More companies are choosing to interview candidates by video to overcome distance barriers or the challenges of time scheduling. It can be a highly effective and efficient approach but both the interviewer and interviewee should be ready to make it a successful engagement. If you’re proposing to conduct an interview over video here are our top tips to ensure you give a good impression as an employer and get the best from your candidates:
1. Brief the candidate in advance
Make sure your candidate has the correct log-in details and that there is enough explanation on how to successfully log-in. This will get the session underway quickly and make best use of the time.
2. Check your surroundings
Make sure you have a neutral or professional background and ensure you’re not going to be disturbed by a phone or colleague during the session.
3. Prepare your questions
You may not get as strong an impression from video than face to face, especially if you’re unaccustomed to the medium so prepare three or four questions that will bring out your candidate’s skills, experience and personality.
4. Dress for success
If you’re doing the interview at home, dress the way you would if you were conducting the interview in an office.
5. Be on time
Your candidate should ideally be logging in early so log-in on time or a minute or two early with a drink at hand.
6. Set the tone and agenda
People are frequently nervous at interviews and this can be exacerbated when interviewing over video. Take the lead and set the tone of the interview from the get-go, explaining the format and agenda.
7. Check understanding
It’s not always easy to read someone’s reaction over video so make sure the interviewee understands your questions correctly.
8. Pause for breath
Video works best when people are more deliberate in their actions and conversational style so perhaps pause briefly between statements, particularly if they’re long or detailed.
9. Use common questions
If you’re interviewing more than one candidate by video, ask a consistent set of three or four questions to allow you to easily compare quality and performance across candidates. Ask your Ten2Two consultant for our useful list of questions.
10 Notes are good but don’t fixate
Go ahead and refer to notes and make them as you go but ensure you make eye contact and use positive body language to put your candidate at ease
..and here’s a short video to help summarise our top 10 tips.
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