Here are some best practice ideas when doing video interviews….
- Be Prepared; make sure that before the interview, you have gone through the au pairs application and CV and underlined anything you want to talk about and question.
- Add structure to the questioning, it’s much easier and comes across more professional if you follow a path. I would suggest creating a discussion path of chronology through the au pairs child care experience. This may mean additional things like siblings, school friends/mentors/buddies, teenage babysitting jobs etc. But don’t go into detailed questioning at this stage, save that for the face to face meet.
- Treat the video interview as a pre-qualification for your face to face interview
- I usually recommend conducting video interviews via WhatsApp, it’s simple to use, reliable, and everyone’s got it.
- Set aside 30 mins for the video interview, and make your family aware in advance that you are not to be disturbed and that the room is off limits during this time. If you are to include your children in the video interview, then it should only be for a few minutes to say hello and introduce themselves.
- Make sure your phone is fully charged up, or at least have close access to a charging port.
- Keep a pen and pad ready. You won’t be able to make notes on your phone whilst on a video call. Plus, it won’t look very good, if you’re asking some of the same questions again during a face to face interview. It will come across as uncaring.
- Be as punctual with your video interview as you would on a face to face meet. If your video interview is set for 5pm, you should initiate the call at 5pm not 5.10pm. It comes across really bad if you’re late, and there’s absolutely no excuse. It’s not as if you’ve got to catch the bus!
- Don’t squash a 30 minute time slot into a really busy schedule. Make sure there’s sufficient time on either side. You don’t want to come across as rushed and disorganised.
- This may sound like common sense, but don’t eat or chew during the interview, it’s really annoying. Keep a glass of water by your side, in case your throat gets dry.
