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10 Questions You Should Never be Asked in a Video Interview

10 Questions You Should Never be Asked in a Video Interview

Having a set of question ready can be handy especially when it comes to video interviews. But it doesn’t mean that you can just ask any question that comes to mind. There are certain questions that should never be asked during an interview and we have here a list of questions that should ensure that you do not ask the wrong questions.

 

Do You Have Kids?

This is an innocent enough question and does come up during small talk. It may seem like a harmless enough question and some Hiring Managers may even use this question to connect to the candidate and put them at ease. But if you try to analyze it, asking candidates about their kids isn’t exactly related to the job. A candidate’s capabilities do not lie on whether or not they have kids. And if this question is connected with the jobs hours required, then you are better off asking the candidate about availability and stating that the company has rigid about hours.

Do You Speak Another Language at Home?

Again, this may seem like an innocent enough question but when it’s an interview, you need to take into consideration that this can be considered as discrimination. You typically learn their language skills as you conduct the interview and so asking about other languages that the candidate speaks at home becomes a bit redundant.

Do You Have Any Disabilities?

Certain disabilities are pretty obvious and it can be easily seen by the interviewer. But, there are certain disabilities that are not that apparent but it doesn’t mean that you can outright ask about it. Even though, this can be something that the company would, of course, want to know, asking someone about their disability can still be considered a discrimination. Asking the candidate about their capabilities is much more appropriate and if the candidate does have a disability that can affect his/her job, then it should be brought up after a job offer is made.

Funny Questions From the Internet.

Hiring managers sometimes want to make it fun for the candidates and ask questions that they get from the internet. While this kind of questions makes a good reliever of tension, it does not actually help in the process of evaluating the candidate. The questions should be relevant to the job every time. And if your reason the reason is wanting to be able to look into the personality of the candidate, then that should probably be the job of a trained psychologist.

What Did You Hate About Your Last Job?

A question like this may seem reasonable enough but this is also a question that outright opens an opportunity for you candidate to become negative, and that is not very professional. The candidate obviously had some problems with the last job that they have got and that is why they are applying for a new one. So instead of asking this question, you can ask them what their expectations may be in their new job. It is a much more positive approach to finding out what type of environment or job the candidate loves doing.

What is Your Religion?

Asking someone about their faith does not help you in analyzing their true capabilities, so never go there. It may seem like small talk for you, but during an interview, there is no reason for you to ask this. You should only ask about a candidates religion if there are certain events or even a task that will be assigned to them that may affect them or is not allowed in their religious customs.

How old are you?

This is something that can easily found out in the candidate’s resume or bio and it should not ask during the interview. It may be considered as age discrimination and again that is something that should be avoided. Just try to know the candidate’s age beforehand and do not include this in the interview questions.

Have you ever been arrested?

Everyone is innocent until proven guilty and yes, it is illegal to ask someone if they have ever been arrested. Finding out about this info is easy enough and the candidate should still have the right to prove himself or herself because their capabilities aren’t directly connected to their having been arrested in the past.

Have you ever filed for bankruptcy?

Asking someone about their financial status are off-limits. While this may seem like a question that can be asked harmlessly, it may be something of a sensitive topic to the candidate. And again, this is a question that wouldn’t actually allow hiring managers to measure a candidate’s capabilities so try to get more relevant questions instead.

How often did you take sick days in your last job?

If there is a time gap on a candidate’s resume, then it is okay to ask what happened during this period. But asking outright about how many sick days a candidate has taken is not okay because it is still related to their disability and is another question that should not be asked. Asking about pre-existing medical conditions if perfectly fine though once the job has been offered to the candidate to ensure that there are no obstacles in the candidate’s fulfillment of the role.

 

It can be a bit tricky to pick the right questions when it comes to video interviews but EasyHire.me actually comes with a library of good questions and any hiring manager can use this if in doubt. And you can even make it easier by conducting a recorded video interview and this way, managers can ensure that hiring managers are asking the right questions.

6 Ways To Better Prepare for Video Interviews

6 Ways To Better Prepare for Video Interviews

In this day and age, more and more companies are turning to video interviews since it is more convenient and allows them to pool more talents across the globe. Now, video interviews have become a vital part of the hiring process and it is now imperative that you know how to handle yourself during the interview and answer the questions that are being asked in a flawless manner and are thoroughly prepared for it. So here are a few important points for you to remember for you to land that job.

 

Have a General Idea About the Company

As someone looking for a position within any certain company, you should be able to have at least a general idea of what the company does and not just apply blindly. And besides, with the internet, you can easily look up any information you want and there is no real excuse for you to not do this. Research the company and know what they have been able to accomplish. Know who the CEO may be or what the company is working on at the moment because it will then give you a better idea of what their question may be. Even on their social media pages, you can see and get a general idea of what type of company they are. Here are points worth mentioning during the video interview:

What product or service the company sells

How long the company has been operating

Recent accomplishments of the company

The culture and values of the company

Placement of Webcam

Yes, this is important. Because you don’t want your potential boss to be looking at a stack of dirty clothes behind you while you are being interviewed. Know that there is such thing as the right background and right lighting for that matter. Also, it is important that you position your webcam at a flattering angle because it never hurts to make a good first impression. Position it above your eye-line and angle it slightly downwards.

Clothes & Make-up

Being presentable during a video interview is a must. You may think that just because the interview is done through a webcam that you should not be obligated to wear something formal. It is highly recommended that you do not wear pure black since the webcam will need to constantly adapt to show the black and cause your face to appear a bit wash out due to overexposure. You don’t necessarily need to wear make-up but as mentioned, it is better to create a good first impression and if make-up helps in doing that then you should consider it.

Maintaining a Good Eye Contact

Maintaining a good eye contact can often signify confidence and so hiring managers often do look for someone who is able to do this during an interview. But when it comes to video interviews, know that your eyes should always be focused on the webcam, unless they are actually the one talking and you need to listen. To do this better, you should have the video on full screen so that you would easily see and create a good eye contact with the interviewer.

Internet Connection

Having a good internet connection is essential for any video interview. Because without it, there would basically be no interview. Physically connecting your laptop or desktop to the router is the safest way to go. And ideally, your internet connection should be about 10Mbps and the higher it is the better. Right before the interview, make sure to test your connection speed and if your connection is at least 25Mbps, then you may just use wi-fi and a physical connection is not needed.

Practice Practice Practice

It helps to give yourself some time to practice to get accustomed to the camera. You can even try answering some commonly asked interview questions and try to see where you are lacking and then try to improve on them. Even practicing in front of a mirror helps and can give you a better view of how you react or how you basically speak. And if you prefer that someone actually outright ask you questions, then finding someone to do it with you can be your best help. But no matter how you do it, know that the important thing is that you actually practice.

 

There you have it. Six ways in which you could better prepare for that video interview. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the hiring process is less traditional and that you do not need to prepare for it. Make necessary preparations and follow these tips to nail that video interview.

How AI and Automation Will Change Recruiting

How AI and Automation Will Change Recruiting

Technology has taken a huge leap in quite a short interval of time and has presented many great possibilities which were impossible earlier. It won’t be wrong to really call it an age of the machine. With the rise in the latest inventions in the field of science, Artificial Intelligence is a new key factor which has an ability to think, adapt and respond over a period of time. Apart from many other advantages that it will offer you, tasks such as recruitment process also seem to fall in its lap with use of video interviews. The use of AI to make the recruiting process fully automatic by enabling feature of having video interview will decrease the workload of many agents and will bring boundless opportunities for all.

Here are the major impacts AI will put on the recruiting process. Read on…

1. Screening of Resume

Sorting out through resumes is the most time-consuming job and needs a lot of efforts. The best use of AI & automation will be done to have a proper screening of resumes in the least possible time. It will also be beneficial to search out for the best candidate, as in the manual sorting it is possible that the best & the most deserving candidate may be left behind. So, AI with its advanced research features will be beneficial for the recruiter as well as the volunteer.

2. Increase in Flexibility

The use of AI to have video interviews will bring full automation in the recruitment process. With such a feature, there will no restrictions such as fixed timing, availability of recruiting officer etc. The automation process will provide you the flexible timings to make both the parties comfortable with the time of their selection. Also, the interviews will be recorded for future reference so that the terms discussed in the conversation while having an interview can be viewed anytime & anywhere.

3. Change in Recruiting Process

As of now, the recruiting process is long and bound to many formalities. But with the arrival of AI & automation, there will be a huge change in the recruiting process. There will be no fixed office or place to have an interview as when the process will be automated then the whole process will take place online. The need of an officer to preside over the process can be neglected at times and can be replaced by recording the process to save for future and to inspect the candidate.

4. Limit the Research

Now, it is seen that many difficulties are faced while performing a research for an ideal candidate. It is also possible that many undeserving candidates are also given the chance due to lack of availability of candidates. But AI will help to shorten the research process to make ideal candidates present before you. The large scale of the area will be covered in the least time and the risk of selecting wrong ones is totally neglected.

5. Lower the Burden

The burden over the HR will be less and more focus can be put towards the improvement of the business rather than finding a suitable candidate. Automated results will be able to find the desired people for the vacant job profile. Also, screening of only best ones will decrease all the extra time and will make the process even shorter.

Conclusion

With so much ease at your desk, AI seems to be fitting for the task of video interviews. With lowering the risk of selecting wrong candidates, lowering the HR’s responsibilities and many other tasks which consume the whole time, will be done in minutes. Even the candidates will be having a plus point as they will be provided the best opportunity to grow in their desired fields. The use of AI & automation in conducting video interviews will definitely change the whole scenario about the recruiting industry.

Tips for Successful Video Interviews

Tips for Successful Video Interviews

The modern era is a time where technology plays a vital role in everyday’s tasks. Everyday something new is invented to make the living of the common people easier & comfortable. In the earlier phase, people have to travel miles for an interview but these days, everything is done online. Now you can have online video interviews, which save the time of both the recruiter as well as of the volunteer. Before going for an online video interview, there are many things that you need to look out for so that everything goes the way you have expected.

Here are the few things that you should check before having a video interview. Keep reading

1.  Be yourself

The most important thing that you should keep in mind at the time of interview is that you should be authentic & transparent and provide genuine data to the authority. Many make the mistake of withholding the important information or giving out false info, which becomes an issue afterward.

2.  Have a quality assured video

It is a key point to have a superior quality webcam as it will make your presentation more effective and it will be beneficial to present your performance as it is at the other end. So always watch out for any hindrance so that you can act smoothly while giving the interview.

3.  Practice is a key for Success

Practice the interview and record it on a video to see yourself that how have you performed. The major benefit that you will have is that you will get to know about your shortcomings and faults. You will be able to make improvements where you lack or stuck. Another thing is that you will come to know about the working of your gadgets & equipments.

4.  Have a good posture & poise

You will have more confidence in right posture and the way you speak. Always choose a comfortable sitting posture and try sitting with your back straight. Try to focus on your breathing as it will let some nervousness flush out and make use of hand gestures as well, but not too much.

5.  Check your background

You should eliminate things from your background that seem to distract you or which might distract your interviewer. Choose a decent background which is noise free and where you can put your full concentration on your interview. Check out an adequate lighting so that your face is visible. If possible, place a lamp behind your computer so that your face gets well lighted.

6.  Confirm Equipment

Make a proper check of your equipment like mike should be giving a superior quality sound, camera stands (if required), lights etc. Also make a pre-run of the software you are going to use for the online video interview like Skype, Google Hangouts or Zoom to check the video quality. 

7.  Make eye contact

This is the most important aspect that you should look for; always make an eye contact with the interviewer by looking at the camera. This trick would ensure that you are actively participating and shows your level of alertness.

Conclusion

The more you practice and gain confidence in your abilities, the more likely you are to ace the interview and get the job. It would be beneficial for you to have a proper check of the mike & the gadgets you will use so that the interview goes well. The key thing to ace an interview is a practice, so repeat several times to make yourself perfect.