How To Ace Your One-way Video Interview

You’re most likely very familiar with the traditional job interview where you meet with a recruiter or hiring manager face-to-face in their office. Nowadays, companies are implementing video interviews into their hiring process to better and quickly connect with candidates. The one-way interview, in particular, is used by many Spark Hire customers for the early stage of their interview process.

Below are answers to questions that you may have about your one-way interview so you can fully prepare and ace it:

Will there be someone else on the other end?

A one-way video interview is sometimes referred to as an “asynchronous interview” because only you, the job seeker, are present and doing all the talking. The interview questions will be presented to you in either text or video form. Once you have recorded and submitted your responses, the recruiter or hiring manager will review your interview on their own time.

When is my one-way interview due? How long do I have to complete it?

The due date for your one-way interview is set by the recruiter or hiring manager who invited you. The amount of time that you have to complete the one-way depends on the date and the time they have chosen for the interview to be completed by. You can find this information on the landing page for your one-way interview.

Where should I do my interview?

Ideally, you should record your one-way interview in a quiet area with no other people around. A recruiter or hiring manager will not appreciate being distracted by people coming in and out of the room you recorded in. The company wants to know more about you, therefore, you need to be the sole focus of the video interview. It’s also important to make sure that the space you are recording in looks clean and professional.

What if I don’t have a webcam? Can I use my phone?

If you don’t have access to a computer and webcam, you can conveniently complete your one-way interview by using your mobile device. Just simply download the Spark Hire mobile app and you’re ready to go! The mobile app supports iOS or Android devices. You can also check out your local library for a computer to use for free to complete your interview.

How many questions are there? Do I see the questions ahead of time? How much time do I have to answer?

The number of questions for a one-way interview is decided by the recruiter or hiring manager. Once you start the interview, you will be told the number of questions you will need to answer. The most questions you will be asked is ten. The questions will be presented to you one at a time so you will have an opportunity to think about your response before recording.

The length of time to answer a question varies from interview to interview. You can have as much as three minutes to respond or as little as thirty seconds -- the amount of time is decided by the recruiter or hiring manager. Don’t worry too much about whether you’ll be able to say all you need to in the time given or if you will have enough to say at all. Focus on answering the question as best you can.

How many times can I re-record?

Depending on how the company sets up your interview, you will have anywhere from 1 to unlimited attempts at answering a question. The number of takes will be indicated before you answer a question. However, don’t get caught up trying to perfectly record your responses. You're going to do great!