How to Ace Your Next Video Interview

Published in

Augment

5 min readMay 12, 2020

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to have your interview game the best it’s ever been. I wanted to do my part in making interviewing easier for people as well as making sure that they are ready to secure a position in these unprecedented times. This article will focus on software engineering, but generally, the tips can be applied to any video interview. I’ll cover the best methods I’ve learned from experience to prepare for and execute on video interviews.

1. Before: Gain the technical knowledge needed for the applied positions

Now, this is pretty much a given, but for software engineering positions you need to have a solid foundation in data structures and algorithms which allows one to become a good problem-solver. Software engineers efficiently tackle problems of varying difficulties daily. Therefore, by being able to showcase your thinking, you show that you have the necessary skills in being able to succeed in the applied position. I recommend using Hackerrank and Leetcode for practicing while using GeeksforGeeks as a resource for more in-depth explanations. Covering topics from many different areas is important, study different data structures, familiarize yourself with common sorting algorithms, and get comfortable with general problem-solving techniques. A lot of companies will send Hackerrank challenges, and anecdotally (having done 15 challenges in the last co-op hunt), Hackerrank questions are tougher than Leetcode questions in terms of finding and optimizing your solution.

2. Before: Practice live coding and behavioural questions with a friend

Plenty of applicants will study Leetcode nowadays, so how do you stand out amongst the other candidates who have made it to a video interview? The answer is to practice in a live coding environment under time constraints with the added stress of having an interviewer watching every move. Pick questions you think are relevant from Leetcode/Hackerrank, find a friend who can act as your interviewer (ideally someone familiar with programming concepts), and open up a Google Doc and start solving the question. This helps you familiarize yourself with a setting similar to an actual video interview. If you can’t find a friend to help you, I recommend Pramp, a platform used for pair programming. Furthermore, recording yourself while going through a question can help you identify where you make mistakes in speech such as “so like”, “uhh”, “uhmm” as well as speaking too fast, so that you can avoid them in your actual interview. Often overlooked by programmers, general questions such as “Tell me about yourself”, weaknesses/strengths, favourite projects, etc. A general rule of thumb to follow is that you need to know everything mentioned on your resume such as technologies, projects and experiences so that you are comfortable in answering any questions related to your resume.

3. Right Before: Get pumped

This might seem like a weird one, but trust me- it works. Coding is often robotic and sometimes interviewers will jump straight into the programming, but you need to remember that a video call may not translate the same energy you have compared to an in-person interview. You really need to hype yourself up to make sure the interviewer can feel your enthusiasm, even though a video call. For me, it’s blasting my gym playlist, jumping around and power-posing. For you, it might be doing push-ups and getting a rush of endorphins. Exuding confidence and enthusiasm about the company and position is always a point in your favour and shows that you are excited to interview.

4. During: Create a connection with the interviewer (VIBE)

This is the most important point! What many people fail to grasp is that during a video interview, you are still going to have to talk to the interviewer and build a strong interpersonal connection. This interviewer is most likely your future manager or co-worker so they are constantly looking for a team fit. Since you are not meeting the interviewer in-person, creating that connection will be the key to set you apart from someone who is only good at programming. Often the interviewer will talk about your role, their role, the company and maybe their own background. When this is happening, make sure to take notes (see aside) and draw similarities between yourself and them. These similarities should be used to connect with the interviewer on a personal level. Bring up the similarities when the interviewer asks a relevant question. Another key strategy is to make the interviewer picture you in the role. This can be done by asking questions near the end of the interview where you make the assumption you have gotten the job. Don’t ask something like “what is my day-to-day” going to be like as they have probably already covered it. Be creative and memorable!

5. After: Follow-up email

Another action to take to stand out from the crowd is to show gratitude for the opportunity to interview and email everyone involved in the process up until now. Use the email to the interviewer as an opportunity to reiterate some points discussed during the interview to showcase and make sure the interviewer remembers you. The points to mention would be ones that directly correlate to the job’s day-to-day functions. You can also use the email to display skills that you didn’t get a chance to talk about in the interview. For example, you can link to a project that you have built which is relevant to the position you interviewed for. Overall, be humble, appreciative of the opportunity, as well as reiterate and showcase the points which will help you stand out.

Aside

I like to take notes in my video interviews, and even in-person ones sometimes. If you want to also take notes, make sure to get the interviewer’s approval at the start.

Conclusion

Your main takeaways from this article should be:

Practice, practice, practice. There is no way around getting good at problem-solving. Make sure to cover a breadth of topics, so that you are ready for anything thrown at you. Use Leetcode or Hackerrank for practice.
Do mock interviews with a friend or use Pramp to gain familiarity with the interview format. I don’t recommend practicing systems design questions because they are usually very time consuming and out of the scope for most internship positions.
Hype yourself up so that you can exude confidence and enthusiasm through the screen and really translate the energy you have onto the interviewer.
Connect with the interviewer on a human level. Generate similarities, crack jokes if appropriate (gauging the interviewer), and have fun in the interview. Since they are most likely going to be your co-worker or manager creating the connection is key.
Follow up in a thank you email to the involved parties. Be thankful for the opportunity to interview and reiterate the key points from your conversation or mention relevant projects.

Thank you for reading! I hope that you are able to succeed in your future interviews, and are staying safe and healthy! Below are some of my favourite resources:

Resources

Shout out to my friends Shyam and Julia for helping edit the article!