10 tips to do well at a video interview
1. Prepare for the obvious
Be ready to answer the usual questions like:
Why law?
Why us?
What skills do you have?
You’re unlikely to be forgiven if you don’t have a coherent and compelling answer to these three questions.
2. Have a pen, pad and post it notes
Usually, these video interviews are timed, where you’ll get the question and then maybe a minute or less to prepare to answer, and then another minute or less to answer. During the preparation time, make a few notes on a pad on what you’re going to say, and then create a few bullet points on a post it note. Stick the post it note on the edge of your screen so you can quickly refer to it if you forgot what you want to say whilst you're recording your answer.
3. Think structure
Creating a post it note will also help you with structure.
With video interviews, it’s more about how you say your answers and slightly less about what you say. Recruiters know they’re putting you on the spot, asking you to answer a question you’ve had little time to prepare for (unless it’s one of the obvious ones) so they’re not expecting a polished, perfect answer. Instead, they’re more interested in how you structure your answer. So have three points and quickly take the recruiter through each one.
4. Remember to look at the camera and smile
Keep looking at the camera as much as you can. It will be tempting to refer to any notes and look at the timer (and you can do both) but the majority of the time should be spent focusing on the camera. If you spend too much time looking away from the camera, a recruiter may think you’re just reading your notes and you may be penalised.
Also, as simple as it sounds, looking at the camera and smiling can really help show you as personable and could also relax you. This in turn may display confidence to the person watching your recording.
5. Dress appropriately
Whilst I’ve never seen a dress code explicitly referenced for a video interview, it’s safe to say that wearing business attire or at least something smart casual may be better received than wearing a tracksuit!
6. Speak coherently and concisely
It will be tempting to speak very quickly because you’ll be conscious of time but try to speak slow enough for your answer to be heard easily.
7. Be mindful of the timer
Timing is really important and there’s nothing worse than only getting one point out before the timer gets to the end. Whilst you're preparing your answer for the question, be aware of the allocated time for both preparing and answering. Be ready for the recording to answer the question to automatically commence immediately after the allocated prep time.
8. Be aware of your surroundings
Before starting the interview, have a look around you. Ideally have a wall behind you but if not just ensure your background is tidy and doesn’t distract.
You also want to make sure you’re doing the interview in a quiet place so you can concentrate on each question and answer, and be easily heard by the recruiter watching your recording.
9. Don’t dwell on the previous question
There’s no point in dwelling on a previous question. It’s instinctive to feel that you performed poorly by being cut off at the end by the timer or you didn’t quite say what you wanted to. In most cases, it won’t have gone as badly as you think.
If you’re in this situation, park your thoughts until you get to the end of the interview. You need to focus on doing well on the next question.
10. Don’t leave it to the last minute
Try and get the interview submitted a couple of business days before the deadline. That way if there’s a technical issue, you can flag it to the firm in good time. If you end up trying to complete the test just before the deadline and it’s out of hours/weekend, you may get less sympathy from a firm if technical difficulties arise.