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Video Interview Questions

Last Updated: January 24 2014 at 06:28pm EST

Video interview questions can actually be quite different than phone or in-person interview questions. While videos have some advantages over simply written responses, video interviews can also limit the candidate in some ways.

Video Interview Questions

How are video interview questions different?

Video interview questions are different in many different ways. The main ways are:

1. The employer only has one shot at asking their video interview question, so they have to be very clear with their prompt.

During an in-person or phone interview, the interviewer can convey additional information about a question by using their tone or expression. With a video interview question, that's not possible. For that reason, an employer has to state everything that they mean to ask in the prompt of the question.

2. There are no follow-up questions.

In an interview, an employer can listen to what you say and ask for more information. That means that an employer can react to what you are saying. This is not the case with video interview questions. In the case of video interview questions, the employer has to ask upfront everything she might want to know from you, the candidate.

What does this mean for answering video interview questions?

Because of the nature of video interview questions, there are a few things that candidates should keep in mind when answering them.

1. Use the clear prompt to your advantage.

Video interview question prompts are extremely clear. They usually ask straightforward questions and in the case of more complex cases, they will always give you all the information you need. Read and re-read the prompt to make sure what this video interview question is asking of you, and then answer it in the same straightforward manner.

2. Try to answer the question fully.

Because employer cannot ask you any follow-up in video interviews, make sure to answer the employer's question very thoughtfully and completely. If the question has two parts, make sure to answer both of them within the allotted time, otherwise the employer might think you are avoiding their question.

At HireArt, our video interview questions have primarily two goals: getting to know you and exploring your knowledge of a particular field of expertise. We believe that getting to know you is one of the more unique opportunities of video interviews, so we always ask the question: What are you doing now and why is it time to change? However, we also believe that video interview questions are a good opportunity to test your knowledge. See below for the questions we ask now or have asked in the past:

  • Tell me what you've been doing most recently and why you're looking to make a change. Record a max 2 minute video.
  • Your friend has a new project he wants to raise money for. You work at Indiegogo and want to convince him to post his project on Indiegogo. What do you say? Record a max 2 minute video.
  • How do you think twitter is changing the way we do customer service? Do you think this is a positive trend and if so, whom is it helping? Please provide examples to prove your point. Record a 1-minute video.
  • The recent acquisition of Tumblr has raised major questions about the future of Social Media. A New York Times article recently argued that Facebook's approach is increasingly "seen as passive and outdated as people flock to sites like Tumblr where they can be more actively engaged in creating personal, expressive content to share." Do you agree with this hypothesis? What direction would you advise the Facebook team to go in? Record a 60 second video with your response.
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