The Horrible Truth About One
Dear Liz,
I was asked to take a one-way video interview last week. It took me some time to understand what the lady wanted because I couldn’t believe they would ask me to answer questions in front of my computer with no live person on the other end of the line. I think it’s disgusting.
I declined to take the interview. I don’t want to work for a company that would stick me in front of a piece of software and ask me to talk into my microphone. If they don’t have time to talk with me live, they can hire somebody else.
What is your take on one-way video interviews?
Thanks,
Shutterstock
Dear Richard,
You said it perfectly. Video interviews don’t save a company any time compared to telephone interviews or live interviews, except for transportation time in the case of live interviews. If they want to hear your answers to the one-way video interview questions, they still have to watch your interview video.
So a one-way video interview is not a way for a company to save time. It’s just that the more steps in the recruiting process they can keep at arm’s length, the easier the process becomes.
If they screen people out using one-way video interviews, they don’t have to meet as many people face to face. They don’t have to forge a relationship or waste time with pleasantries. To put it bluntly, they don’t have to know you.
I’m delighted to hear that you made the decision to do just that.
They need to rethink their entire recruiting strategy and mindset.
Yours,
What Is Unstructured Interview Questions
What is an Unstructured Interview?
- With so many lists of interview questions available to professionals, a structured interview may seem like the only way to approach this part of the hiring process.
- An unstructured interview is one where there is no preset list of questions or stated parameters for what will be asked.
Pre Recorded Video Interview Tips For Candidates
For candidates, its vital to understand that pre-recorded video interviews are only a small and initial part of the selection process. They are not created to replace resumes or face-to-face interviews altogether.
Recruiters still shortlist CVs that match to the specific requirements of a job role, and a pre-recorded video interview is just an additional layer that helps hirers clear a few doubts that they might have about a candidate. So for applicants, this serves as an excellent opportunity to showcase their personality and skills better.
Having said that, here are some best practices to keep in mind:
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Questions You Should Expect To Answer In A Video Interview
Youre about to do your first video interview. What types of questions should you expect?
A video interview is a relatively new addition to the recruitment industry. Its designed to enhance the early stages of the interview process by giving potential employers a better view of you as a potential employee and giving you a greater opportunity to stand out from the crowd. As such, questions at the video interview stage tend to be introductory questions intended to get a sense of you as an individual.
The main purpose of a video interview is to get an overall sense of whether you might be a good cultural fit and your base level capabilities. Therefore, the questions shouldnt be too difficult or catch you off guard.
The main purpose of a video interview is to get an overall sense of whether you might be a good cultural fit and your base level capabilities.
In most video interviews, you can generally expect about three to four questions, although each employer uses video interviewing systems differently. They can choose how much time to give you for each question and how many opportunities you can have to answer a question.
Types of questions:
- A technical question about your skills
- A personality question
The specific questions depend on the role and organisation. Some examples might include:
Video interviewing is not meant to be difficult
How Badly Do You Want The Job
A good candidate will shine no matter the format of the interview. The effort you go to with a pre-recorded interview is really indicative of how badly you want the job and there are a whole host of ways you can get your passion and personality across. As you arent under pressure to get it right first time, there is the opportunity to perfect responses to questions, ensure there are no technical issues and create the right setting.
“There is generally less leniency from hiring managers as there was the opportunity to really perfect the interview.”
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How Do You Know If Your Interview Is Rejected
If your interviews duration is very short then this is an ideal sign for a bad interview. A good interview lasts for a long time period, at least for half an hour. So, if you are not discussed on enough topics and asked to move out of the interview room in very less time then there are more chances of your rejection.
Video Interview Follow Up Checklist
Heres a quick checklist of tips and tricks for following up from a video interview effectively. In order to get the most out of this checklist, it is important you, the job seeker, knows how the companies hiring process works from the get-go. If you are unsure of how their hiring process works, feel free to ask your contact before even taking the video interview.
Send a tailored thank-you note.
Customize your thank-you note with information presented before and during the interview process. The more detailed, the better!
Be speedy.
When sending handwritten thank you notes, get them in the mail ASAP! Use your best penmanship when sending a handwritten thank you note. Turns out that calligraphy class did pay off.
Check back in.
The general rule of thumb is to give the employer at least 14 business days to review all applicants. After that, feel free to call and/or send an additional follow-up email to ask where you stand, and when you will be notified.
Send a tailored thank-you note.
Customize your thank-you note with information presented before and during the interview process. The more detailed, the better!
Space it out.
When calling to check in, if you dont get connected on Monday, DONT call back on Tuesday looking to get through.
Also Check: What Questions Should I Ask For An Interview
Create A Nice Introductory Video For The Candidates
Whether you ask one of your team members to do this for you or do it yourself, its up to you. But have a high-quality introductory video in place to help candidates be familiar with the new technology that you are trying to implement in the organization.
With your introductory recording, make sure to:
- Introduce yourself as the founder, hiring manager or recruiter
- Speak a few words about the company
- Talk about the job role and the skills you are after
- Explain the reasons for doing a video interview instead of a telephonic screening
- Keep your tone friendly and make the candidate feel at ease
- Speak about how candidates can prepare for this step
- Show appreciation to the candidate thats taking part
- Mention the next steps, deadline, etc.
Why Do Companies Use Pre
Our clients use pre-recorded video interviewing to save time. Giving recruiters and hiring managers the ability to review and screen candidates in bulk allows them to evaluate more candidates in a shorter period of time. The streamlined screening process helps companies identify top talent up front, and they can move those candidates down the pipeline faster.
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Add An Introductory Video
Include a recording of yourself at the very beginning to help the candidate understand and appreciate the context in which youre conducting video interviews. In this recording, you can:
- Introduce yourself as the recruiter or hiring manager
- Talk about the role a little bit and what youre looking for
- Explain why youre doing video interviews instead of a live phone screening
- Talk about how a candidate can best prepare for this step
- Thank the candidate for taking part in this very important part of the process
- Set expectations for example, turnaround time, next steps, etc.
- Use a friendly tone to put the candidate at ease
Make Sure You Have The Right Devices Available
If you have no other options, you can probably use your smartphone for this interview, assuming it has a camera. However, you will very likely make the best impression using a camera connected to a computer, assuming the computer also has a microphone and a speaker
Double-check with the interviewer if you need to use your smartphone.
When possible, test the connection to be sure it works before the interview regardless of device used.
In advance, test your microphone and camera to be sure that they work. Even perfect answers to the questions wont make an impact if they cant hear your answers or see you talk.
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They Break Time And Space Barriers
To make it through this step of your recruitment process, all a candidate needs is to have access to the internet and a device to record himself. Applicants can do the interview anywhere and whenever they see best fit . This flexibility allows to keep more applicants in your pipeline. Your candidates may be travelling, working, etc., and still manage to do the interview because they can do it autonomously, when its most convenient for them.
How To Prepare For Virtual Interviews
Best practices for virtual interviews include the same methods of preparation as any form of interview.
You should conduct thorough research on the hiring organization be sure you understand its industry, and are aware of its objectives, culture and values.
You should also be familiar with the specifics of the post for which you are applying and prepare for any role-related questions you think you may be asked, as well as rehearsing answers for general competency-based questions.
For a virtual interview, its important to plan your time accordingly and be ready and waiting to join the call.
If the hiring panel has set up the interview, there will likely be a virtual waiting room for you to join before the interview.
You need to log in a few minutes in advance and wait for the meeting host to let you in.
Try to join a few minutes early to ensure you are on time for your interview.
It is the video interview equivalent of being punctual.
It can be tempting to leave it until the last minute since theres no travel involved but, ideally, you should clear your schedule at least an hour beforehand to focus your mind on the task at hand.
Use the time to go over your research notes, reread the job description and remind yourself of your initial application. This should get you fully focused and interview-ready.
An underrated advantage of video interviews over face-to-face interviews is that you can have your pre-interview preparation notes to hand.
Zoom Interviews Top 10 Tips
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Try Your Outfit On Before The Big Day
As with any big event, youll need to try your outfit on before the big day. However, when it comes to video interviews, you should test your outfit on a call to see how it looks. A blouse or shirt may seem fine in the mirror, but when youre sat in front of a camera, the light may be unflattering and could even highlight the fact that your shirt is see-through.
Automate Candidate Invites To Accelerate The Screening Process
If youre using pre-recorded video interviews as a way to screen candidates more efficiently, you can make the process even more efficient by automating invitations.
Ensure your invites or confirmation emails explain what the process will look like: what their time limit will be, what they should wear, and where they should record. This helps candidates feel prepared, and moves the hiring process along.
Leverage a process that empowers you to set up automated candidate workflows to invite all applicants or smart logic that can send out invitations based on answers to application questions.
This will ensure that you advance top candidates through the interview process as fast as possible, without all the manual work.
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It Increases Your Chance Of Being Selected
Conducting interviews is a long and time-consuming task for recruiters. Therefore, they tend to be harsh when screening candidates, so that those they choose to meet will have appropriate profiles. Pre-recorded video interviews allow them to save time and as a consequence lets them select more candidates.
Julie said, The recruiter saves time when they watch the videos because on average they are twice as fast as telephone interviews. So, they can invite even more candidates and extend the scope to those who may not have ordinarily made it past the CV stage of the process.
At the same time, the video can be viewed repeatedly. So if the recruiter gets interrupted or distracted while they are watching it, they can watch it again, which is also not an option when its a HR phone call.
What Are The Next Steps After Reviewing
After viewing all of the video interviews, narrow down your list to whichever candidates stuck out. At that point, its up to you to consider a live video interview or an in-person interview as a prerequisite to a potential job offer.
Whatever the case, one-way video interviews enable you to look at job candidates on a level playing field. Youre better able to discover which candidates are worth a second look before actually bringing them into the office. And with that, you have a better chance of filling that open position more quickly and with the best possible person.
Dont let your video interviews and qualified talent go to waste. Create a talent library using your already assessed pre-recorded interviews to decrease future time to hires and increase the number of top candidates in your talent pool.
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Top Tips: How To Ace Your Pre
- Physically & mentally warm up – do your research, get into the right headspace, dress appropriately
- Create the right visual impression – use your environment to your advantage
- Sort out your tech – make sure it’s reliable and positioned correctly
- Practice, practice, practice – perfect your answers and your delivery
- Follow up – show your enthusiasm for the job
Incorporate Other Elements Via Links
Pre-recorded video interviews do not necessarily have to be in a basic Q& A format. You can liven things up by adding elements in different formats, customizing fonts and styles, etc. Examples also include:
- Embedding a YouTube video and asking the candidate to record their honest reaction to it
- Including a PDF and asking the candidate what they would do to improve on it
Optimize your hiring with tech
Workables recruitment solution does all this for you and more. Wed love to walk you through its features, including our Video Interviews technology.
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How To Choose Good Lighting
Your lighting if done right, will make your video interview look sharp and professional. And you dont need to spend a fortune to create it.
Firstly, ensure your room has sufficient lighting.
The best way to get the lighting right is to face your light source. The best light source is natural daylight, so face your window if possible.
But if its so bright your squinting, then move your position to a shaded area. While still facing the light head on to create a soft diffused light.
However, if this isnt possible you can always artificially create that natural daytime lighting. Especially if recording your video interview at nighttime.
Use a large daytime bulb lamp and face it towards you as you record.
Another important lighting tip is to avoid having your back to a strong light source. This will cast a shadow on the front of you, leaving the recruiters will be unable to see your face.
Providing A General Overview Of The Candidate
Pre-recorded interviews are ideal for filling roles that attract a large volume of applicants or for organizations hiring for jobs that have excessively high turnover, Pitcher says. The questions asked are typically designed to give a âvery high overviewâ of the candidate, he adds. Among them: Tell me about yourself. Why are you interested in this field and this company? What motivates you at work? Tell me about the hardest thing you ever had to do in the workplace.
One of the biggest positives about pre-recorded interviews is that they are âhighly, highly structured,â Pitcher says. In other words, the tool ensures that questions asked of applicants are consistent, making for a more reliable interview by eliminating the possibility of biased âprobingâ by the interviewer. âStructured interviews tend to be much more valid,â Pitcher says. âThe main factor them âunstructuredâ is the unpredictability of the interviewer.â
There are also some drawbacks to the use of AVIs. For one thing, job candidates may consider them to be âcolderâ or less fair than face-to-face or real-time videoconference interviews. This could affect the candidateâs perception of the hiring companyâs brand, making them less willing to accept an eventual job offer. Pre-recorded interviews can also trigger more anxiety in applicants that in-person interviews.
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Pre Recorded Video Interview Tips For Recruiters
Introducing video interviews to your present workflow without thinking it through just wont be right, and even if you do, your brand might take a hit because youre automating the process in a completely wrong way. Before you take this step, remember that the idea is to personalize it.
Take some time in utilizing video interviews to enhance your credibility as an amazing employer by keeping these tips in mind:
