First interviews often happen on a screen: live on Zoom, Teams or Google Meet, or recorded on your own on a platform such as HireVue, Spark Hire or Willo. Here is how each kind works, how to set up your camera and space, what changes when you answer on video, and how to practice on camera before the day.
There are two kinds of video interview. In a live one, you talk to an interviewer in real time on Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet. In a one-way interview (also called recorded or asynchronous), questions appear on screen and you record your answers alone, before a deadline, on a platform such as HireVue, Spark Hire or Willo. For both: raise the camera to eye level, light your face from the front, test your setup the day before, and practice answering out loud on camera. For one-way interviews, use the practice question, and check the thinking time, answer time and number of retakes before each question.
The preparation overlaps, but the two feel very different. Check your invitation to see which one you have.
| Aspect | Live video interview | One-way video interview |
|---|---|---|
| Who is there | An interviewer, or a panel, in real time | No one: questions appear on screen as text or a short video |
| When | A time you agree with the employer | Any time before the deadline; some platforms give you a set window once you start |
| Retakes | None, but you can ask to clarify a question | Only if the employer allows them, and sometimes one take only |
| Timing | A conversation, about as long as an in-person interview | A few minutes to think, then a time limit per answer |
| Follow-up questions | Yes, so answers can be shorter | No: each answer has to stand on its own |
| Usual tools | Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet | HireVue, Spark Hire, Willo and others |
You get a link by email, test your camera and microphone, answer a practice question, then record your answers one at a time. What differs is the settings the employer chooses. Here is what three common platforms say.
Before each question, read the thinking time, answer time and number of takes. If you get one take, have your stories ready before you start. Checked on ; employers can change these settings.
Most video problems are fixed before the interview starts. Do this once, the day before, and you won’t think about it on the day.
Why the window under the camera works: people are much less sensitive to a gaze slightly below their eyes than to one off to the side (Chen, 2002). Our eye contact guide covers it in detail.
Put the laptop on books or a stand so the lens is level with your eyes. A camera below your face looks up at you and makes eye contact harder to read.
In a live interview, drag the interviewer’s video to the top center of the screen, right under the lens. Looking at their face then reads as eye contact. HireVue gives the same advice for its interviews.
Face a window or put a lamp behind the screen. A bright window behind you turns you into a silhouette.
Earbuds with a microphone usually sound clearer than a laptop mic in an echoey room. Close windows and silence your phone.
A wall, a bookshelf or a tidy corner. If you use a blurred background, test it first: it can blur your hands or hair as you move.
Use the same device, room, link and time of day. Zoom has a test meeting at zoom.us/test; Teams and Meet let you check your camera and microphone before you join. One-way platforms have their own device check.
Turn off notifications and close other tabs, so nothing pops up or pulls your eyes away.
In a live interview, a few key words on a sticky note next to the lens are a quick glance. Looking down at the desk is what gives notes away. In a one-way interview, follow the employer’s rules on notes.
The questions are the same as in any interview. What changes is length, structure and where you look.
On video, and especially with no one nodding back, long answers drag. Aim for about 60 to 90 seconds for most questions and up to two minutes for a story. At the average speaking rate of about 150 words a minute, a minute is roughly 150 words.
Jot four words for your story: the situation, your task, what you did, the result. That’s the STAR method, and it keeps a recorded answer from wandering.
Start with a direct answer, then the example. There is no one to ask a follow-up, so include the result and your own part in it.
You don’t need to stare at the camera the whole time. Look at it when you give the result or the one-line answer, and at the end.
A second of silence before an answer looks calm on video. Rushing is what nerves do; pauses between ideas make you easier to follow.
Reading changes your eyes and your voice. Know your stories well enough to tell them in your own words.
More on each: the STAR method, speaking pace and what to do if you freeze.
The research has moved: older studies found a penalty for video and phone interviews, a newer and larger one doesn’t. Either way, preparation is in your hands.
A 2016 meta-analysis of 12 studies (1,557 participants) found that candidates interviewed through technology, by video or phone, were rated lower than those interviewed face to face (d = −0.41).
Blacksmith, Willford & Behrend, 2016A newer meta-analysis of 24 studies found no difference in interview ratings between technology-mediated and face-to-face interviews. Candidates did find the employer less attractive after a technology-mediated interview.
Moon, Park & Park, 2026HireVue says its video assessments evaluate job-related competencies, never use the video recording to identify you, and that it stopped using facial expressions in its assessments in January 2021.
HireVue candidate FAQ; SHRM, 2021Watching yourself once is worth more than reading ten tips. Do this two or three days before the interview.
Same room, device, light and outfit.
“Tell me about yourself”, one behavioral question and one question about the role, each in one take, with a time limit.
Check the frame, the light and where your eyes go. Then listen without watching: is the answer clear, and does it end with a result?
Just one: the camera height, a missing result, a rushed start. The second take is where the improvement happens.
Huru works like a one-way interview: a question on screen, and you answer out loud on camera.
Huru scores what you say and how clearly. It doesn’t analyze your face, eye contact, voice tone or body language: watch your recordings for those.
Platform help pages and research, read on :
HireVue, Spark Hire, Willo, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet are trademarks of their owners. Huru is not affiliated with them.
Pick your role or paste the job posting, answer out loud on camera and play it back. Every answer is scored, with the fix and a stronger version. Huru is free for everyone.
