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3 Oct 2026
By RecruitFinds
You have applied for a job, your CV has made it through the first stage, and then an email arrives:
"You have been invited to complete a video interview."
There is no recruiter waiting on the other side of the screen.
Instead, you receive a question, perhaps a short preparation period, and a limited amount of time to record your answer.
For many Kenyan job seekers, this can be more stressful than a traditional interview because there is nobody to react to your answer. You cannot read the interviewer's facial expression or adjust your response based on their reaction.
Platforms such as HireVue and Yello support on-demand or pre-recorded video interviews, allowing employers to collect structured responses from candidates without scheduling a traditional first-round interview. HireVue describes its on-demand format as asynchronous interviewing, while Yello supports pre-recorded interviews that recruiters can review later.
The solution is not to memorise hundreds of answers.
It is to prepare for the environment.
The technology may look different, but the fundamentals remain familiar.
You still need to demonstrate that:
You understand the role.
You have relevant experience.
You can communicate clearly.
You can solve problems.
You can work with other people.
You can explain your decisions.
You understand the organisation.
HireVue advises candidates to prepare for an on-demand interview in much the same way they would prepare for a normal interview: research the company, understand the role and prepare examples of challenges, actions and results from their experience.
The camera changes the delivery.
It does not change the need to give a good answer.
Do not assume every automated interview works exactly the same way.
The employer controls many of the settings.
For example, HireVue explains that employers can configure preparation time, whether candidates receive retakes and other assessment settings. Its published explainability statement gives examples of assessments containing several asynchronous video questions, although the exact format depends on the employer.
You could therefore encounter:
A straightforward question
"Why are you interested in this position?"
A behavioural question
"Tell us about a time you dealt with a difficult customer."
A situational question
"What would you do if a team member repeatedly missed deadlines?"
A role-specific question
"How would you investigate a sudden drop in monthly sales?"
A scenario simulation
You may be asked to respond as though you are already performing the job.
This is why practising only one type of question is risky.
The camera is important, but your content matters more.
Create a small collection of stories from your actual experience.
Think about situations where you:
Solved a difficult problem
Worked under pressure
Helped a customer
Made a mistake and corrected it
Worked with a difficult colleague
Led a project
Improved a process
Met a difficult deadline
Learned a new skill
Handled disagreement
Achieved a measurable result
These examples can be adapted to many different questions.
HireVue specifically recommends preparing brief stories about challenges you have faced, the approach you took and the results you achieved.
If you are given roughly one minute, do not try to tell your entire career story.
Use a simple structure:
10 seconds — Answer
Give your main point immediately.
15 seconds — Situation
Briefly explain the context.
25 seconds — Action
Explain exactly what you did.
10 seconds — Result
Finish with the outcome or lesson.
For example:
Question: "Tell us about a time you solved a difficult customer problem."
Answer:
"In my previous customer service role, we had a client whose order had been delayed and who was considering cancelling. I first checked the order history and contacted the logistics team to identify where the delay had occurred. I then explained the situation to the customer, gave them a realistic delivery timeline and followed up personally until the order was completed. The customer received the order and continued using our service."
That is much stronger than:
"I am good at customer service because I am patient and hardworking."
The first answer contains evidence.
You do not need an expensive studio.
Your phone or laptop can work if it is positioned correctly.
HireVue's current candidate guidance recommends using a steady camera at approximately eye level and framing yourself around the chest upward.
Avoid placing the laptop on a low table while the camera points upward.
You do not want the interviewer seeing mostly your ceiling or looking down at your face.
A simple setup is:
Camera → approximately eye level
Face → near the centre
Frame → chest to slightly above head
Background → clean and uncluttered
If you are using a phone, place it on a stable surface instead of holding it in your hand.
This confuses many candidates.
When you are answering, your natural instinct may be to look at your own image.
That makes sense because you are trying to see how you look.
But visually, it can make you appear to be looking away.
HireVue recommends focusing on the camera rather than your own image during the response. Its candidate FAQ also suggests positioning the video-feed window close to the top centre of the screen so that looking at it can appear more like looking toward the camera.
You do not need to stare at the camera without blinking.
That can look unnatural.
Instead:
Listen/read the question → think → look toward the camera → answer naturally.
Briefly looking away while thinking is completely normal.
You do not need professional lighting equipment.
Natural light can work extremely well.
The basic rule is:
Put the light in front of you.
A window behind you can turn your face into a dark silhouette.
HireVue recommends having lighting in front of you and avoiding strong backlighting. Its more recent guidance suggests facing a window or soft light source where possible.
A simple Kenyan home setup could be:
Window
↓
Your face
↓
Laptop/phone
If you are recording at night, place a lamp or other soft light in front of you rather than directly behind your head.
Do a ten-second test recording before starting the actual interview.
Check:
Can you clearly see your face?
Are there dark shadows?
Is the image too bright?
Is the background distracting?
Can you hear your voice?
Fix these things before the first real question.
A recruiter should be listening to you, not examining what is happening behind you.
You do not need an expensive office.
A clean wall, tidy room or simple workspace can be enough.
Avoid:
Unmade beds
Piles of clothes
People walking behind you
Television screens
Loud decorations
Strong reflections
Distracting movement
HireVue's recent candidate guidance recommends a clean, uncluttered background and positioning yourself with some space behind you rather than sitting directly against a wall.
If your environment is difficult to control, some platforms offer background-blurring options, but a real clean background is usually simpler.
A brilliant answer becomes useless if the recording fails.
Before starting:
Charge your device.
Test your internet.
Close unnecessary applications and browser tabs.
Stop downloads and streaming.
Use the strongest available connection.
HireVue's candidate FAQ recommends testing the connection, microphone and device before beginning. It also advises candidates to allow extra time for the assessment rather than rushing directly into it.
If your home connection is unreliable, identify a backup location before the interview.
That could be a quiet office, private room or another location with dependable internet.
Do not wait until the interview has started to discover that your connection is unstable.
One of the hardest parts of an automated interview is seeing something like:
Preparation: 30 seconds
Response: 60 seconds
Suddenly, your brain forgets everything.
The solution is to practise under the same conditions.
Take a random interview question.
Give yourself:
30 seconds to think
then
60 seconds to answer.
Record yourself.
Do not restart every time you make a small mistake.
Watch the recording afterwards.
Ask:
Did I answer the actual question?
Did I spend too long on the background?
Did I explain what I personally did?
Did I give a result?
Did I speak too quickly?
Did I finish before the timer?
Did I sound natural?
HireVue recommends using practice questions and recording yourself to become more comfortable with the format.
Imagine you receive:
"Tell us about a time you demonstrated leadership."
You have one minute.
Do not begin with:
"Well, I have always been a person who believes that leadership is very important..."
You have already used valuable seconds without answering the question.
Start with the example.
"In my previous role, I led a small team responsible for..."
Then explain the situation.
Then your actions.
Then the result.
Your first sentence should tell the recruiter where your answer is going.
Memorising an entire answer can create another problem.
You may sound robotic.
Instead, memorise ideas.
For example, for a teamwork question, your notes might simply say:
Project delay → three colleagues → reorganised tasks → daily check-ins → deadline met.
Those four points are enough to remind you of the story.
You can then speak naturally.
HireVue's candidate guidance repeatedly encourages authenticity rather than trying to manufacture a perfect performance.
Your goal is not to sound like a news anchor.
Your goal is to sound like a prepared professional.
Treat the recording as a real interview.
Choose clothing appropriate for the position and organisation.
A corporate banking role, technology position and creative role may have different expectations.
The safest approach is professional and neat rather than overly casual.
Also consider the camera.
Busy patterns can become distracting on video. HireVue's recent guidance recommends professional clothing and notes that solid colours generally work well on camera.
And yes, dress properly even if only your upper body is visible.
Being properly dressed can also help you mentally switch into interview mode.
A video interview is not only about what you say.
The recruiter needs to understand you easily.
Avoid:
Speaking extremely fast
Mumbling
Giving one-word answers
Reading directly from notes
Excessive filler words
Long unexplained pauses
Instead:
Slow down.
Pause between ideas.
Speak clearly.
Use normal conversational energy.
If you naturally speak quickly when nervous, deliberately slow your first two sentences.
Your pace often becomes more comfortable once you settle into the answer.
This is where preparation becomes more useful than memorisation.
Suppose you expected:
"Tell us about your greatest achievement."
Instead, you get:
"Describe a situation where you disagreed with your manager."
You may not have prepared that exact answer.
But you can still use one of your experience stories.
Think:
What happened?
What was my responsibility?
What did I do?
What was the outcome?
Then answer.
HireVue notes that video assessments can include past-behaviour questions, situational judgement questions and scenario-based simulations.
You therefore need flexible examples rather than twenty memorised speeches.
There is a lot of online advice claiming that candidates should stare at specific points, use particular keywords repeatedly or make exaggerated facial expressions to manipulate automated assessments.
That is a risky strategy.
The technology and assessment configuration can vary by employer and role.
HireVue says its assessments are designed around job-related competencies, and its published materials describe employers configuring assessments according to the requirements of the position.
The practical strategy is therefore straightforward:
Answer the question.
Use genuine examples.
Explain your reasoning.
Communicate clearly.
Follow the instructions provided by the employer.
Do not spend your preparation time trying to discover a secret facial expression or magic keyword.
Imagine a Nairobi-based candidate applying for a customer support position with an international company.
The automated question asks:
"Tell us about a time you handled an angry customer."
A strong 60-second structure could look like this:
Situation
"A customer contacted us after receiving the wrong product."
Task
"I was responsible for resolving the complaint while following our replacement policy."
Action
"I first listened without interrupting, checked the order details and confirmed where the error had occurred. I explained the available solution and coordinated with the fulfilment team to arrange the replacement."
Result
"The replacement was delivered, and the customer continued using our service."
The answer does not need complicated vocabulary.
It needs a clear story.
You can prepare for a video interview without spending the entire day practising.
Test:
Camera
Microphone
Internet
Battery
Lighting
Review:
Job description
Company
Three relevant achievements
Three STAR examples
Answer three questions.
Give yourself the same preparation and response limits you expect to encounter.
Watch one recording.
Check:
Audio
Can I hear myself clearly?
Framing
Is my face properly positioned?
Lighting
Can I see my face?
Delivery
Am I rushing?
Content
Did I actually answer the question?
Then make one improvement and practise again.
Before clicking Start Interview, check:
☐ Device charged or connected to power
☐ Stable internet connection
☐ Camera working
☐ Microphone working
☐ Quiet environment
☐ Face properly lit
☐ Camera at approximately eye level
☐ Clean background
☐ Professional clothing
☐ Phone notifications disabled
☐ Unnecessary applications closed
☐ Job description reviewed
☐ Company researched
☐ Three STAR examples prepared
☐ Timed practice completed
☐ Backup internet/location identified
☐ You understand whether retakes are available
Yello recommends that candidates receive clear information about the interview process, including details such as the number of questions, time limits, what to wear and where to record. If your invitation does not make these details clear, carefully read the instructions on the platform before starting.
When the question appears, think:
Answer → Example → Action → Result.
Do not spend the first 30 seconds introducing yourself.
Do not repeat your CV.
Do not use complicated words simply to sound intelligent.
Do not try to perform for an imaginary robot.
Give a clear, professional answer based on something you have actually experienced.
Automated video interviews can feel unusual because you are speaking to a camera rather than a person sitting across the table. But platforms such as HireVue and Yello are designed to give employers structured video responses that can be reviewed later, making the recorded response itself an important part of the early recruitment process.
For a Kenyan job seeker, the best preparation is therefore surprisingly practical: get your internet working, put the camera at eye level, face your light source, clean your background, practise answering within the time limit and prepare real examples from your experience.
Once those things become routine, the camera becomes much less intimidating—and you can concentrate on the part that actually matters: communicating what you can bring to the job.
