A homeowner decides in seconds whether to trust the tech at the door. A tech decides just as fast whether your shop is worth a call. A recruitment video is that decision, on camera. Here's what makes one work, what kills one, and what the shoot actually looks like from your side.
What a trades recruitment video is
A film of about ninety seconds, built to run — on your careers page, on YouTube, and in paid campaigns reaching techs who already have jobs — plus short vertical cuts for the feeds. It is not a corporate culture montage. It's proof of what working at your shop is actually like, shot so a working tech believes it.
What works on camera
- Real techs, unscripted. We use prompts, not scripts. Their words, their pauses, their trucks. The hesitation before an honest answer is worth more than any polished line.
- The owner, briefly. Why the shop runs the way it runs, in your own words. Techs are choosing a boss as much as a job.
- Specifics, named. The pay. The schedule. The truck they'd drive. The training path. Claimed by everyone, shown by almost no one.
- One human detail per person. The thing that makes a tech a person — that's what another tech remembers.
- Real job sites. B-roll from your actual work, not a rented set.
- Captions on every cut. Most of it gets watched with the sound off, on a couch, after a shift.
What kills one
- Scripted lines read off a phone.
- Stock footage of someone else's crew — a tech spots it instantly, and the whole video goes down with it.
- “We're a family” with nothing underneath it.
- Hiding the pay.
- One 16:9 file that never gets cut for the feeds — finished, filed, forgotten.
What to expect from the shoot
Half a day, on your sites, scheduled around your dispatch board. We run the prompts, the shot list, and the b-roll — nobody has to perform, and nobody preps a speech. The whole point of a half-day is that your operation doesn't stop for it.
Production detail to confirm: Final technician interview timing will be set in the shoot plan.
What comes out of it
The hero film in 16:9 and 9:16 masters, plus six vertical cuts: three technician testimonials, the owner segment, pay and perks, and a day on the job — captioned, formatted for every platform, ready to run. That's the production half of The Hiring Engine.
After the edit
The film goes above the fold on the careers page, up on YouTube, and into campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok targeting working techs — with applicant-source tracking so you know which channel produced the hire, and ongoing management if you want the campaign run month to month. For the strategy side — who to reach and where — read the companion guide: How to Recruit HVAC Technicians.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a recruitment video be?
The hero film runs about ninety seconds — long enough for proof, short enough to hold a feed. The vertical cuts are shorter still, each carrying one moment.
Do we need actors or a script?
No. Your techs, your sites, our prompts. The realness is the product — actors would break the one thing the video exists to prove.
What does a recruitment video cost?
Our prices are published — see the cost guide.
See the Hiring Engine
The film, the six cuts, and the campaign are detailed in The Hiring Engine. Serving trades companies across Niagara, Hamilton, the GTA, and Western New York. Trust on camera. ROI on paper.