Just had a weird job interview

I applied for a job about a week or so ago. Friday I got an e-mail inviting me to a one-way video interview. They gave me 5 days to complete it. 
I chose Sunday because I spent Saturday prepping for it, and Monday - Thursday I have to work. Sunday comes and my wife takes the kids and the dog out for a few hours so I would have no distractions. 
Anyway, I logged it, watched a tutorial then was presented with 5 questions, one at a time. I had unlimited time to prep before I recorded my answer, and unlimited 'takes' to record my answer. It was weird though, there was nobody there to make eye contact with (I just looked directly at the camera so they would see eye contact from their end).  Nobody to 'read' when I'm giving answers. 

I feel confident I'll make it to the next round, which I expect to be a video interview.  

Yeah, that's another thing. Nobody to ask you if you have any questions at the end of the interview. I would like to know what the next step is, and when to expect it.  

Anyway, just thought I'd share. I think this is the wave of the future. 

I have had 2 interviews like that. 

I asked one of the HR reps about it, he told me they use it to figure a few things... Basically, are you competent enough with technology to pass this low bar of actually doing the interview, are you going to take it seriously (i.e. are you prepped, are you conducting it on your bed or did you take time to see what your background is, are you wearing a shirt/tie), and it allows the hiring manager to review the answers instead of notes from an HR rep after a phone screen.

1. Dress well for the interview.

2. Remove distractions, stage your background.

3. Use additional lighting so they can see you.

Good luck!

I had done one of these interviews a couple years ago, though it was slightly different. You had a limited time to prep after each question, and a limited time to answer it (but it was suggested you use the whole time), and it was one take. The company was trying very hard to be "startup cool" and this was their way of getting the whole team to watch all the interviews at their leisure. 

I thought it was terrible and Im not even a people person. Felt like I was uncomfortably filling dead space, especially when the questions were non-technical. 

Surprising that these have been done for years. Huh. 
i did prep for it, wore a suit and tie, had a nice background and a silent house. 
I hope I get it. The posting was written in a fun way, and that says a lot about the company. 

In reply to DrBoost :

I've done quite a few of those.  In short, they're bullE36 M3, and some studies show that the algorithm the video screening software uses filters out non-native english speakers.  Most likely your videos were filtered through some software that screened for "confidence" and "professionalism" and then a subset of everyone who did them was sent on to HR for further screening.  

The next step is you wait, if they want to talk to you, they'll let you know, otherwise you'll be waiting till rapture for a final say most likely.  

That's wild. Never had that experience before. 

My current job I had 2 video interviews, with who would be my boss and who would likely be my mentor. They did this since I lived about 120 miles away at the time. My 3rd interview was in person with another mentor type. 

I did have to do a writing test that I was for sure disqualified me. Thankfully they understood the limitations of their own documentation so it wasn't held against me. Like if the instructions said "Go to CMS Pages > New" but you had to know you to get there, you really have to go to "Lists > Web Site > CMS Pages > New" There was an expected level of familiarity with product since it was using the Help documentation for the exercises/writing test.

more and more I'm understanding the old retired guys I know that sy they don't understand the world anymore. 

Haha, anytime I hear of video interviews I go back to when a professor interviewed me to see about being a grad assistant for him. My last name is Yow (Welsh or German, it is a family debate), and I strongly believe I only made it to the video interview because he expected me to be Chinese (like the rest of his dept except for the other white guy with an Asian-ish last name, Dejong). He even stopped me in the middle of the interview to ask me where the name came from which I'm very confident wasn't legal, but he gave me the job anyways. 

I screen those, some are really really bad! It really shows who is confident, under confidant and over confidant.

I've had the pleasure to do one of those. It was a bit odd, but didn't bother me too much. Not sure if it matters but I wanted to do everything in 1 take.  I didn't know if they saw the metrics, but on the chance they did I wanted them to see genuine me and not something practice and rehearsed.

I did not get the job, but got a call from the president of the company telling me that I had done really well but they eliminated the position. He wanted me to apply to another job, I politely passed.

So, do the interviewers get to see how long and how many takes?

In reply to BradLTL :

I was wondering if the interviewers get to see how many takes as well.  I only took a few (mostly due to needing to stop and sip water or clear my throat), except the "tell me about yourself" question. I took more than a few on that one. 

In reply to DrBoost :

Airbus gave me one of these a bit ago. 

If this is the future Im going to be a little sad, Im not even that old.  I can handle a skype meeting, no problem. Have me talk about my work for an hour, sure. But I cant handle talking at a blank screen for 7 minutes about my favorite fruit... 

In reply to TR7 (Forum Supporter) :

I'm so with you there. I can be pn a call, Zoom, what ever as long as there's interaction and it's no big deal. 1 way video.....uuugh.

No, on ours we only see the take you send and I've never seen any other info on how many takes you do. I only use it for people I'm really interested in but can't travel half way across the country to interview and don't expect that from them or during Covid time I did quite a few. It's not exactly free either with the platform I'm using so its really only for salary prospects in the higher end.

chandler said:

No, on ours we only see the take you send and I've never seen any other info on how many takes you do. I only use it for people I'm really interested in but can't travel half way across the country to interview and don't expect that from them or during Covid time I did quite a few. It's not exactly free either with the platform I'm using so its really only for salary prospects in the higher end.

I'm not surprised that the first round was a one-way video. This is a remote job (permanently), so it would be painfully expensive to fly XX people to the office X times for interviews. They'd have to lay out $50K before they even hire someone. 

But I'm with TR7 and bmwrider, it was weird to talk to nobody, but try to be personable. 

Chandler, do you have any funny stories from these video interviews you can share?

I've seen videos where the people appeared to forget it was a video; I.e., picking their noses(?) or ears! Really though it's best point is that I can see body language in response to certain questions. Just a phone interview leaves questions about reactions and how prospects feel about the importance of things. I like them but they aren't as good as in person for sure