Putting aside all thoughts of Z-list celebrities and reality TV wannabe stars for a second, the fact is many people feel rather awkward being filmed.
It can be quite excruciating listening to how your voice sounds, or discovering you harbour weird traits like, say, touching your eyebrow shiftily every thirty seconds. And combine that with a situation you feel particularly uncomfortable in – a job interview – and it’s a particularly unappealing combo.
I remember vividly the joy I felt when I learned the video camera lined up to film a mock interview at my uni careers service was out of action. However, there’s no doubt it’s a good way of seeing how you’ll appear once you’re in the interview room, and turning the camera on yourself can reveal far more than your tendency to say “you know” a lot. Communication coaches video their clients’ performances to elicit distracting mannerisms or awkward body language, according to our job goddess Clare Whitmell.
And dusting off the old family camcorder isn’t the only way to glimpse how you’ll appear in an interviewer’s eyes. Clare recommends role playing your interview from beginning to end with a friend “acting” the interviewer. And at the very least, practice in front of the mirror, says careers adviser Steve McLellan, and be honest about how professional, credible and friendly you look and sound.
But, rehearsing aside, what else does it take to impress an interviewer and talk your way into your dream job? We’ll be discussing everything from typical questions to how do some proper digging into the company, leaving the recruiter marvelling at your industry knowledge. So, join us on Friday 29 July from 1pm until 4pm – advance questions welcome.
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Our panel:
Saiyada Smith is a careers adviser based at C2, which is part of The Careers Group, University of London.
Carole Donaldson is a resourcing manager at John Lewis. She has been with the John Lewis Partnership since 1993. Carole will be online from 1pm until 2pm.
Matthew Wilcox is director of the banking and financial services division at recruitment consultancy Marks Sattin.
James Callander is managing director of recruitment consultancy FreshMinds Talent.
Clare Whitmell is a qualified business communication trainer who specialises in writing and presentation skills coaching. She also blogs CV writing and job hunting tips on JobMarketSuccess.com.
Michael Moran is an HR professional who has worked in the NHS, insurance, commodities and the derivatives industries. He has worked within career coaching for 15 years.
Beth Miller has more than six years recruitment experience, having begun her career with Hays Accountancy & Finance. Beth joined HR recruitment consultancy Digby Morgan in 2006.
Helen Menhenett is head of research at Fairplace – a career management and outplacement provider.
Claire Beasley is joint managing director at Court & Spark Consulting, a specialist search company for the retail sector.
Steve Cross is the employability development manager at learndirect. In his role he looks at how learndirect can help learners get into long-term employment.
