As social distancing and working-from-home has become the new norm for a lot of people across the globe and corporate working world over the next indeterminate-amount-of-time, I thought it smart to brush up on the art of perfecting video interviews, which will continue to be the way forward for some time to come.

 

Before the Coronavirus pandemic took effect and gained momentum, we were already finding more and more clients in our time-poor society opting for phone or video (in the form of Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp Video, Zoom, or Google hangout calls) interviews as the first port of call in the interview process.

 

Let’s start with simple interview tips that always apply to whatever style of interview you are doing:

• Preparation is key – don’t go in blind, i.e. only reading through the job description once. Do your research and due diligence. If you are working through a recruiter, hopefully they will be assisting you with interview prep.

• Research the company, check out the interviewer’s LinkedIn page, read up on the job description and know your resume inside and out

• Ensure that you follow the STAR method when answering questions - SITUATION, TASK, ASSESSMENT, RESULT. It is important to cover the what, how and why you are doing anything including the project, task and situation

• Always provide a real life example for every question they ask you but ensure that you keep the example concise by logically answering the question following the STAR method.

• ALWAYS say 'I' over 'we' - The interviewer wants to hear about your personal contribution and not that of the team. You can talk about the team by saying, "as a team we did..... But I contributed by doing......."

• Prepare at least 3 key achievements that you are particularly proud of and 3 challenges that you have personally faced in a project

 

Video Interview Tips:

 

• Treat this with the same respect, preparation and due diligence as a in person face-to-face interview

• Dress the part in your most professional interview attire, not just on the top…but on the bottom (no pyjama pants or UGG boots, as tempting is that can be!).

• Sit up straight. Ideally you will be sitting at a desk.

• Frame the video and clear out anything in distracting in background. No one wants to see your laundry hanging up behind you or your kids.

• Testing out the audio and video before the interview

• Line up the interviewer’s eyes as close to the camera on your laptop or phone as possible – feign eye contact as if you were sitting across from them in person

•  Make sure your WIFI is perfect or make other arrangements, i.e. hot spotting from your phone if that is a more reliable connection

• If there are delays due to a bad connection on the other side, simply gather your thoughts – ask what they heard of your response and start again. Also, you might unbeknownst to the interviewer be experiencing a bad connection. Don’t try to answer a question when you haven’t heard it clearly to begin with. Ask them politely to repeat the question