How To Do Well In a Video Interview?

By Samuli Ahola

When online presence and social media are becoming increasingly important in today’s job hunting, there is no excuse for a job seeker not to be prepared to participate in a video interview. Video interviewing is already on the list of topics that career coaches teach to job seekers , and the increasing popularity of the method sends a strong signal to both recruiters and job seekers about the direction where the recruitment world is heading. For a job seeker, a video interview is a great chance to stand out from the crowd.

1. Be yourself – show your personality!

This is the most important part. The recruiter has already read your resume and cover letter – what he wants to know now is if you’re suitable for the position and the company culture or not. There’s no reason to be nervous – especially if the interview is conducted asynchronously with a tool such as Recruitby.net, which allows you to take record several takes and send only the best ones to the recruiter.

2. Preparation

Video interview is not a test or an exam. However, you can prepare for it and it will work for your advantage. Do your research on the company you’re applying for just like you would in a regular job interview. Before recording your videos, ensure the lighting is good, look presentable,  adjust your webcam so it’s on your eye level, and think through your answers before starting to record them. Also make sure that your camera and microphone are functioning properly. Having a key word list for your answers might not be a bad idea – but reading your answers completely from paper definitely is.

3. Present your know-how

Your answers don’t need to be essays, and you dont need to present everything you know about the topic. But if you have some innovative ideas and some extra information about the topic, including it to your answer might work for your advantage. Put yourself in the recruiter’s position – he might receive dozens of videos, and your extra information just might be something that sets you apart.

4. Keep your answers compact, and respect the suggested time limit

Again, video interview is not an exam. If the recruiter asks you to answer briefly, maximum a minute and a half, then there is no excuse for your three-minute videos you practised in front of the mirror. Remember, the recruiter has already read your CV, now he wants to have an idea of you as a person. The real skill is to communicate your expertise and personality in a compact manner.

5. You do not need to be perfect

I have personally participated in a video interview as a job seeker, and I do know the feeling when you want to get the perfect take you plan to send to your future employer, where he can see what a superstar you truly are. But believe me, it’s the personality they are after. If you happened to scratch your nose when you recorded your best video, don’t worry about it (unless you kept picking it after that). Or if your cat walked into the room. Employers don’t expect to see perfection with candidate’s videos, but they expect to get a glimpse of some great personalities they might want in their company.