How Good are You at Video Interviews?
By Soozy G. Miller, CPRW, CDCC, CDP
Even if you’re working from home, and interviewing from home, video calls still count as communication. You may not feel as comfortable or easy speaking on video—for a variety of both technical and personal reasons—but understand that on video you still give off a certain energy.
The way you’re sitting, the speed at which you’re speaking, your hand and arm gestures, and your voice tone all communicate things about you that you might or might not want to say. This is all both limiting and amplified on video because all the viewer usually sees is your upper body.
I was once on a group Zoom call and one of the participants was constantly moving. I observed very small, unnerving side-to-side movements. It drove my eyes crazy—I couldn’t look at him without feeling dizzy and nauseated. I thought that he was ill with ALS or muscular distrophy, or maybe he was a just a very high-energy guy who couldn’t stop moving. I’ve seen that before. But I didn’t feel comfortable bringing this up.
It turns out he was on a stationary bike. Others in the meeting were commending him for multi-tasking and staying in shape, but I think that was a bad idea. I thought it came across as unnatural and uncomfortable.
Video interviews and one-way recorded video interviews are currently a bit of a hot topic for recruiters and hiring teams. Some candidates come across as polished and look natural in front of the camera—outgoing, talkative people sometimes use the video interview as a means to show off, which can be good. But as one recruiter said to me, “My accountants (job seekers) hate video calls!” And that makes sense. Accountants and administrative people usually prefer to be behind the scenes, not client-facing. And many took the job specifically because they don’t want to be in front of people. Or a camera. The video interview can definitely be discriminating in this sense.
My niece aced her pre-screening video interview, a one-way talking session, for her first job out of college. No one was talking to her; she just answered the questions as they came up on her screen. She is very smart and very outgoing, and she did her due diligence before the interview. She prepared by researching the company. So she didn’t mind, and it worked for her.
I’m an expert in my field, and I’m outgoing and friendly, and I’d rather have my teeth scraped that do a recorded, one-way video interview. Speaking to a green light at the top of my screen without someone on the other side feels totally unnatural and uncomfortable to me. Add a timer (countdown) into the equation and, no thanks, I’ll take the other job offer.
Years ago as a recruiter, I enjoyed a very good video interview with an accountant/administrator. Her resume was a mess, but I could tell within about five minutes on the video call that she was a great fit for the job: She was confident. She dressed business casual in colors that suited her. So the video interview worked in her favor.
When in a video conversation, one idea is to shut off your video so the other person only sees your profile picture or your name. Except that I’ve been in meetings in which the leader called out people who did that, asking them to please show their face or leave the meeting.
Please be aware that video is a popular tool and it is being used. Often. In a variety of ways. So if you’re uncomfortable in front of the lens, either figure out a way to be more comfortable, get some coaching to feel more comfortable, or find another job offer.
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