Help, I have a HireVue interview coming up!

[93moto]

Hi everyone, sorry for the brash title.

English is my second language- I can speak it clearly sometimes and I can write it clearly, but often when I am in pressured situations, I can only think/talk in my native language. I have never done any interviews before, let alone video interviews and I am nervous because when the questions come up, what if my mind draws a complete blank?

Has anyone completed a video interview before? If so, how was it? If anyone has passed this, how 😭? If anyone is from graduate recruitment and has assessed video interviews, what do you look for? If anyone has done/assessed an interview for anything before, I would very much appreciate your tips/general input.

At what point do you know that you are over-explaining/under-explaining? What are some examples of some questions that I can prep? Oh, and also this interview is for an internship at an audit firm, very similar to a commercial law firm in terms of the work that is done in regulation, restructuring proposals, risk and due diligence.

Like the people say over here, how cooked am I 😭?

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi everyone, sorry for the brash title.

English is my second language- I can speak it clearly sometimes and I can write it clearly, but often when I am in pressured situations, I can only think/talk in my native language. I have never done any interviews before, let alone video interviews and I am nervous because when the questions come up, what if my mind draws a complete blank?

Has anyone completed a video interview before? If so, how was it? If anyone has passed this, how 😭? If anyone is from graduate recruitment and has assessed video interviews, what do you look for? If anyone has done/assessed an interview for anything before, I would very much appreciate your tips/general input.

At what point do you know that you are over-explaining/under-explaining? What are some examples of some questions that I can prep? Oh, and also this interview is for an internship at an audit firm, very similar to a commercial law firm in terms of the work that is done in regulation, restructuring proposals, risk and due diligence.

Like the people say over here, how cooked am I 😭?

Hi @93moto I completely understand your worries - I am an international student and English is also only my second language, so I used to be very worried that in a stressful situation and under time pressure I would panic and be unable to express my thoughts as well as a native speaker can. I also used to really worry about my accent not sounding as 'proper' as that of some home students, of mispronouncing certain words, and just generally not looking as 'polished' as what I perceived an ideal candidate to be. That said, in my case this issue has clearly turned out to be one I was overthinking: while perhaps not perfect, I managed to express myself in a generally clear and professional manner, which is what firms are mostly focused on. Based on the way you write in English, I would assume the same will be the case for you.

In terms of advice for dealing with this issue, I have two pointers:

1. Slow down: if you speak at a slower pace, take some strategic one-two seconds breaks, and give yourself a few seconds to think before you start answering, this will enable you to calm down a bit and will also give you additional thinking time to ensure you are articulating your ideas well.
2. Practice as much as you can: the best way to improve your performance in pressured situations is to practice under those conditions. You will be amazed how much you can improve your skills within the space of a few days, so I think it is definitely worth investing time in this.

I have liked here my Complete Competency Interviews Guide, which explains in detail how I think you should go about this preparation and what questions you can expect.