3 Reasons Why You Should Rehearse for a Video Interview
By: Debra Wheatman
Debra Wheatman, CPRW, CPCC is president of Careers Done Write, a premier career-services provider focused on developing highly personalized career roadmaps for senior leaders and executives across all verticals and industries. Debra may be contacted directly at debra@careersdonewrite.com. Visit her site at: careersdonewrite.com. Follow Debra on Twitter.
If you are scheduled to conduct a video interview, give yourself the best odds for success by going through one or two full mock interviews at least three days before your meeting. Practicing allows you to identify potential problem areas and will enable you to see what your interviewer sees before he actually sees you! You can videotape yourself and perform a self-critique, but you will receive better and more useful feedback if you can have a trusted friend, advisor, or professional do the mock interview for you followed by a de-briefing session. Here are three reasons why a mock video interview is essential to a recruiting process that involves videoconferencing technology.
- You’ll be able to test the conditions of your room for the video interview. When you go through your mock interview, be sure to get feedback from the person on the other side regarding how the room you are using looks like on their end. Bright lighting is preferable to avoid unwanted shadows and poor visibility. If you think your room is bright enough, but your web camera is of a lower quality, you’ll be able to fix any deficiencies ahead of time.
- You’ll notice bad habits right away and address them before your interviewer sees you. If you have the option to record your mock interview, do it. Doing so will allow you to see firsthand all of the ticks, twitches, and fidgets you do when under pressure. If you never knew that you couldn’t sit still, the video evidence can burn itself into your mind to keep you from looking nervous. A rehearsal is a must if you want to know how you really look.
- You’ll get to practice the hardest questions and have a strategy on how to answer them well. Mock interviews are most effective when you focus on the toughest questions you expect to face. If you expect highly technical components to the interview, going through this rehearsal process can help you organize your thoughts and speak clearly. Be sure to take notes so you an outline your best answers and memorize your approach.
Utilize the available video technologies at your fingertips to help you advance in the recruiting process. Conducting multiple practice sessions can only increase your confidence and eliminate hesitation, which will only leave the best impression with your interviewer.
