You’ve submitted your cover letter and resume, you’ve done your psychometric testing, you prepare for the interview. But wait, you have to progress through another round first, the video interview! You groan at the prospect of talking to a camera, you sigh at the awkwardness. But the reality is, more and more companies are switching to video interviews due to the simplicity and convenience they offer in the recruitment process. Although this may seem to put more stress on students, don’t worry, because we’ve got you covered with some tips and tricks to help you nail that video interview.
1. Presentation
A video interview can be completed at home or anywhere you like, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t required to dress the part. Make sure you dress professionally (at least on the top half), sit in front of a plain background, and avoid having distractions in the room. If you live with others, tell them that you have an important interview, and ask them to not come into your room or make loud sounds.
Make sure to test your technology and audio, as you don’t want to get to the video interview stage but realise that your device can’t capture your sound or that it won’t record properly.
During your interview, look at your camera. This ensures you maintain eye contact when the recruiter reviews your responses. It might be tempting to look at yourself in the screen or to sneakily look at notes, but avoid this! Pretend the camera is your interviewer’s eye, and refrain from looking anywhere else.
Pay attention to timing. Don’t talk too fast out of haste or nervousness, make sure you keep a nice and balanced pace so that your words are clear and concise. Note also the timer on the screen. This will tell you how much time you have left for a question, so finish up before the timer ends, as you don’t want to be cut off mid-sentence!
Take note of your body language. Use hand gestures as appropriate instead of remaining frozen for the whole duration, but also avoid fidgeting or excessive movement. In addition, don’t forget to smile! You may be feeling nervous or even stumble a few times, but don’t worry, pick up where you left off just as you would in a normal conversation, and let your positivity shine through the screen.
2. Content
Most video interview questions are quite broad, as recruiters want to give all students, regardless of their background, a chance to answer them. The purpose at this stage is to check your motivation for the role. Importantly, you need to demonstrate a good understanding of their company and what your responsibilities would be. Make sure you have done your research and read about the company beforehand. Be prepared to answer questions (or a variation of these) such as “Why did you apply to our company/this role?” and “What can you bring to this role/Why should we select you?”.
At this stage, recruiters also want to get to know you a bit better to gauge whether you will be a good fit for the company. Be authentic and genuine, and give interesting facts about yourself that make you stand out. When you answer the question “Tell us about yourself”, after you talk about what you’re studying, feel free to talk about any hobbies you pursue, any volunteering activities you do, or anything that you’re passionate about!
While it is unlikely that technical questions will be asked, many companies do ask situational questions that look for various skills and competencies they seek. Examples include “Tell me about a time you worked in a team” or “Tell me about a time you solved a complex problem”. What’s important here is to identify what skill they’re looking for, and draw on your experiences to answer appropriately. Here, using the STAR (situation, task, action, result) technique is very helpful for helping you tell your stories. In these circumstances, make sure you use personal experiences from your own work, studies, or extracurricular activities, instead of clichees, and focus primarily on the “action” you undertook rather than using too many words to describe the situation or task. This is your chance to highlight how your strengths and qualities make you the optimal candidate. You can, and are certainly encouraged to prepare beforehand, but make sure these are told as stories, rather than scripts to the camera (and recruiter)!
Finally, remember that a video interview is exactly like an in-person interview, so all of the things you would do to prepare for a face-to-face interview still apply! Make sure you do your homework and prepare a pool of examples you can draw on depending on the question that is asked. If you feel daunted, practise in front of a mirror, in front of people you trust, or in front of your own laptop or computer. Set up a video recording and record yourself practising your responses. This can feel silly and you won’t feel comfortable doing it, but recording yourself and reviewing your own responses can help you identify areas you might need to work on from the perspective of an interviewer. Remember that the more you practise, the better you will get in video interviews.
Hopefully you will have gained some useful tips in preparing for your video interview. Good luck!
