Spark Hire Reviews

Pros

Sparkhire is a good platform for video interviewing. Whether you're using it for one position or multiple positions, it can handle the job. It's user interfaces are intuitive and the functionality allows us to do many things. In fact we don't even take advantage of all the software is able to do. The one-way interview feature is by fare what we use the most often. It allows us to interview more people to begin with. The set up of the interviews is easy and the feature that lets you record video intros to any question you send is very nice as well.

Cons

The pricing for this software is different. You pay based on the number of jobs you want to use it for at the same time. Since our hiring goes in cycles, many times we only need it for one job, but sometimes we need it for up to 5 jobs. We end up paying for 5 jobs all throughout the year since that is the max number we might need, but we only use it for 1 job much of the year. There are some little features that could be improved, and we'd love for Spark Hire to tie into our current application system (it does some but not ours), but overall we like the product.

Pros

This product is great for junior level positions and senior roles. We use it for bulk recruitment and specialised positions and the functional meets the needs of both types of recruitment.

The personalised support is also very good with Spark Hire our support person is also available and up for any question we through at them.

Cons

Initially when we started using panel interviews was not a function but I understand that is now available.
Don't have a heap of negatives as it really does the job we need it to.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Spark Hire

Pros

None, because the product was sold to us despite the fact that Spark Hire knew it would not fit our desired solution/use.

Cons

Very inflexible product. Customer service that is not empowered to help.

Pros

I like Spark Hire as a screening tool for first-round interviews. You can quickly find out if people are computer-literate, well-spoken, respond to deadlines, and get a quick gauge of their skills and background before going to the trouble to set up an interview that could be a waste of time for both parties. You get "live" audio/visual interaction with a candidate in seconds rather than spending many minutes or hours. You can then hit the ground running faster in your in-person interview with candidates that move to that step, because you've already gotten some of the basics out of the way in the Spark Hire interview.

Cons

I don't have any major drawbacks with this software. It's quite easy to use and sort through candidates quickly.

Pros

It is amazing to be able to judge a person communication skills before taking up upper managements time in a lengthy interview. We mainly use this software for Flight Controllers at NASA's Mission Control Center. Interviewing with a camera, especially for the first time, can be stressful. This is something Flight Controllers must be able to handle and adapt to. While a person can have an amazing resume, it doesn't truly represent the candidate's communication skills.

Cons

The only issue I have is having to ask the candidate to upload their own resume. I would like to be able to add a resume to a video so management has easy access.

Pros

Spark Hire is seriously THE BEST thing we've done for our in house recruiting efforts. It has allowed us to dramatically increase the number of candidates we are able to thoroughly screen while simultaneously reducing the time and money associated with doing so. Since adding Spark Hire in December, we've increased our candidate review rate by +24%. Cost per applicant has been reduced 9% and cost per hire is down 13%. On top of that, their customer service is incredible.

Cons

Very few negatives. Occasionally we've had bugs - which are quickly corrected. And we've come up with a few ideas that could improve ease of use but nothing that has dramatically impacted our overall experience.

Pros

Spark Hire allows me to quickly and confidently review candidates as well as share with hiring managers. We don't spend time in interviews without having confidence that we will get ROI on the time spent.

Cons

N/A. I researched all of Spark Hire's competitors and I made the decision to use Spark Hire.

Pros

The video quality was very good, as is the candidate interface, and their customer service was attentive.

Cons

1) Trial period is too short and they charged me directly without asking me beforehand (I hate that!). I know I gave me C/C info but I feel that you should confirm the option with the client before charging. Even the customer service rep who was following up with me was surprised that I had been charged before we had even had our first call.

2) The candidate response time for the one-way interviewing was capped at 3 min. My questions require greater response time.

3) To increase the allotted time you have to upgrade to another pricepoint which was not what I wanted to do.

4) The number of ppl from my team who could access the interviews was limited.

Pros

We LOVE Spark Hire for the amount of time and headache it has saved us. Being able to review candidate interviews at our convenience as well as see the candidates before determining whether or not to meet them in person is huge.

Cons

There's really not anything I dislike about the software - it meets all of my needs at this time.

Pros

I looove that it saves tons of my tie and actually shows me how interested the candidate is in the position. I can use tags and rating for my candidates nd filter them however I want.
Always easy to come back and revisit some answers or refresh my memory about some candidates. Tech support is always responsive!

Cons

Sometimes the sftware has bugs (if the candidate has some wrong version of PC or other computer issues), but ostly it's working great1

Pros

I love that Spark Hire puts all candidates on the same playing field for an initial interview. The candidates don't have the verbal/non-verbal feedback of Zoom/phone/in-person, so the interview is much more structured than our other options later in the process.

Cons

As stated previously, some of the searching for previous candidates/interviews has become more cumbersome.

Pros

I love that this has become an essential part of our screening process, it eliminates the time spent conducting face to face interviews with candidates that are not suitable for certain roles, thus saving us time. It also speeds up the time in getting candidates in front of the hiring manager. The video is a great selling tool for us internally.

Cons

I wish that there was an avatar, this is the only thing similar providers have that Spark doesn't offer.

Pros

The platform is awesome! Easy to use, user-friendly, all the tutorials are in place!

Cons

I love the product, and no cons were spotted so far.

Pros

When we were reviewing video interview platforms, I was surprised by how much fluctuation in price there was. Some of the other vendors had a few more "bells & whistles", but they were, for the most part, unnecessary - and the price they were charging was significantly higher than Spark Hire. We've used Spark Hire for 2 years now, and they have certainly met our needs for a video interview platform, and at a great price! They also integrate with several ATS platforms, which is convenient. The support team is very responsive and helpful, and my account rep is fantastic.

Cons

The only thing I wish I could add is an option to save a filter, so I can always start on the page with just my interviews, or just active jobs/open interviews. Other than that, I can't think of any "cons".

Pros

We are able to do candidate evaluations at the beginning of the recruitment process to weed out unqualified candidates and identify highly regarded talent. This saves our client's time in the process by using the SparkHire videos as a first interview to view when they have time in their day.

Cons

I wish we could edit more to delete wifi glitches or shorten if needed.

Pros

The one-way videos work great to cut time on phone screens and I can share live answers with members of our team easily!

Cons

Nothing I think it works great as it, keep it simple.

Pros

I like the ease of using the software from both the end user and the administrator side.

Cons

the limitations we have on job slots...not the software's issue but due to budget, we are limited on how many open spots and how we market them. For example, if we have a role that is not only in one location for the posting, we have to select a location.

Pros

This product has been easy to integrate within our Applicant Tracking System. It allows us to interview faster which is helping our time to fill numbers tremendously.

Cons

I would prefer to have more customization options for communicating with candidates within Spark Hire. We have several hubs to recruit for and I need to be able to personalize the message.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Spark Hire

Pros

In the past, when we wanted a video interview with a job candidate, we had to email back and forth to find a time that would work for both the interviewer and the interviewee. We are a recruiting firm and often schedule several interviews each week. Spark Hire is a self directed program that allows our job candidates to access the recording interview on their schedule and answer prewritten questions. We no longer have to worry about schedules.

Cons

Job candidates are a bit wary of the software, and not entirely sure how to use it. Without a "real person" on the other side of the camera, they can sometimes appear stiff or stilted, and they often have trouble allowing their personality to shine through.

Pros

The interview question library and ability to customize interviews!

Cons

I wish the recorded one-way interviews had a transcription service!

Pros

We use Sparkhire to interview EVERYONE of our employees. This is the first thing they have to do! It's incredibly easy to use and I love the format!

Cons

I wish it were user friendly from my phone. I find it difficult to use trying to flip from one question to the other on my phone.

Pros

First off, the concept of a video interview platform is absolutely brilliant. Everything is intuitive and the platform has several flexible options for holding the video interview. We prefer the one-way interview because it allows us to get a glimpse of many different candidates for a position. I love that that Spark Hire is very proactive with their customer interactions, and even bumped us up to an upgraded plan so we can try out other features.

Cons

There have been a couple bugs in the interface here and there, but it has never impacted the full functionality and Spark Hire appears to resolve them quickly. To me, small bugs like that are a sign of a smart company that is always developing on their software platform to make it more functional to their customers.

Pros

I love how it helps screen candidates and allows us to quickly get a read on the people applying. The support has been really good as well. Rep has been very helpful in getting us what we need and giving good advice.

Cons

We have had very little issues. - So not much to say here.

Pros

Easy to set up and customize. Having the one way video interviews as an extra screening layer frees up a ton of time for our recruitment team.

Cons

can feel a bit robotic and foreign at first but you can customize it to make it more personal which is a plus

Pros

I appreciate the having the various interview options (e.g. open) - I specifically prefer the one-way interview option.

Cons

Not being able to update the candidate's information on the backend e.g. name is mispelled or email needs to change when you open a candidate's profile.