Job Trends: Video Interviews

By Susan Bowles, Special to Gannett

As a recruiting manager for the Coca-Cola Co. in Atlanta, Lee Perrett was used to conducting interviews with international candidates via video. But when he left Coke after 16 years and found himself on the other side of the camera, he discovered "it's a lot more difficult than it looks!"

Interviewing by video means you miss the nuances and warmth of face-to-face meetings. Technical glitches can make a conversation more stop-and-start than free-flowing. Personal tics can be magnified. And speaking to a video screen just isn't the same as talking to a three-dimensional, flesh-and-blood person.

"You have to kind of mentally prepare yourself that you're talking to a TV set," says Perrett, today a director at Talent Connections in Atlanta and an adjunct consultant with Right Management Inc., the global career transitions firm.

Yet despite those drawbacks, jobseekers need to understand what video interviewing is and how they can make it work for them. As technology advances and companies look for ways to pare expenses, more are using video interviews to narrow the job-candidate pool before bringing people in for a personal meeting. And while video interviews aren't yet standard practice, many experts see them heading that way.

"I think we'll always do the final interview person-to-person, especially with higher-level positions," says Katherine Burik, president of The Interview Doctor in Canton, OH. But video interviewing eventually will become another evaluation tool -- "as common as a phone screen."

Which means it's best to prepare now.

First, understand what a video interview is.

Companies that ask you to interview via video will most likely send you to an office service business, a recruiter or an executive office suite that has video conferencing equipment. Once there, you'll be in a room with a video camera and a television monitor. When the interview begins, you'll speak to your interviewer on the monitor as the camera beams your image to a screen on the other end.

All of which means you're essentially on TV. You'll be able to see your interviewer, but "you can't get as good of a read on body language as you can face-to-face since it's a two-dimensional encounter," says Michelle Tullier, a senior vice president with Right Management in Atlanta and author of the Unofficial Guide To Landing A Job.

To compensate, "you want to do a lot of listening," Burik says, "as you would if you were doing a telephone interview."

Next, understand the limits of technology.

Even though today's video interview is much slicker than in years' past, it still has its glitches. Often, there's a delay between when something is said and when it's heard at the other locale. Understand that before you show up for your interview, and you won't try to fill silences with casual banter or assume your interviewer is unhappy with your response and waiting for you to say something more enlightening.

"You don't want to assume it's a regular conversation," Burik says.

You don't want to assume your interview will be uninterrupted, either, says Perrett. After he left Coke, Perrett interviewed with an international company and spoke via video with a vice president in England. The monitor went dead three or four times during their conversation, meaning Perrett continually had to restart the interview and refocus.

"It was kind of disjointed," he recalls. "It was nobody's fault. It just happens."

What can be somebody's fault -- namely, yours -- is forgetting this is video. So always remember you're on camera, and plan accordingly:

• Dress correctly. Avoid stripes and other patterns that can come across as busy and distracting, Tullier says. Avoid white (it's too glaring). She recommends dark suits with pale blue shirts. And if you're wearing a tie, make sure it's solid or has a very subtle pattern.
  
• Watch how you move. The camera is going to magnify any nervous habits or fidgeting, Tullier says. To pinpoint those before your interview, ask someone to videotape you in a mock-interview setting, or "at least ask for honest feedback" about anything that could annoy.
  
• Get to your appointment early. If possible, see if you can set up before the interview begins, Perrett says. Take your seat; check your appearance on the monitor; ask the technician to set up the camera so your face and upper body fill the screen. This is also a good time to see if you'll be behind a desk. If so, you might be able to put some notes or talking points on it to help you during the interview. At the very least, you might be able to post reminders of key points on the wall behind the camera. "A job interview with cue cards!" Tullier says.
  
• Remember that a camera records everything. If you can't set up before the interview begins, then assume the camera is rolling, Burik says. Now is not the time to adjust your tie, fix your hair, make funny faces or say something inappropriate. "The minute you walk in the room you're on stage," she says. "The assessment of the candidate begins immediately."

Above all, take the interview seriously.

Kevin Phillips, manager of HR development for MACtac in Stow, OH, and one of Burik's interview doctors, conducts video interviews for employees looking to move from one MACtac site to another. For some reason, many think a video interview is less formal than a face-to-face sit-down would be.

It's not. And that kind of attitude "immediately asks the question, is this person taking the job seriously?" he says.

Savvy candidates will take the interview seriously. And they'll prepare -- not only for the interview itself, but for all the attendant technology.

Practice in front of a mirror, Burik says. Find someone who offers video training. In fact, prepare even harder than you would for a face-to-face interview.

"When you add technology into the mix, you create additional layers of stress," she says. "Practice is the only way to differentiate yourself from other people."

Susan Bowles is a business journalist based in Washington, DC. She has 20 years journalism experience and has written for USA Today, USATODAY.com, the Washington Post, the St. Petersburg Times and The Palm Beach Post.