A recruiter specialising in the property sector is using YouTube videos to help present candidates to clients.

Steve Cogan, managing director of Shepherd’s Bushbased recruitment consultancy EA Recruitment, interviews candidates as normal and turns a summarised version of the discussion into a three-minute video. This is uploaded to YouTube with the candidate’s authorisation and a link to it sent to clients along with a CV.

Cogan told Recruiter that he set up the service to “minimise missed opportunities” by his clients. “For example, all of my clients are saying they want people with experience but I had a 19-year-old girl register who I felt much better than some of the experienced candidates I had,” he explained, adding that initially the clients declined the opportunity to see the candidate.

“So I sent a YouTube link of her answering my questions. Three interviews werebooked, resulting in three job offers. They said they would never have been interested in her if it hadn’t been for the video.”

Video clips appear on YouTube with only a Christian name and an ID number which relates to the candidate on the EA Recruitment database. They also feature the consultancy’s banner across the bottom so other recruiters can’t claim the candidate or the individual can’t use it for themselves. “I interview everyone and have built my reputation on knowing what clients want and also knowing who’s suitable and who’s not hen it comes to good estate agents,” he said.

www.earecruitment.com