In our previous blog, The Secret to Filtering 100+ Applicants Without Losing Your Mind, we showed how we whittle down hundreds of applicants to a shortlist of just 10–20 people using assessments and automated filtering. That process ensures that only the most capable, qualified candidates make it to this stage.

At this point, the difference between applicants is rarely about skills. Almost everyone left standing can technically do the job. The real question becomes: Who do we want to work with every day? And that’s something you can’t always gauge from a test score.

We at Wise Scout don’t jump straight into scheduling live interviews, which can take hours when hiring across time zones. Instead, we ask candidates for one more step: record a short video of themselves answering a few role-specific questions.

 

THE CASE FOR A VIDEO SUBMISSION

A quick, 3–10 minute video gives us insight that written answers and assessments could not. It lets us see how candidates present themselves, communicate ideas, and even set up their working environment. These cues can reveal as much about their fit for the role as their test results would.

Here are some key benefits we’ve found:

• Efficiency: Instead of scheduling 10 short calls, we get to review videos on our own time. This easily saves several hours per hire and spares both sides the hassle of scheduling a call across a double-digit difference in time.
  
  

• Authenticity: Free from the nerves of a live call, candidates have the chance to speak naturally and show personality. Scripted answers aren’t necessarily a concern for us, because the point is to get a general impression of the candidate and an insight into how they deliver on a given output.

• Consistency: Live interviews can go on longer tangents, which is both a good and a bad thing. In the video submission, everyone answers the same set of questions, so the content is more compact, making it easier to compare responses side by side.
  
  

• Fairness: An overlooked candidate can stand out with a thoughtfully put-together video submission and sometimes even surpass the early front-runners.

By the time we move into final interviews, we already feel like we’ve “met” the people. This allows the actual live call to be more focused on its specific objectives.

HOW WE ASK CANDIDATES FOR A VIDEO

Here’s an example email we use when hiring a bookkeeper. Feel free to adapt the tone and content for your own role:

Subject: Next Step in Your Application with Genius Games

Hello! Thank you for the time and effort you put into the application process at Genius Games. You scored in the 85th percentile or above on almost all your assessments, putting you in the top 8 out of 103 candidates. You should be pretty proud of yourself for making it this far! Now, we need to determine the 2-3 finalists for the role.

For the next step, please send me a video of yourself answering the following questions: 

What is your experience and background in bookkeeping, particularly for small or medium-sized businesses?

What are your three best practices for keeping financial records accurate and organized in a company like ours?

What do you like the most about your current (or previous) job?

Why are you interested in joining our team at Genius Games?

Please record this video on the laptop you’ll be using for work so I can experience your camera and microphone. Please don’t use a phone to record the video. Finally, be sure to send the video as a link, not an attachment.

Other than that, please don't overthink the video. We’re just looking to get to know you a little more before setting up a formal interview with our staff.

It can be anywhere from 3–10 minutes long, and you can very easily create one using Google Meet, Zoom, or Loom for free right now.

Please submit the video within 36 hours so I have time to set up final interviews on Thursday and Friday.

Thank you so much!

 

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If you want to create your own template, here are some essential bases to cover:

✔️ Gratitude: Thank your candidates for their effort. 

✔️ Positive reinforcement: Be transparent with how well they fared and where they now stand.

✔️ A clear call to action: Record and submit a video. 

✔️ Role-specific talking points

✔️ Their experience and background relevant to the position

✔️ Best practices they’ve picked up in their work experience

✔️ Workflow and organization

✔️ Submission guidelines

✔️ What device to use

✔️ Length

✔️ Format (link, attachment, etc.)

✔️ A firm but reasonable deadline

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HESITATION AROUND VIDEO SUBMISSIONS

It’s natural to feel uneasy about asking candidates for a video. I felt that way at first, myself. I would think: Would it come across as intrusive? Would people feel it would be too much effort?

But here’s what I learned: if you’ve built a thoughtful hiring process up to this point—clear job posts, well-designed assessments, transparent feedback—most serious candidates are more than willing to go the extra mile.

For them, a 5-minute video is a small step when they’re already just two or three stages away from landing a legitimate role as you’ve told them in the video submission email. In fact, many applicants would appreciate the chance to introduce themselves on their own terms before a live interview. 

That said, the timing matters. Some companies ask for a video right at the start, but that tends to scare off good applicants who haven’t yet built trust in your process. Unless you’re hiring for a role that requires being on camera every day (like sales or client-facing work), it’s best to save the video step until later in the pipeline like we do at Wise Scout. By then, you’ve shown you’re a serious employer, and candidates know their chances are real.

OUR TAKEAWAY

In our experience, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. Video submissions replace an entire round of preliminary interviews while giving us a better sense of who we’re considering. They help us make smarter, and more confident hiring decisions.

If you’d like to hire staff through a system that filters, tests, and evaluates candidates effectively, Wise Scout can help. We’ve refined this process across dozens of roles, from bookkeepers to virtual assistants to board game designers, and we’d be glad to add the best talent from the Philippines to your team.