Video interview tips: tech, setting and camera

A video interview is the same conversation as an in-person job interview, held through a screen. The employer wants to get to know you, and you want to understand the job. What changes is that the tech, the light and the camera become part of the impression. Get them right and nobody notices them, which leaves all your attention for what you want to say. This page goes from your connection to your eye contact and explains how a recorded video interview works.

Two kinds of video interview

The most common kind is a live video call. You and the recruiter meet in an ordinary meeting app, and the conversation runs much as it would in an office. Karlstad University, a Swedish employer, gives its candidates a good basic rule: treat the video interview as if you were going to a physical one, and think about the impression your background, your clothes and the rest give.

The other kind is a recorded video interview. Nobody is on the other end. The questions appear on screen, you record your answers, and the recruiter watches them later. That format has its own section further down.

In both cases the questions are the same as in any interview. Prepare the content first with our guide to common interview questions, then add the tech on top.

Test your tech beforehand

Most things that go wrong in a video interview can be caught the day before:

• Use a computer if you can, rather than a phone or tablet. That is Karlstad University’s advice to candidates, and the screen and camera stay steadier.
• Test your camera, microphone and connection. Call someone you know in the same app and ask how you look and sound.
• Use a headset or a separate microphone if you have one. Your voice comes through more clearly and the room is heard less.
• Keep the employer’s phone number at hand. If the connection drops, you can call right away instead of waiting.

If the sound is bad during the call, say so. The European Youth Portal tells candidates not to be afraid to ask for a question to be repeated, which beats guessing what they asked.

Light, sound and background

Pick a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed, and tell the people you live with that you have an interview. The Swedish Public Employment Service suggests a quiet place with a neutral background, and a plain wall usually works best. Avoid sitting on your bed, however comfortable it is.

The light should come from the front. With a window or lamp behind you, your face turns dark, a point HireVue, which makes video interview software, also makes. Place the computer so the camera is at eye level and films you straight on. Sit at a distance where your whole face is visible, and don’t lean toward the screen when you talk.

Keep a glass of water, paper and a pen nearby. Take notes by hand rather than on the computer, so it is clear you are writing down something from the conversation and not doing something else.

Talking to the camera

Eye contact is the hard part of a video call. When you look at the other person’s face in the middle of the screen, you appear to be looking down. A simple fix is to make their video window small and move it to the top of the screen, just below the camera. Your gaze then stays close to the camera even while you listen.

When you speak, you can look at the camera, which reads as looking the person in the eye. Don’t stare stiffly, though, since that looks just as odd. HireVue even tells candidates not to worry about eye contact with the camera and to be natural. Sit up straight, smile when someone smiles at you and show that you are listening, as you would in a room.

Think about the start and the end as well. Log in on time but not too early, and leave the call properly when it is over, so nobody hears your sigh of relief.

Recorded video interviews

In a recorded video interview you answer questions shown on screen, with nobody on the other side. HireVue, one of the companies behind these systems, says most of its video assessments have five to eight questions and take under 20 to 30 minutes, but it advises setting aside 45 minutes to be safe. You get several minutes per answer, and if your connection drops, you can pick up where you left off with the same link.

The employer decides how many attempts you get and how much time you have to prepare each answer, so read the invitation carefully. These help:

• Do the practice question if there is one. HireVue offers one, and it shows how the timer and the recording work.
• Record yourself on your phone at some point beforehand and watch the result. It is the fastest way to get used to talking to a camera.
• Answer with a concrete example. You only have a few minutes, so a clear story about a situation, what you did and what came of it works best. Our guide to the competency-based interview explains the method.
• Talk to the camera as if it were a person. It feels strange the first few times, but if you are prepared, it doesn’t show in the recording.

Sometimes the video interview arrives in the same invitation as a logic test or another psychometric test. The same rule applies there: pick a time when you are alert and won’t be disturbed.

Clothes and the last few minutes

Dress as you would for an interview in person, all the way down. The European Youth Portal says it plainly: be well dressed from head to toe, since you might need to stand up. More on what to wear is in our guide on what to wear to an interview.

Start your computer a while before, close other programs and notifications, and keep the job ad and your own questions open. The full job interview guide has a checklist for before, during and after. Then go through the common interview questions one last time, so your answers are ready when the camera turns on.