need some new blood. You need a new perspective and a fresh way of working and thinking. Do they bring that to the table? Problem solving and creative thinking will be easy to uncover in a video interview. Real industry problems call for real creative solutions. Ask questions that involve real issues that you're company is facing and look for insightful answers. They aren't going to fix what's broke and end world hunger, but you'll be able to gauge how they handle the situation.

At the end of the HR day, this process is about improved candidate experience. Finding the right fit, in or outside of your industry is a process, one that video interviewing makes easier and more efficient. Weeding through the sea of candidates takes time, but systems like Wowzer can drastically reduce that time. Thoughtful composition of questions and team based decisions are what makes for a better recruiting experience.

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