Recruitment platforms offers brokers the chance to vet candidates through video
A recruitment platform that promotes video content, and uses data to match candidates to jobs and employers to candidates, is offering financial advisers a new way to source and secure talent.
PreviewMe founder and CEO Johnny Farquhar said the “very nature” of the adviser industry is based on communication.
Candidates wanting to break into the adviser market have the opportunity through PreviewMe to showcase their abilities and sell themselves to employers through video, and also demonstrate whether they’ll be a good cultural fit for the team.
It also gives employers the opportunity to promote their values and benefits through video, which gives the candidate a better idea of what kind of culture they could be working in, and makes everyone a bit more relaxed about the interview process that follows, Farquhar said.
“The emphasise for insurance and mortgage broking has surely got to be on someone’s ability to sell, as well as an ability to learn about financial products. For any industry, you need to work out whether someone is intelligent but also if someone can learn. Do they have the practical application of being able to think on the spot, and pivot when a client goes ‘I don’t actually need insurance, or ‘I don’t need to refix’.
“How are you going to handle that? That’s a question (an employer) could ask in a video – here’s an example of someone you might face in a mortgage or an insurance advisory situation, if they were to say this, what would you say or do?”
Farquhar said PreviewMe has been built to meet market need; “we’re not trying to guess what the market wants and then go in a different direction”. He said the platform heavily collaborated with its early adopters in its first few months, and is constantly reviewing its offering to ensure it meets candidate and employer need.
Farquhar said the business was now focused on enhancements and moving closer towards making the platform more streamlined and seamless.
“Data makes up a big chunk of what we’re trying to deliver in terms of a service offering for both audiences.
“Part of what we’re trying to do is help employers remove the reliance on a paper resume as a form of assessing someone, and placing more emphasis on employers assessing actual capability through the use of video and data.
“Humans are visual creatures and technology is moving or revolving at such a rate that we can soak up information in different ways faster. So, there is no reason why recruitment should be any different,” Farquhar said.
Employers will get more mileage out of having someone tell you what they can achieve in the first 90 days than reading a cover letter that was cloned to 10 different companies, because at least (the video) is bespoke and targeted at the company they are applying for, he said.
“If you’re a candidate, it’s still a lottery about whether you’ll be considered for a job because employers get “stacks” of paper-based CVs, and many employers don’t have the time to go through each one in detail.
Apart from listing jobs, and matching candidates to roles, PreviewMe is also focused on helping candidates with their career development by giving them feedback on each role they apply for.
“What we have placed a premium on is ensuring candidates do get feedback to help them with their career development on each role they apply for, which is something we can save employers from doing themselves.
“We use an algorithm that will help push candidates in front of the right jobs that align with their profile matches, and as they apply for more jobs, we collect more data and a better digital footprint to align with their jobs.
“From a feedback loop point of view, we benchmark candidates against other candidates for a job, so they can have a sense of where they might stack up against the competition to manage expectations of whether they’ll be successful for the role,” he said.
PreviewMe currently has 50 companies listing jobs on the platform.
PreviewMe founder and CEO Johnny Farquhar said the “very nature” of the adviser industry is based on communication.
Candidates wanting to break into the adviser market have the opportunity through PreviewMe to showcase their abilities and sell themselves to employers through video, and also demonstrate whether they’ll be a good cultural fit for the team.
It also gives employers the opportunity to promote their values and benefits through video, which gives the candidate a better idea of what kind of culture they could be working in, and makes everyone a bit more relaxed about the interview process that follows, Farquhar said.
“The emphasise for insurance and mortgage broking has surely got to be on someone’s ability to sell, as well as an ability to learn about financial products. For any industry, you need to work out whether someone is intelligent but also if someone can learn. Do they have the practical application of being able to think on the spot, and pivot when a client goes ‘I don’t actually need insurance, or ‘I don’t need to refix’.
“How are you going to handle that? That’s a question (an employer) could ask in a video – here’s an example of someone you might face in a mortgage or an insurance advisory situation, if they were to say this, what would you say or do?”
Farquhar said PreviewMe has been built to meet market need; “we’re not trying to guess what the market wants and then go in a different direction”. He said the platform heavily collaborated with its early adopters in its first few months, and is constantly reviewing its offering to ensure it meets candidate and employer need.
Farquhar said the business was now focused on enhancements and moving closer towards making the platform more streamlined and seamless.
“Data makes up a big chunk of what we’re trying to deliver in terms of a service offering for both audiences.
“Part of what we’re trying to do is help employers remove the reliance on a paper resume as a form of assessing someone, and placing more emphasis on employers assessing actual capability through the use of video and data.
“Humans are visual creatures and technology is moving or revolving at such a rate that we can soak up information in different ways faster. So, there is no reason why recruitment should be any different,” Farquhar said.
Employers will get more mileage out of having someone tell you what they can achieve in the first 90 days than reading a cover letter that was cloned to 10 different companies, because at least (the video) is bespoke and targeted at the company they are applying for, he said.
“If you’re a candidate, it’s still a lottery about whether you’ll be considered for a job because employers get “stacks” of paper-based CVs, and many employers don’t have the time to go through each one in detail.
Apart from listing jobs, and matching candidates to roles, PreviewMe is also focused on helping candidates with their career development by giving them feedback on each role they apply for.
“What we have placed a premium on is ensuring candidates do get feedback to help them with their career development on each role they apply for, which is something we can save employers from doing themselves.
“We use an algorithm that will help push candidates in front of the right jobs that align with their profile matches, and as they apply for more jobs, we collect more data and a better digital footprint to align with their jobs.
“From a feedback loop point of view, we benchmark candidates against other candidates for a job, so they can have a sense of where they might stack up against the competition to manage expectations of whether they’ll be successful for the role,” he said.
PreviewMe currently has 50 companies listing jobs on the platform.
