How to prepare for a video interview

Contents

Video interviews are a true trend in the HR industry in recent years. Many companies are introducing technological know-how using sites like Zoom when selecting professional candidates for senior positions with attractive salaries.

How to prepare for an interview, if on the way to your dream job you need to go through an online interview and record a video instead of sending a standard resume? And why should you agree to a video interview?

How to overcome stress and record the first video?

Even the usual offline interview is another test for the nervous system. And if you need to record a video for the employer, the rates double. Therefore, it is important to gather your thoughts, choose the right moment, and prepare in the most relaxed and conducive to productive self-presentation environment. Think about how to compose an interview in a separate room, where there will be no extraneous noise, distractions, and you will be able to concentrate on the questions of a recruiting specialist.

A good way to cheer up is to explain to yourself that you have already won because you did not go by public transport or by car to the other end of the city and do not sit in line with other candidates, each of whom seems more professional, competent and self-confident. Even if you received unusual interview questions and the first video wasn’t the most successful, it’s not a disaster. Be sure to inform the employer that you are ready to do a second take.

In most cases, HR managers eagerly respond to such a request and send a second invitation. The situation can always be corrected if you have something to say and you have the opportunity to show yourself from the best side.

What to do at the very beginning?

Appearance

Make inquiries about the company of the employer, bring yourself in the most professional look, turn on good lighting, and mount the camera in front of the face. All other angles look less advantageous. Imagine that a recruit is you and ask how a promising candidate for a particular position should look like?

Technical equipment

To create a good video, it is critical to have an uninterrupted Internet with a stable speed. Ideal if you can use the HD-webcam and microphone with volume control. Noise and bad sound easily cross out all efforts just like sending a blank expression in a traditional format.

Pay attention to intonation and voice

Your task is to sound presentable and natural. The good news is that there are many lessons on YouTube for setting a confident and clear voice. The manner of speech is conveniently copied from popular presenters. Try to repeat them and the result will be your own unique style.

Control the time

Give specific answers to these questions. Avoid long lyrical digressions and approaches from afar. Otherwise, the recruiter will think that you do not know the materiel well and are moving away from the answer. There is always little time and it is very important to remember this. Make a list of highlights and bring them to life during the video.

How to correctly answer questions during a video interview?

Prepare answers in advance to questions that the recruiter is likely to ask. Think about how to elegantly and positively beat inconvenient moments. Use constructive language, write down and keep at hand the most successful options.

It is important that the cheat sheets not fall into the frame. Clicking on documents with answers to questions is also not worth it – it is not only visible, but also perfectly audible in the frame. Such behavior in the recording looks as if during an interview you check messengers or read messages on social networks.

Study the list of the most common questions from recruiters on the HeadHunter website. For example, HR managers often ask candidates to tell about themselves. It is important to maintain a time frame. Even five minutes of self-presentation is considered an inadmissible luxury, but if you tell your beloved about yourself for ten minutes, this is a guaranteed failure of a video interview.

Try to talk more about the benefits that you will bring. Tell them about how you worked on a similar project and why do you want to take this position. For marketers, this method is called “get into the head” of the client. What is your case means putting yourself in the place of the employer and trying to build a monologue on video from the position of the ideal employee in the good sense of the word?