You’ve applied for the role; you’ve waited patiently for news on your application. Finally, the day arrives when, you receive either an email or a call inviting you to take part in the first round of interviews. Only, the first round will be a video interview.
Perhaps this was not what you were expecting? Maybe you have been preparing yourself for a telephone interview or even a face to face interview?
Fear not. Video interviews are great to help you tackle any pre-interview nerves; mainly because you get to practise, practise, practise.
I won’t bore you with the preamble. Let’s get to the meaty stuff.
What to do?
Practise
Whether you are familiar with video or not, it is a good idea to practise. You can do this with your smartphone video facility or with your laptop webcam. Whichever option you chose, ensure that you have set up the camera somewhere stable. Then get filming!
As a warm up a few days before, you might like to read aloud from your favourite book or magazine or newspaper.
Then start recording answers to sample interview questions.
Watch this back closely and pay attention to your eye contact and body language, the speed of your speech and the clarity of your speech. Also, consider the lighting and environment.
Reflect
Re-watch your recordings. Ask yourself, are you happy with your eye contact? Are you happy with the speed and clarity of your speech? If the answer to any of these are no, then go back and record again until you feel confident in front of the camera. You should aim to perform as you would in a face to face environment.
Prepare to Interview
Whether you are asked to do a live video interview or recorded, prepare as you would if you were going to a face to face interview.
In the event that you are asked to do a recorded interview, it is vitally important to prepare examples from your previous experience that are short and easily remembered. Effectively, you will have the opportunity to record your answer a couple of times. This has its advantages in so far as you get a second chance. However, the question will show on screen and you will have a time limit in which to answer.
Ensure you have your space set up correctly
As previously mentioned, with a recorded interview, you will likely have a time limit in which to answer. If this is the case, you do not want to waste one of your recording attempts through accidentally knocking something over.
The same stands for live video interviews. Ensure that you are in a tidy area with space for your notes. This space should be disturbance and distraction free. Look around you. If you can see anything that you would frown upon if you saw it in an office, then you should probably move it out of sight.
It is a good idea to get your space set up a couple of days before. This will allow you to make sure that there are no disturbances. But also, you will have the chance to check the lighting and network connection. For live video interviews, a good network connection is priceless!
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