How to prepare for a video interview

A piece of paper has typically provided enough information to make a good decision on whether to move an applicant to the next step. However, video interviews are a new way for recruiting departments to gather information, and they’re a new way for you as a candidate to share your information, too. It’s an opportunity to make your case for why you’re the best fit for the job. It’s a chance to explain your career changes when your resume has too many dates. It’s a way to convey passion for a role that a list of accomplishments and past work experience will never be able to convey.

What is a video interview?

Video interviews aren’t only a good opportunity for you to display your skills and interests, they’re more convenient for you, too. At Progressive, we know your time is valuable. With video interviewing, you can complete your responses when it works best for you—day or night, weekday or weekends. No need to cancel plans or delay interviewing for weeks because of your schedule.

Not only that, video interviews speed up the entire application process. Phone interview formats can take weeks to coordinate, which means you wait longer to hear a decision. When on-demand video interviews are used, you’ll usually know your status in a week or less. No need to wait for weeks on end to know if you’re still being considered for a job or not.

Video interview tips

Video interviews are a new way to gather information, albeit differently than the traditional phone interview process. Here are some video interview tips to help you prepare for and complete one.

Set yourself apart

Because video interviews make for a more efficient recruiting process, they’re usually done with much larger candidate pools than phone interviews. There’s more competition at this stage, but it’s also an opportunity for you to highlight aspects of your skills and abilities that can set you apart from others.

Speak to your prior work experience

During the video interview step in our process at Progressive, your resume hasn’t been reviewed yet. The video interview gives you an opportunity to speak to your career journey, as well as your motivation for applying to the job. You get a chance to connect dots and fill in gaps, if needed. In that way, it becomes a valuable supplement to your resume.

Redo your answers if you aren’t satisfied with the first

You’re given an option to redo each question one time if you feel you need to. It’s a chance you don’t get during real-time interviews, and you can use it to your benefit to ensure you’re putting your best response to the question on record.

Everything you’ve done—all your effort on your resume, cover letter, and the video itself—can have an impact at this stage of your application. It’s worth noting that here at Progressive, a recruiter—a real, live person—reviews your completed video and decides on the best candidates to move forward. So, prepare like a champ, and good luck! We’re excited to see all that you bring to the table!

If you’re ready to apply, learn even more about our hiring process.