recruiter video interviewing a candidate

Video Interviewing Software

5 Unique Video Interviewing Questions to Ask That Will Attract Top Candidates

July 22, 2022

Tima Rassool

Tima Rassool

Content Writer

While finding the perfect candidate for your company’s job opening, an interview is an important part of it. This is because interviews tell you which candidate has what it takes and which doesn’t.

This is also the case with video interviewing.

Just because you are assessing a candidate through video interviews, doesn’t mean you go easy on them. It’s still important that you ask them tough questions to see if they are just as good in reality as they are on paper. When you ask candidates tough questions while video interviewing them, you learn how they react and think on their feet. But since one-way interviews give candidates time to prepare beforehand, it’s even more important to ask tough questions to weed out the best candidates. With video interviews on the rise, we thought it would be a good time to find out the kinds of questions you should be asking candidates:

What Are Your Career Goals?

an employer working on creating an effective video interviewing process

Many experts that have implemented video interviewing into their hiring process believe that the best questions are direct and specific. For example

  • What are your career goals?
  • Tell me about your job at Company X
  • What type of work environment are you most productive in?

Questions asked in video interviews should be centred around the candidates’ experiences, achievements or goals. This helps you determine whether or not the candidate is a good fit for the job. The beauty of a video interview is that it gives the recruiter a front-row seat to a candidate’s personality. An important thing to remember is not to ask candidates close-ended questions that leave the candidate answering with a simple yes or no. Give candidates the chance to speak freely, about a topic that is very relevant to their potential employment with your company. The more information they share in their responses, the more you’ll be able to gauge their potential and fit.

Tell Me About Yourself

Recruiters choosing the right video interviewing software

Some recruiters claim that asking candidates to tell you about themselves is a bad interview prompt because candidates end up giving a scripted response. But it’s actually one of the best questions to ask when video interviewing. All positions and companies require a different set of questions but the one that brings out the most in someone is “tell me about yourself”. This question is a must because it allows the candidate to be natural. You can also learn a lot about the candidate when you pay attention to body movement, voice tone and fluctuation, as well as the words. Need an additional tip? Look out for somebody who does not complain, who has energy when they speak, and who avoids fidgeting or moving around too much in their seat.

Which Three People Would You Choose To Help You On A Project?

talent acquisition specialist using video interviewing to hire candidates

Which question will help you understand candidates the most during video interviewing? It’s this one: You have to finish a job that would normally take you a month. You only have 72 hours. You must convince three people to work with you. Who would you choose? This is a unique question but you can learn a lot about a candidate based on the types of people they would choose to work with. For example, the way they describe the people they would work with can tell you a lot about the kind of culture this person might fit in with – and how close it is to the culture at your own company. It also helps you understand if this person fits in well with a more practical team, a more creative team, or something else entirely. Even more interesting, our software EVA-SSESS provides a Five-Factor Model personality report for each candidate. This psychometric report is validated by modern science and reveals more about the candidate’s personality through the following five traits: openness, extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability. Recruiters can also gauge the candidate’s learning and communication style, performance in sales, programming aptitude, and the way they deal with customers. This question is perfect for video interviewing because candidates can’t search for examples online, nor do they need a pen or paper. They only have to talk to you about the ideal people they would be working with.

How Did You Deal With Big Mistakes And What Did You Learn?

video interviewing making hiring easy for company

Being perfect all the time is not something you should expect from anybody. Many expert recruiters recommend asking candidates about a big mistake they made, and then asking how they dealt with it. And even more importantly, what they learned from it. Everyone makes mistakes, so it’s important to use situational interview questions in video interviewing to evaluate how candidates react when they’ve made a mistake. The mistake, the response, and the lesson learned can tell you a lot about how the candidate approaches setbacks and how they deal with high-stress situations. Recruiters should know that making mistakes is an important part of company culture. If we never make mistakes, we never learn.

How Do You Evaluate Success?

recruiters using video interviewing software to asses candidates

Questions like ‘where do you see yourself in 5 years are often considered trick questions. But it’s still important to understand what a candidate is looking for in their career – hence the question about career goals, at the very beginning of this article. Another good way to do this is to ask how they evaluate success when video interviewing. It’s not one of the standard interview questions but it probably should be. Why? Because it gives you a good idea of what the candidate is looking for. Do they want challenging work? More responsibility? Or just a bigger paycheque? This question can also give a greater insight into how a candidate might approach their job. After all, you may be hiring for a job where success depends on meeting certain objective metrics – but your candidate may measure success based on approval from their peers. It’s important to find out if your perceptions align.

Conclusion

Whether you are a new recruiter or a professional, Preparation is key when video interviewing. Asking these 5 unique questions can give you great insight into the candidate you are hiring to see if they would make a great fit in your company. Looking for video interviewing software? Look no further! EVA-SSESS is a next-generation video interviewing software that enables businesses to pinpoint top talent and build diverse workforces fast. It uses modern science and AI to help employers and recruiters identify top performers in a fraction of time – through unbiased, reliable, and secure video assessment interviews that save more than 90% of your time. Request a free demo and see how EVA-SSESS attracts top candidates at your door.

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Author

Tima Rassool

Tima Rassool

A wordsmith, storyteller, and content strategist – Tima is an MBA graduate with 6+ years of experience in the world of HR. With over 2,000 blogs under her belt, Tima's expertise and insights have helped businesses across the globe take their recruitment to the next level and stay ahead of the curve.

Turn top talent to employees fast

Hire, assess, onboard and manage top talent for every job. See how Elevatus streamlines everything; from acquire to new hire.

Request a demo