Duncan Aviation is beginning to feel a rebound after the negative economic affects of 2009 with our first new-hire orientation in almost a year at our Battle Creek, Michigan, facility. Although we see glimmers of hope as we near the edge of the woods, we are still optimistically cautious. Recruiting quality candidates remains strong with tremendous response to each posting.
It has always been our goal to hire the best and brightest talent for all available positions. However, those individuals aren't always next door and it can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars to bring in a candidate for a first-round interview. And if you bring in more than one, well...you can do the math. I've always felt there must be a better way to conduct early round interviews without incurring the high travels costs.
It wasn't until I was video-conferencing with my in-laws from Ireland that the idea hit me, "Why not use Skype for the initial interview for candidates thousands of miles away?" I've been using Skype for years, to keep in contact with my in-laws and parents in Florida. It's easy once you buy the camera and sign up for your "free" Skype account. In the early years, a video-conference call was like watching a poorly dubbed foreign movie. Today however with high-definition cameras and integrated microphones, quality has tremendously improved.
Our plan was to start out small and test Skype to make sure it was effective and well-received. The feedback from the manager who did the first Skype interview was positive. In fact, he said it was "Great!" He felt it was much better than a phone interview because he was able to see the candidate's face and pick up on non-verbal cues.
We have now conducted Skype interviews with candidates from Alaska to New York and have expanded the utilization of Skype to our Lincoln, Nebraska, facility.
