Some employers, especially for graduate programmes and high-volume roles, use one-way video interviews. Instead of a live conversation, you log in to a platform, see or hear a question, and record your answer. A recruiter watches the recordings later. Many candidates find this format strange at first, because there is nobody to react to you.
The exact rules depend on the employer and the platform, so always read the instructions you receive. This guide covers the common patterns.
How they usually work
- A practice question. Most platforms start with an unscored practice question so you can check your camera and microphone. Use it.
- Thinking time. After each question appears, there is often a short countdown — commonly somewhere between 30 seconds and a couple of minutes — before recording starts automatically.
- An answer time limit. Each answer usually has a maximum length, often one to three minutes. Recording stops when the time runs out.
- Retakes may or may not be allowed. Some employers allow one or more retakes; others allow none. The instructions will say.
- A deadline, not a fixed time. You can usually complete the interview whenever you like before a deadline. Pick a time when you are fresh and your space is quiet.
Why they feel harder than live interviews
There is no nod, smile or follow-up question to tell you how you are doing. Silence after a question is not a sign you are failing; there is simply nobody there. The countdown timer adds pressure, and knowing you cannot always redo an answer can make you freeze.
All of that improves with practice in the same conditions.
How to practise
The practice room can mimic this format closely:
- In setup, choose Interview simulation. Pause, retry and skip are turned off.
- Set an answer time limit and turn on move to the next question automatically when time is up, so the answer ends when time runs out — just like the real platform.
- Turn off keep the question on screen while I answer if your employer’s platform hides it.
The practice room starts your answer as soon as the question has been asked, with no countdown. To rehearse a thinking-time countdown, take a slow breath and plan silently for a few seconds before you speak — the interviewer only moves on after you have started talking and then gone quiet.
The difference is that you also get a virtual interviewer who reads each question aloud. If your real interview shows questions only as text, practise both ways.
Using the thinking time well
When a countdown starts, it is tempting to start talking straight away. Use the time instead:
- Decide what the question is really asking.
- Pick one example or point.
- Choose your first sentence — the one that answers the question directly.
Starting with a clear first sentence (“A good example is a project I led in my internship…”) is the best way to avoid a rambling opening.
Answering when nobody reacts
- Talk to the lens as if it were a person. Imagine a friendly interviewer behind it.
- Keep the structure obvious. Without follow-up questions, you have to make your answer complete on its own: context, what you did, the result.
- Watch the timer, but do not race it. If you have a two-minute limit, aim to finish in about a minute and a half. Ending early is fine; being cut off mid-sentence is worse.
- Finish cleanly. A short closing line such as “…and that is why I would handle it the same way again” signals that you are done.
Before you start the real one
- Close other tabs and apps, and put your phone on silent.
- Check your light and framing in the platform’s practice question.
- Keep water nearby.
- Read every instruction, especially about retakes, before pressing start.
Afterwards, it is normal to remember an answer you wish you had given differently. Note it down, practise it, and move on — the next interview will benefit.