How to Get Five Stars for Your Next Video Interview Production

How to Get Five Stars for Your Next Video Interview Production How to Get Five Stars for Your Next Video Interview Production 1Although you don’t have a script to follow, there are many things about your video interview that are within your control. You’ll be sure to wow your audience if you follow these tips. Use these tips to ace your next video interview: 1. Show how prepared you are. Your employer is conducting  a video interview with you to save time and perhaps for convenience. Making sure there  arent any technical difficulties will help show that you are respecting your potential  employer’s time and efforts. Here is some behind the scenes work that will ensure success: Be sure your laptop battery is fully charged; otherwise, plug in your laptop. Test your camera and how the video looks by Skyping with someone outside of your home. If you have wireless issues, plug your laptop into your router. Before the interview, reboot your computer so that it’s given a clean slate to work from. Be prepared to share your screen. During the interview, the only application that should be open on your screen is the video feed. If your interviewer asks you to show your screen to share some creative work or coding examples, you don’t want them to see you’ve Googled a question you’ve been asked or any private messages. Give your interview your complete attention by turning off notifications like Facebook or email. 2. Set the stage. Your camera should be at your eye level. When you are talking to the employer, you want it to feel like you’re face-to-face. Would you be looking up or looking down at them if you were sitting at a conference table? When someone is talking to you, look at the screen. You’ll listen better by reading their body language, listening to what they are saying and what they are not saying. If you stare at the camera the whole time, it’ll be challenging to read between the lines. When you answer their question, look into the camera to make eye contact. Next, pay attention to your body language and movement. Look alert and interested by sitting up straight, leaning in slightly, and smiling. Arm or hand movements can make the video choppy, especially if you do not have a high-bandwidth Internet connection. Try to keep body movements to a minimum so your interviewer can pay attention to your words and not a choppy video feed. Before the interview, check that there is a good amount of light shining on you. The more light the better! Place a light right behind the camera aimed at your face or put two lights to the right and left side of your camera and one in the background. 3. Breathe and allow silence to occur. Because you are not face-to-face, it’s sometimes easy to get excited and interrupt the person who is talking. So be mindful of giving the other person time to complete their thought before you share yours. Not only is it rude to interrupt but it also takes a few minutes to get back into the conversation because of the miscommunication and technology. Instead, take a deep belly breath so you aren’t expanding your lungs or raising your shoulders (making it visually evident that you’re taking a deep breath) and wait your turn to talk. 4. Send a thank-you video. Typically you’d send a thank-you email after an interview, but why not keep the show going? After you’ve calmed down from the interview jitters, prepare a thank-you video. This will enable you to show your enthusiasm in a professional manner. Keep the video short and sweet. Thank them for their time, share what excited you about the interview, and express that you’re looking forward to hearing from them. To avoid technical difficulties, upload your video to Google Drive or Dropbox so you don’t have to email the video clip. Some email servers have an attachment size limit that a long video may exceed. When you upload the video, you’ll be able to share its link with your future employer. When you send the video, keep the email extremely short so that they want to click on the link. You can say, “I just wanted to say thank you.” and then insert a hyperlink to your video. Curiosity will get the best of them and they’ll click on the link  right away. A thank-you video gives you another opportunity to, literally, get right in front of them. Youll stand out from the crowd because who doesnt love to watch a video directed to them? Join to Start Applying for Jobs Readers, have you received five stars on a video interview? Share your tips with us in the comments section below!