The Video Interview: Expectation vs Reality
The dreaded video interview… Where do I start? With the choice to either complete a presentation or video interview for this module, I chose to do the video interview because I had no experience with them. In a world where technology is becoming more prevalent in our daily lives, it is highly likely that I will be faced with a video interview in the future and so this assignment was the perfect opportunity to practice my interview skills and get a taste of what a real video interview may be like in the future with potential employers.
In preparation for the interview, I researched the company that I was ‘applying’ for, and thought about qualities that I possess that are suitable for the role in order to prepare me for these kinds of questions. Despite feeling confident with my preparation, I had a complete meltdown when it came to actually completing the interview! Speaking to a screen seems a lot less intimidating than talking to an actual person, doesn’t it? I thought so too, but it turned out to be the complete opposite. Despite the first question actually being one that I had prepared for, I crumbled under the pressure and my mind went blank. I barely managed to string a sentence together before hastily clicking on to the next question, feeling a sudden wave of anxiousness that I had not anticipated from talking to a faceless screen. With the first question going horribly wrong, I panicked that I had messed up the whole interview, which led to repetitive rambling on the second question rather than giving a well structured answer like planned. After this, I finally managed to compose myself and told myself to stop being a perfectionist. So, I had to forget about the first two questions going wrong and instead focus on answering the remaining questions well.
I think the reason that I struggled so much with this interview was because it was different to anything else I had done before. Interviews I have done in the past have been face to face, and I found this easier as I was able to see and communicate with the person interviewing me. The lack of these communication cues via the video interview was out of my comfort zone, and I found it more difficult trying to persuade a screen to hire me rather than an actual person. My advice to any other students who are preparing for a video interview would be to practice talking to a screen.
Although I struggled with this assignment, I am glad I was able to experience it because it has shown me the reality of what video interviews are like. Messing up in a mock interview is better than messing up in a real interview, and I can now use this experience to identify areas where I need to improve for future interviews. My experience has taught me that I should not try and have perfectly rehearsed answers for interviews, as this can ultimately be distracting and lead to stress if a minor thing goes wrong. With the increased use of technology due to the current pandemic, I think this assignment was especially relevant as a lot of employers will have no choice but to conduct video interviews due to the social distancing rules restricting face to face interaction, so practicing this was extremely useful.
