HR

How to Succeed in a One-Way Video Interview

By Sean Gordon

We have talked a whole lot about how to properly prepare your team to implement video for business purposes, but we’ve hardly discussed the flip side of that coin: the applicant. While the advent of video interviewing is nothing but a blessing for HR, it can be problematic for applicants who might not be used to the process. It’s easy enough to prepare yourself for the video interface, but it’s not quite standard enough to be common sense quite yet. Luckily, many of the same tactics you might use in an interview will still apply for a one-way video interview!

Here, we have 4 tips on how to succeed in a one-way video interview:

Check your body language.

During an in-person interaction, body language should be a natural extension of our personality, especially in a business setting. If you were meeting with a potential client, you’d want to conduct yourself in a professional, respectable manner. This means good posture, eye contact, calmed nerves, etc. But in a video interview setting, it can be harder to keep this in mind. Since you will most likely be in your own space, it will be easy to allow yourself to get too comfortable. Stay alert and vigilant during your interview, maintaining eye contact with the camera to avoid looking disinterested and keep yourself as calm as you possibly can.

Use up-to-date technology.

While you don’t necessarily have to buy an overly expensive MacBook Pro for your upcoming video interview, you do want to make sure that you have the right technology to support the platform. Whether that is a compatible video software or even just the basics of a camera and speaker on your computer, you want to be sure that the technology you have can support the needs of the interview. After all, it is 2018. No need to be left behind.

Control your space.

One of the greatest BBC interviews in the last few years featured Professor Robert Kelly and his kids. But not on purpose! While Kelly was being interviewed live on BBC from the comforts of his home office, his young children stomped confidently into his office and onto national television. It’s a hilariously beautiful m oment and is a perfect illustration for why you should keep control of your space during your interview. Pick a room with a good amount of wall space, and make sure the lighting is complementary to your features and your surroundings. Remove any pets or small children from the space, just so you can avoid interruptions. Plus, it helps to make sure the room is clean. You don’t want to show too much of the room itself, but make sure that what the interviewer can see isn’t distracting enough to take attention away from yourself. This may be the only controllable variable you have in this equation, so put extra thought and care into your surroundings. Which leads us to…

Dress the part.

Make sure that you’re dressing for the job that you want. This means wearing whatever you would’ve worn to a face-to-face interview, including pants. This is especially important. Yes, you are in the confines and the comfort of your home, but this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t dress all the way up. While a stunt like this may go unnoticed, you don’t want to give yourself away in the event that you have to stand up for any reason. That would be most unfortunate. Dressing all the way up goes a long way.

Looking for more tips on how to succeed in a one-way video interview? We’ve got you covered.

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