What are video interviews?
Video interviews are a recruitment method used by graduate programs and jobs to ask users interview questions in a standardised way in video format.
Sometimes video interviews might take the place of phone interviews or also done in conjunction but graduate recruiters love video interviews for the following reasons and also why you should too:
- It’s fair to all candidates – As there is no human interaction and you complete these by yourself, all graduate and internship applications are asked exactly the same question in exactly the same format.
- More information than a phone call – Video interviews can give a lot more supporting information where graduate recruiters can see things like how you present yourself, the setting you have chosen to complete the interview in and things like facial expressions and communication styles
- Faster Response times – Because these can be taken by grads at any time as well as assessed by graduate recruiters with an easy way to score the outcomes it means you can get feedback and a response much faster in many cases.
Video interviews are a strange experience as essentially you are in a room talking to yourself so can feel uncomfortable at first, however in line with COVID this method is steadily on the rise so getting used to it is going to help you beyond graduate applications as well.
How do video interviews work?
How to prepare for a video interview?
Check your hardware
Testing your webcam is clear, and your microphone is picking up sounds correctly will make sure you aren’t scrambling at the last minute to put you off your game
Have a tidy location
As this can be a glimpse into your world for the graduate recruiter, where you take the interview says a lot. Is this in your house, is your room a mess? Are you in the computer lab at university? All of these things help tell your story on who you are!
Be presentable
Whilst you are not talking directly to anyone – treat this like a job interview and ask yourself the question, what should you be wearing. If in doubt, it’s better to overdress than under-dress!
Be aware of time
Just like you would prepare for a phone interview knowing exactly what you're talking points are will ensure you can deliver what you need to concisely and professionally. As the video mentioned, many video interviewing providers do not let you redo questions do you get one shot!
Unexpected interruptions
Unexpected things happen in life and can be turned into a good opportunity to not only nail the video interview by showing how you deal with the unexpected interview but stand out as well. There have been many great stories from graduate recruiters where a graduate interviewee’s house mate has returned from the pub and was spun into a story about how they were different and committed by not heading out as well through to someone’s cat playfully attacking them throughout a video interview where they managed to keep focus and deliver what they need to!