Video interview, the recorded kind: the set up, the three questions, the retake trap and what I got wrong on the first try
-
#1 Nigeria, applying, and I did my first recorded video interview last month and did not get through, and I have just done a second one for a different airline with everything fixed. This is the list of what I got wrong, because the recorded interview is the stage that the least is written about.
The set up I had the first time
My bedroom, a window behind me, the laptop on the bed, my phone propped against a cup for a second angle I never used. The result: I was a silhouette against a bright window, the camera looked up my nose, and the bed creaked every time I moved.
The set up I have now
A plain wall behind me. The window in front of me, so the light is on my face. The laptop on a stack of books so the camera is at eye level. A chair that does not move. The room quiet, the door closed, the phone off, the family warned. A test recording watched back, twice, before starting.
The three questions
Every recorded interview I have seen has the same shape: tell us about yourself, a customer situation, and why this airline. Sometimes a fourth about teamwork. You get 30 to 60 seconds to think and one to two minutes to answer. It is recorded. A human watches it later, at speed, with two hundred others.
The retake trap
Most systems give you one retake per question. The trap: you use it because the first answer had a small stumble, and the second answer is worse because you are now nervous about the retake. My rule now: retake only if I actually did not answer the question. A stumble is human. A second, worse answer is a choice.
What I got wrong
I read from notes. It was obvious. My eyes went down and to the left every ten seconds. The human watching at speed saw a person reading.
I answered too long. Two minutes is the limit. I used all of it on 'tell me about yourself' and ran out on the customer story.
I looked at myself on the screen instead of at the camera. Everyone does this. Cover the self view with a sticky note.
I wore a top that was fine in person and disappeared into the wall on camera. Wear what you would wear to the assessment day.
What I did right the second time
Bullet points on a card just below the camera, three words each, so my eyes barely moved. Practised each answer out loud ten times so the words were mine. Smiled before I pressed record. Looked at the lens. Finished ten seconds early.
The second one came back with an assessment day invite in eight days.
-
#2 Ghana, doing mine next week, and the sticky note over the self view is the trick I did not know I needed. And the light in front, not behind. Thank you for the failed version, it is more useful than the successful one.
-
#3 I did mine in the kitchen with the washing machine on and had to redo it, as I said in my timeline thread. The quiet room with the door closed is the whole thing. And 'a stumble is human, a worse second answer is a choice' is the best retake advice I have read.
-
#4 TAP does not do a recorded interview but Ryanair does and mine is next week for the plan B. Taking all of this. The eye level camera on a stack of books, yes.
-
#5 @flyingmaria22 the stack of books is free and it is the single biggest visual improvement. Do it.
-
#6 Purser, and from the watching side: the human does watch at speed, does notice reading, and does stop caring after two minutes. Amara's list is exactly what they see. Finish early. Look at the lens.
-
#7 TUI Bristol had a recorded stage before the interview and I did the notes reading thing and got through anyway, so it is not fatal, but I watched it back afterwards and cringed. Bullet points below the camera next time.