Video Interview Preparation Tips

 Increasingly, more firms are using video interviews to save time and reach a wider pool of candidates. While at first it can seem a little daunting, it actually can have several benefits to the candidates – the most obvious one being that your video interview is kept on file and can be referred to later on, so if you miss out on a role the first time round, chances are that you may be considered for other suitable roles. These are five useful tips to help you ensure your video interview recording runs nice and smoothly.

Tip #1

Use a computer or laptop device, not a mobile phone. While a lot of video interview technology allows you do use tablets or phones, the image often ends up being very zoomed in and somewhat less professional in terms of setting.

Tip #2

Test your technology. It cannot be stressed how important it is to make sure your mic and web camera are working. Also, ensure you have located access to a reliable Wi-Fi network. You can check its speed frequency with many tools accessible online.

Tip #3

Prepare your setting. There is nothing more off-putting with a video interview than a messy backdrop or a room with poor lighting.

Tip #4

Make sure you have notified people around you (kindly and politely of course) to not enter the room for the approximate duration of time that the video interview will be running for. While your pets, roommates, family members, and friends all have the best intentions, a video interview is an individual task, not a group exercise.

Tip #5

Dress professionally. You should treat a video interview just like you would treat any face-to-face interview.

Tip #6

Practise both general application questions and behavioural style questions. As part of this preparation, revise the STAR (Situation–Task–Action–Result) approach and try thinking about how you can phrase things in a succinct manner.

Tip #7

Make the web-camera your friend. While most companies will provide you access to video recording software of their choice, you can still practise looking into a camera lens before the interview. It is actually quite tricky not to let your eyes wander away from the lens; therefore, it is vital to take advantage of Skype or any other video technology you have installed on your computer to practise!

Tip #8

Think about what makes you, you! Most video interviews have a question at the end that lets you add any additional comments about yourself. This is your chance to share something unique about yourself and make yourself memorable to the reviewer of your video interview.

Featured image courtesy of Pexels.