Pre-recorded video interviews

How to ace pre-recorded video interviews

These types of interviews generally follow two main formats:

Option 1: You’re given a list of questions and a deadline to record and upload your answers. This option allows you to carefully craft your answers, rehearse and then record and re-record until your answers are perfect.

Option 2: The questions will appear on your screen one at a time, and you’ll have, for example, 60 seconds to prepare each answer and then 60 seconds to record each answer. This is definitely a more high-pressure situation. Although, you will often be given a set number of opportunities to re-record each of your answers.

STAR cards

If you have some flashcards with STAR (or CARL) prompts pre-written it will help you focus your thinking time. And you need to be focused, as you will probably only have 60 seconds to prepare each answer.

Silence isn’t golden

Try to use up all the time allocated to answer each question. Silence after 30 seconds will not look good.

Professional standards

As with all interviews, you need to dress smartly.

Sound and image quality

As with all live online interviews, the quality of the sound and image can be make or break. Things like having great lighting and a tripod for your phone can improve the overall quality of the finished product.

Practice

It’s essential you record yourself answering possible questions. When you review the recordings, look for things you could improve. For example, did you speak too fast, did you hesitate, did you say “um” and “ah” a lot? These are all things you can eradicate with practice.

How many words? (Option 1)

If you speak at a slow and deliberate pace (which is what you should do), the average English speaker talks at a rate of about 130 to 150 words per minute (wpm). If you’ve been given five minutes to answer a question, that’s 5 x 140 words.

Autocue (Option 1)

If you think it would help, you can easily set up your own autocue (especially if you’re using a webcam). There are lots of free options out there, such as CuePrompter.

AI-powered hiring and assessment platforms

Increasingly, companies are using AI-powered assessment platforms (e.g. Hirevue) to assess candidates. This shouldn’t affect the way you answer the questions, but it’s worth knowing.

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