By recording live interviews, our platform harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to help teams run a faster, better interview process.
Request a Demo
Video interviews have become commonplace in today's fast-paced, high-tech world. Whether in the form of a one-way interview, where the employer sends questions the candidates respond to on video, or a two-way interview, where both employer and candidate can see and communicate with each other, video interviews are an efficient way to screen candidates.
Common video interview questions will vary from role to role, but there are some questions that are standard across many different types of positions.
These questions are generally from 4- 5 categories:
Behavioral Questions:
Behavioral questions give the candidate an opportunity to reflect on how they would behave given a real-world scenario they'd face in the role.
Questions like:
"Can you tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer or client? How did you reach a resolution?"
"What was the most challenging project you worked on, and how did you solve the problem?"
"Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond your job duties to hit a goal. What sacrifices did you make to achieve the objective?
2. Technical Questions
Technical questions are skills driven. They assess whether a candidate has the specific skills and knowledge required to do the job.
Questions like:
"What coding languages are you proficient in?"
"How would you approach solving this problem?"
"What is your experience with XYZ software?
"3. Situational Questions
Situational questions are similar to behavioral questions, but instead of asking the candidate to reflect on a past experience, they ask the candidate to imagine themselves in a hypothetical situation.
Questions like:
"What would you do if you received a complaint from a customer?"
"How would you handle a situation where you disagreed with your boss?"
"What would you do if you noticed a co-worker was stealing from the company?"
4. Cultural Fit Questions:
Cultural fit questions assess whether a candidate is a good match for the company's values, mission, and overall culture.
Questions like:
"What do you think it takes to be successful at our company?"
"How would you describe our company's culture from what you've seen so far? How do you think you can add to our culture?"
"What specifically attracted you to our company and this role?"
5. Past Performance Questions:
Past performance questions assess a candidate's work history and ask them to provide specific examples of their accomplishments.
Questions like:
"What are some of your greatest professional accomplishments?" How did you achieve your goal?"
"Can you tell me about a time when you exceeded company expectations? Going above and beyond your responsibilities."
"What have you done in the previous roles that have prepared you for this one?"
These common interview question examples will help you to assess whether a candidate has the skills and experience necessary for the role, as well as whether they will be a good fit for your company culture.
By preparing in advance and having a list of questions ready, you can ensure that you make the most of your video interview and find the best possible candidate for the job.
If you're a Pillar customer, all of these questions and many more are available in your dashboard to be used as prompts during interviews.
If you're not using interview intelligence software, we recommend asking a combination of these types of questions to get a well-rounded sense of the candidate.
Pre-recorded interviews are a type of video interview where the candidate records their answers to questions in advance. Also known as a pre-recorded interview, this type of interview is becoming increasingly popular as a way to screen candidates early on in the hiring process.
Pre-recorded interviews have a number of advantages to interviewers over live video interviews, including the ability to:
Eliminate scheduling conflicts: With a pre-recorded interview, both the candidate and the interviewer can choose a time that works for them to record their answers.
Review the interview as many times as needed: With a pre-recorded interview, you can review the candidate's answers as many times as you need. This allows you to catch any red flags or inconsistencies that you might have missed during a live video interview.
Give candidates time to prepare: Pre-recorded interviews give candidates the opportunity to prepare their answers in advance. This level playing field allows you to compare apples to apples when assessing different candidates.
And, candidates can take their time to formulate thoughtful answers.
Pre-recorded video interview questions and answers can be a great way to screen candidates early on in the hiring process. By using pre-recorded questions, you can ensure that you're getting the most out of your video interview and finding the best possible candidate for the job.
Sample video interview questions and answers are:
1. How do you feel your last role prepared you for this one?
2. Why are you interested in working for our company?
3. If your current team was asked how you added to the company culture, what would they say?
4. Describe a difficult problem you faced at work and how you solved it.
5. Tell me about a customer who was consistently difficult. How did you keep a positive relationship with them?
6. What do you think it takes to be successful in this role?
7. Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a coworker or boss. How did you handle it?
8. Describe a time when you had to give someone difficult feedback. How did you do it?
9. Tell me about a time when you made a mistake at work. How did you handle it?
One question we love to ask managers is: "When was the last time you had to fire or lay off someone on your team? How did you approach the conversation with them, and how did you help them transition into a new role?"
This shows a manager's level of care and investment in their direct reports. You can tell a lot about someone by how they handle adversity.
Let's say you're a company that sells video editing software, and you're hiring an Account Executive.
Sample video interview questions and answers for an Account Executive might include:
1. "This role requires a lot of cold outreach. How do you deal with silence and rejection?"
2. "Give us an example of a time when you made a sale that required extra effort."
3. "How long was your average sales cycle?"
4. "What was your closing ratio or win rate?"
5. "What's your experience working with clients in the creative industry? Can you give us an example of a successful pitch you made to a client?"
6."How do you prioritize your time to stay productive in a remote work environment?"
Next, you'd probably want to see how this person performed several tasks relevant to their role.
Outreach
Pitching
Closing and handoff to customer success.
These 3 tasks will give you a feel for how the person approaches their outreach process and selling, and you might also want to ask them about their experience with your product, or a similar product to be sure they're familiar with industry terms.
Finally, you'll want to assess their soft skills. Are they coachable? Do they take feedback well? How do they handle difficult conversations?
Pre-recorded video interview questions and answers for the aforementioned might be:
1. "How did your previous manager help you achieve quarterly goals and company objectives?"
2. "What was the most difficult customer interaction you've had? How did you diffuse the situation?"
3. "What do you do when you're feeling stressed at work?"
4. "How do you manage your time and priorities when working on multiple projects simultaneously?"
5."Tell me about a time when you failed to meet a goal. How did you handle it? How did your manager handle it?"
These are all important factors to consider when hiring an Account Executive, or any sales role. By asking pointed, specific questions, you can get a good idea of a person's character and work ethic.
Pre-recorded video interviews are a good way to get to know a candidate without the time and expense of flying them out for an in-person interview. With the right preparation, you can use them to identify the right candidates for your open roles.
As we dive deeper into the topic of one-way video interview examples, it's important to understand the format of a one-way interview, and the part it plays in your hiring process.
A one-way video interview is a pre-recorded interview that the candidate completes on their own time. The answers to these questions are then recorded and submitted for review.
One-way interviews are often used in the early stages of the hiring process, as a screening tool to identify candidates who are a good fit for the role.
These interviews usually consist of behavioral or situational questions, designed to assess a candidate's ability to think on their feet and give examples of their work experience.
It's far easier to assess hard and soft skills in a video interview than it is to identify cultural fit and personality, but if you're flexible and strategic with your questions, you can still glean a lot of information about a candidate from their one-way interview.
Here are some sample one-way video interview questions:
1. "Give us an example of a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer."
2. "Tell us about a time when you made a sale that required extra effort."
Some one-way video interview questions and answers include:
1. "How do you handle criticism?"
2. "What would you do if you were faced with a difficult customer service issue?"
3. "Tell me about a time when you had to give someone difficult feedback to a team member you really cared about."
4. "Describe a time when you made a mistake." How did you handle it, who did you tell, and who helped you work through it?"
Good one-way interview questions are specific and can be tailored to assess the skills and qualities that are most important for the role you're hiring for.
By asking questions that require candidates to give real-life examples of their work, you can get a better sense of their experience and how they might perform in the role.
When creating a list of sample video interview questions and answers for each role, make sure to consider the skills and qualities that are most important for that role.
With the right questions, you can use one-way video interviews to screen candidates and identify those who are the best fit for your open roles.
Pillar offers our customers a list of questions customized to each role within a modern company. This way, you can use our AI-powered software to screen candidates and identify those who are the best fit for your open roles.
This also sets a baseline for your interviews and removes bias so you can make objective hiring decisions.
Once you've identified a shortlist of candidates who are qualified for the role, now it's time to assess which one would be the best fit.
Video assessment interviews are a great way to accomplish this.
In a video assessment interview, the interviewer and candidate are both present in the video chat. This allows for a more interactive conversation, where the interviewer can ask follow-up questions and probe deeper into the candidate's responses.
Next, let's look at how to prepare for a video interview and a handful of sample video interview questions and answers.
Before you begin your video interview, it's important to do some preparation.
This will help you ensure that the conversation flows smoothly and that you're able to ask all of the questions you want to ask.
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you prepare for your video interview:
1. Make sure you have a quiet, well-lit space to conduct the interview. You want to make sure that the interviewer can see and hear you clearly. If possible, sit in front of a window so that natural light illuminates your face.
2. Test your audio and video setup in advance. You don't want to be scrambling to troubleshoot audio or video issues during the interview. Do a test run with a friend or colleague to make sure everything is working properly.
3. Keep your questions open-ended. Open-ended questions will encourage the candidate to share more information about their experience and qualifications. Avoid yes or no questions whenever possible.
4. Take note of the non-verbal cues you see in the video chat. You can learn a lot about a candidate from their body language and facial expressions. Pay attention to these cues during the interview so you can get a better sense of how they're feeling and what they're thinking.
5. Be aware of your own body language and facial expressions. Your own non-verbal cues can influence the course of the conversation. Make sure you're projecting confidence and maintaining eye contact with the candidate.
Sample Video Assessment Questions:
Once you've prepared for your video interview, it's time to start asking questions.
Here are a few sample video interview questions and answers to help you get started:
1. "Can you tell me about a great customer that you had? What made your relationship with them so good?"
2. "Tell me about your most difficult customer. Why do you think you struggled with them?"
These questions will help you assess the candidate's customer service skills. Listen for examples of how they've delivered excellent customer service in the past. Questions like these will also help you identify weaknesses - some that can be coached, some that are innate and could disqualify someone for the role.
3. "Can you share a time when you went above and beyond your job duties?"
This question will help you assess the candidate's work ethic and commitment to their role. listen for examples of times when they've taken on extra responsibility or done something that wasn't explicitly asked of them.
4. "What do you think are the three most important daily tasks to hitting your quarterly goals?"
This question will help you assess the candidate's ability to prioritize and focus on the most important tasks. Listen for an answer that demonstrates an understanding of what it takes to achieve their goals.
5. "What do you think is the best way to handle an irate customer?"
This question assesses the candidate's ability to handle pressure and maintain composure in difficult situations. Listen for an answer that demonstrates empathy, humility, and a willingness to find a resolution.
6. "What do you think of our company's product? How could we improve it?"
This question assesses the candidate's ability to provide constructive feedback. Listen for an answer that is both positive and critical.
Video interviews are a great way to assess a candidate's skills and qualifications but they're not completely fool-proof.
Using a video interview platform or AI-powered interview intelligence software will help you identify candidates more effectively and efficiently. With interview intelligence, you can rate and review candidate responses to assessment questions in real-time.
This means that you can quickly identify top candidates and move them forward in the hiring process.
Pillar's Interview intelligence platform is powered by AI and is an important tool for any company that uses video interviews as part of their hiring process.
Schedule a demo to see how it works, today!
