There’s been a lot of attention lately around using video conferencing during the interview process — mostly negative. Even Fox News is saying it’s bad.

I don’t agree. And while, I personally haven’t commissioned a study like DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University did (Video Killed the Interview Star), I have seen real-world examples where video conferencing helps candidates land jobs.

I give credit to the team at DeGroote for their research and the attention the report is generating. They raise some valid points, and the tips they offer for video interviews are helpful. It’s definitely worth the read.

That said I believe video conferencing DOES enable successful interviews. Why? Below are five compelling arguments why video recruiting can be effective:

1. Video expands a company’s talent pool and a job applicant’s opportunities by magnitudes. We live in connected world where real-time communications are viable anywhere you have a device and an Internet or cellular connection. So if you can work with anyone, anywhere, why limit your job search to down the street? Of course there are jobs that can’t be performed remotely, but many can. Avaya has an active teleworker global employee, customer and partner community, and we regularly use video for not only for collaboration among the team, but also for recruitment purposes.
2. Our customers say it works. Video helps companies recruit top talent. A well-known client in the auto industry recently shared that they saved more than $10,000 in recruitment-related travel costs in less than a month thanks to video conferencing. If they’re relying on video to interview, they must be hiring some of those folks they meet via video, right?
3. Video hides stature. Now some of you may argue this is a bad thing, but trust me… coming from a “vertically challenged” person, it’s not. It’s a fact that taller people are more successful in business. When you meet by video, no one knows how tall you are. So if you naturally exude presence in-person, you’ll exude it via video too.Again, speaking from personal experience… without fail, one of the first things I hear when I meet a colleague in-person is, “Wow, you look so much taller on video!” Now I don’t know if this feedback is good or bad, but if taller people are more successful, I definitely want to be as perceived taller than I really am 🙂
4. Video saves time. This is a win-win situation for both the applicant and the interviewer. By using videoconferencing for initial screening, no money or time is wasted on travel, and as we all know, time is money. If things go well, there’s more time in the next interview to delve into topics that really matter because you’ve already “met.” If they don’t go well, at least no one went out of his/her way to attend the interview.
5. Visual communication builds better relationships than audio-only conversations. Meeting face-to-face builds rapport. What might have gone badly as a phone call could go great using face-to-face communications. I speak from experience on this one. In fact, I wrote a blog about it last year, and I see it happening every day at Avaya.

What do you think? This seems like a hot topic, and I’m obviously pro video. I’d love to hear success/horror stories for those who have used video during the hiring process.

This originally appeared on the Avaya Connect Blog.