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<blockquote data-quote="James Carrabino" data-source="post: 109375" data-attributes="member: 16764"><p><strong><u>Week 1 - Video Interviews</u></strong></p><p></p><p>I completed five video interviews across the 2020 - 2021 VS and direct TC application cycle.</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>1. Firm A - </strong>The first one I did was unsuccessful, although it was combined with an online test and so I cannot be sure what exactly let me down. As I will discuss later, however, it is possible that my failure was due to being <em>too prepared</em>. Eh? How can you be too prepared? Well, it was my first ever video interview and *for full disclosure* I found the video interview questions somewhere online (I did not appreciate how unfair this was to candidates at the time, which is why we have a strict policy at TCLA of not disclosing VI questions) so I pretty much wrote out my answers. I was thinking that I had aced my VI for this reason and when I was rejected I assumed it was down to the online tests. With hindsight, however, I probably sounded scripted (because I was) and this can really ruin any sense of character that the person reviewing your video interview can get from you, which in some ways may be more important than the content since a lot of candidates will have great experiences. It often makes more sense for recruiters to assess the way that you convey your experiences more than your actual experiences, since beyond a certain point comparing individuals' experiences is like comparing apples with oranges!</li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>2. Firm B - </strong>The second video interview I completed was the one that I thought went worst! There was a technical glitch which meant that I did not get my full time to answer one of the questions (I realised that this was my own fault for using the wrong web browser - make sure to follow all of the instructions they give you!!!) and then two of the questions I felt quite unprepared for - but again, hindsight may indicate that the fact I had to think on my feet worked in my favour. For example, there was a question about a business I admired and my mind went blank for the first 30 seconds of preparation so I decided that I had to talk about something and I talked about the pub that I worked at during my gap year, because of how great the culture and customer service was <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> At the time, I thought I had given an awful answer (I assumed that the firm was looking for candidates to talk about a much bigger commercial enterprise) but looking back, the sincerity of my answer may have shone through and I ended up progressing past VI stage!</li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>3. Firm C - </strong>For the third video interview I completed I am not quite sure what went wrong, to be honest. There were five questions, which I think was the most I had to answer in an individual VI and they were tricky! That said, I thought that I was not too rehearsed but still answered well - it just goes to show how competitive these things all are and that even if you do your best, any number of factors could still lead to a rejection. The main thing is to put yourself in the best position to get at least some successes by preparing well (but not over-rehearsing) for each VI that you do.</li> </ul><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>4 and 5. Firm D - </strong>I completed two video interviews for this firm across the same application cycle, first for the firm's vac scheme (I did not progress past that VI) and secondly for the firm's direct TC (I ended up with the TC offer). I have given some deeper insight into my experience with this firm in particular below, because it was probably the one where I learnt most about what firms are looking for in VIs:</li> </ul><p></p><p>In the first VI for <strong>Firm D</strong>, I spent ages preparing for it (I went back to thinking that I needed to be well-rehearsed after my VI for <strong>Firm C </strong>was unsuccessful) and I thought I had aced it because I had managed to prepare the exact questions that came up (I did not have access to the questions this time but I rehearsed a lot of different possible questions). I got rejected and the firm provided feedback, the main point of which being that my answers sounded scripted (they were not scripted, but I did perhaps overly rehearse them).</p><p></p><p>I got to VI again in my direct TC application at <strong>Firm D</strong> and thought 'Let's just get this over with because clearly all the prep in the world got me nowhere'. I spent a maximum of an hour refreshing my memory on the firm and clicked start - I passed the VI stage.</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Biggest conclusions/takeaways</strong></p><p></p><p>There were many more 'ums' and 'ers' in my second video interview with the firm for sure, but I could tell that my answers sounded more authentic and conversational. Most importantly, I was really able to use the preparation time <em>not</em> trying to recall everything that I wanted to mention, but rather thinking about how I could make sure I actually answered the exact question being asked. I probably included less information in the process, but I realised that stuffing examples of your research into your answer is not the way to showing your genuine understanding of the topic or motivation for applying to the firm.</p><p></p><p>Overall, my recommendations from my own anecdotal experiences would be that you should prepare well, but set yourself a deadline for doing the video interview. Think of your preparation as a foundation of knowledge that will facilitate your confidence in answering any question they ask you, as opposed to a rehearsal of what you will actually be saying when answering.</p><p></p><p></p><p>I hope that my anecdotal experiences offer some interesting insight on how to approach video interviews <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="James Carrabino, post: 109375, member: 16764"] [B][U]Week 1 - Video Interviews[/U][/B] I completed five video interviews across the 2020 - 2021 VS and direct TC application cycle. [LIST] [*][B]1. Firm A - [/B]The first one I did was unsuccessful, although it was combined with an online test and so I cannot be sure what exactly let me down. As I will discuss later, however, it is possible that my failure was due to being [I]too prepared[/I]. Eh? How can you be too prepared? Well, it was my first ever video interview and *for full disclosure* I found the video interview questions somewhere online (I did not appreciate how unfair this was to candidates at the time, which is why we have a strict policy at TCLA of not disclosing VI questions) so I pretty much wrote out my answers. I was thinking that I had aced my VI for this reason and when I was rejected I assumed it was down to the online tests. With hindsight, however, I probably sounded scripted (because I was) and this can really ruin any sense of character that the person reviewing your video interview can get from you, which in some ways may be more important than the content since a lot of candidates will have great experiences. It often makes more sense for recruiters to assess the way that you convey your experiences more than your actual experiences, since beyond a certain point comparing individuals' experiences is like comparing apples with oranges! [/LIST] [LIST] [*][B]2. Firm B - [/B]The second video interview I completed was the one that I thought went worst! There was a technical glitch which meant that I did not get my full time to answer one of the questions (I realised that this was my own fault for using the wrong web browser - make sure to follow all of the instructions they give you!!!) and then two of the questions I felt quite unprepared for - but again, hindsight may indicate that the fact I had to think on my feet worked in my favour. For example, there was a question about a business I admired and my mind went blank for the first 30 seconds of preparation so I decided that I had to talk about something and I talked about the pub that I worked at during my gap year, because of how great the culture and customer service was :) At the time, I thought I had given an awful answer (I assumed that the firm was looking for candidates to talk about a much bigger commercial enterprise) but looking back, the sincerity of my answer may have shone through and I ended up progressing past VI stage! [/LIST] [LIST] [*][B]3. Firm C - [/B]For the third video interview I completed I am not quite sure what went wrong, to be honest. There were five questions, which I think was the most I had to answer in an individual VI and they were tricky! That said, I thought that I was not too rehearsed but still answered well - it just goes to show how competitive these things all are and that even if you do your best, any number of factors could still lead to a rejection. The main thing is to put yourself in the best position to get at least some successes by preparing well (but not over-rehearsing) for each VI that you do. [/LIST] [LIST] [*][B]4 and 5. Firm D - [/B]I completed two video interviews for this firm across the same application cycle, first for the firm's vac scheme (I did not progress past that VI) and secondly for the firm's direct TC (I ended up with the TC offer). I have given some deeper insight into my experience with this firm in particular below, because it was probably the one where I learnt most about what firms are looking for in VIs: [/LIST] In the first VI for [B]Firm D[/B], I spent ages preparing for it (I went back to thinking that I needed to be well-rehearsed after my VI for [B]Firm C [/B]was unsuccessful) and I thought I had aced it because I had managed to prepare the exact questions that came up (I did not have access to the questions this time but I rehearsed a lot of different possible questions). I got rejected and the firm provided feedback, the main point of which being that my answers sounded scripted (they were not scripted, but I did perhaps overly rehearse them). I got to VI again in my direct TC application at [B]Firm D[/B] and thought 'Let's just get this over with because clearly all the prep in the world got me nowhere'. I spent a maximum of an hour refreshing my memory on the firm and clicked start - I passed the VI stage. [B]Biggest conclusions/takeaways[/B] There were many more 'ums' and 'ers' in my second video interview with the firm for sure, but I could tell that my answers sounded more authentic and conversational. Most importantly, I was really able to use the preparation time [I]not[/I] trying to recall everything that I wanted to mention, but rather thinking about how I could make sure I actually answered the exact question being asked. I probably included less information in the process, but I realised that stuffing examples of your research into your answer is not the way to showing your genuine understanding of the topic or motivation for applying to the firm. Overall, my recommendations from my own anecdotal experiences would be that you should prepare well, but set yourself a deadline for doing the video interview. Think of your preparation as a foundation of knowledge that will facilitate your confidence in answering any question they ask you, as opposed to a rehearsal of what you will actually be saying when answering. I hope that my anecdotal experiences offer some interesting insight on how to approach video interviews :) [/QUOTE]
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