Video Interview Help

[qwerty123a]

I have been rejected for several firms after the VI stage. This makes me certain that im doing something wrong there. It could be that I sound too rehearsed because of over preparation or something else. Does anyone have practical advice on how they did theirs? Like did u use up all the time given? How did you speak? How was your content? How did you deal with very unexpected questions? Please help as I really need to do well this cycle!! If anyone is able to send me an example I would really appreciate that too. Thanks

 

[addy2004]

Hey! I didn't pass my first few VIs either, then I finally passed a couple. What I did better was I had an idea of what I wanted to say for obvious questions (Why law, why me etc) but instead of rehearsing them over and over again, I broke down my answers into 3 main points I wanted to make and wrote those down into small bullet points (maybe 5 words each). I progressed by doing this because even if I had memorised my answers, under pressure if I missed out a certain word I would lose my train of thought, whereas if I just needed to make 3 points I could say it more naturally.

 

[qwerty123a]

Hey! I didn't pass my first few VIs either, then I finally passed a couple. What I did better was I had an idea of what I wanted to say for obvious questions (Why law, why me etc) but instead of rehearsing them over and over again, I broke down my answers into 3 main points I wanted to make and wrote those down into small bullet points (maybe 5 words each). I progressed by doing this because even if I had memorised my answers, under pressure if I missed out a certain word I would lose my train of thought, whereas if I just needed to make 3 points I could say it more naturally.

That's very helpful thank you! were you ever asked a non-competency question you didnt prepare for? if so how did u deal with that?

 

[addy2004]

I think the most difficult question I was asked wanted me to explain what my favourite company was and why! A very random question that I've not come across before. I honestly had to just pick a company that I thought sounded similar to the firm's clients that I was applying to and then said I like its initiatives and its innovation. I think I pressed 'stop' about 30 seconds early as I ran out of things to say and didn't want to waffle.

Another tip is to always make sure you have structure, even if you're not entirely sure on your content! If you start by saying 'I'm interested in law for three reasons. firstly... secondly...' and then conclude at the end 'for those three reasons, I'm pursuing a career in law' - it automatically shows the recruiter you can think on your feet, under pressure and clearly communicate, even if there's a few um's and pauses. you can also have a breath and pause more naturally when you have a clear structure

 

[qwerty123a]

I think the most difficult question I was asked wanted me to explain what my favourite company was and why! A very random question that I've not come across before. I honestly had to just pick a company that I thought sounded similar to the firm's clients that I was applying to and then said I like its initiatives and its innovation. I think I pressed 'stop' about 30 seconds early as I ran out of things to say and didn't want to waffle.

Another tip is to always make sure you have structure, even if you're not entirely sure on your content! If you start by saying 'I'm interested in law for three reasons. firstly... secondly...' and then conclude at the end 'for those three reasons, I'm pursuing a career in law' - it automatically shows the recruiter you can think on your feet, under pressure and clearly communicate, even if there's a few um's and pauses. you can also have a breath and pause more naturally when you have a clear structure

Thank you so so much this is incredibly insightful. I really appreciate it!

 

[TCwithTri]

I completely understand the frustration of getting to the VI stage repeatedly and then facing rejection. It’s really tough, especially when firms don't give feedback at that stage, so we’re often left guessing where we went wrong. Honestly, this was my least favourite part of the whole TC process too.

That said, from what I've seen, the VI is testing your ability to think and speak coherently under pressure almost as much as what you're actually saying. So if you think you're coming across as over-rehearsed, that's actually a good thing to have spotted. It's fixable, and it's not a content problem. Here's what worked for me:

1. Build a proper question bank. Try to think through everything a firm might realistically ask: why this firm, a recent deal that's caught your eye, a practice area you're interested in, situational judgement questions, all the usual suspects. If you're struggling to think of questions on your own, reach out to future trainees or people who got through in the last cycle. Even if they can't remember or share exact questions, they can usually tell you what skills the firm seemed to be probing for, or how they personally prepped, and that's often just as useful.

1. Practise under timed conditions. Mirror practice helps, but practising with friends is even better because they'll catch things you won't (filler words, pace, tone, all of it). Doing this repeatedly under time pressure is really what stops you sounding like you're reciting something when the time comes.

1. Try extempore/public speaking practice too. If drilling from your list starts to feel stale, or you notice your answers sounding too polished, general public speaking practice hits the same skill the VI is testing, thinking on your feet, without you over-rehearsing one specific answer or getting your foot in the mouth.

1. Look into a practice interview if you can. Before my own VI with an international firm, I did a mock interview through TCLA and found it really useful, not just for refining answers but for surfacing questions I hadn't thought of. It's not identical to the real thing since you've got a live interviewer, but the feedback is solid and it doubles up as AC prep too. Would recommend.

Happy to go into more detail on any of these if useful! And try not to be too hard on yourself, I know that's easier said than done, but you've got this

 

[Monica Badescu]

I have been rejected for several firms after the VI stage. This makes me certain that im doing something wrong there. It could be that I sound too rehearsed because of over preparation or something else. Does anyone have practical advice on how they did theirs? Like did u use up all the time given? How did you speak? How was your content? How did you deal with very unexpected questions? Please help as I really need to do well this cycle!! If anyone is able to send me an example I would really appreciate that too. Thanks

Hey!

I completely understand why you are trying to work out what might be going wrong, especially if you are consistently reaching the VI stage. From my own experience with video interviews, one of the biggest things that helped me was moving away from memorising full answers and instead preparing key points/examples that I could adapt depending on the wording of the question. I found that this made me sound much more natural, while still giving me enough structure that I wasn't trying to think of everything from scratch.

For timing, I personally wouldn't feel that you need to use every single second just because it is available. I would focus more on answering the question clearly and fully. If you have 90 seconds and you finish a strong answer in 70–80 seconds, I don't think there is anything wrong with that! I would much rather finish slightly early than start repeating myself or adding weaker points just to fill the time.

A few things that helped me were:

• Using the STARR structure for competency questions: Situation, Task, Action, Result, Reflection. I would keep the situation/task relatively brief, spend most of the time on what I actually did, explain the outcome, and then add a short reflection on what I learnt if appropriate.
• Practising speaking out loud rather than just reading written answers.
• Keeping examples specific and focusing on your own contribution.
• Taking a second to think before answering unexpected questions rather than rushing in.

On the rehearsed point, I don't think over-preparation is necessarily the issue. I was always quite prepared, but I focused on knowing the substance of my answers rather than memorising the wording. I also found that treating it as though it were an in-person interview helped me maintain eye contact with the camera and come across as more confident and natural in my delivery.

While I found it a little uncomfortable at first, recording a few mock answers and then reviewing my delivery, structure and specificity was really helpful in identifying what I could improve.

Best of luck this cycle