What are pre-recorded video interview best practices?

This guide is perfect for those who are new to video interviews, as well as for those with some experience using this method. Below we have gathered a few tips that should be considered when conducting video interviews. RecRight’s materials are used as a source for this guide.

Record high-quality videos

Video interview questions are a showcase to your company and its employees. Recording professional questions helps in creating a positive image of the company and the team you represent. Plan your interview questions well in advance. Give a genuine impression of yourself and the company - this will also make the candidate feel comfortable when recording the answers. Check out tips for recording high-quality videos below.

Start a video interview with an introduction video 

Before the actual questions, it’s possible to record an introductory clip that doesn’t require an answer. After recording, you can save the introduction video for later use. If you wish to use a pre-recorded company presentation video, you can upload it to your account. 

These are items you may want to cover in the introduction video:

• Introduce the company and yourself,
• thank the applicant for his/her interest for the job, and congratulate him for making it this far in the process,
• describe that the first round of interviews will be made via video
• ask the applicants to answer briefly (for example, max one minute per question), and explain the approximate duration of the entire video interview (such as 10 minutes)
• you may want to wish the applicant luck, and tell him/her that you really hope that he/she’s the person you’re looking for. 

Consider using multiple interviewers

Some organizations have achieved great success by letting several team members record the video questions. This paints a picture of the team for the candidates.

Keep it short & sweet 

Three to five questions are enough for most of the roles. But it depends on the situation. If you have a large number of candidates, 3-4 questions is an ideal number. If you’re interviewing a smaller number of candidates, but want to get a better feel of their expertise, 4-6 questions might be a good choice.

Video interviews do not replace the face-to-face interviews which is why you don’t have to ask everything between heaven and earth. Ask the most essential and informative questions that will define if the candidate will move on to the next recruitment stage. 

Keep the questions short in order for the candidates to remember them and to be able to answer within the given time frame. The video introduction should be 1-2 minutes and the questions should be 15-30 seconds long. Ask questions that relate to the open position. Remember to adjust the desired answer time to the asked question, you don’t want to stress or confuse the candidate. The goal is to receive a clear answer within the time limit. Instruct the candidates clearly about the length of the answers. 

RecRight has a lot of great content about video interviews. If you want to find out more about the topic, continue reading here.

Happy interviewing!