Video interviews come in two flavors:

- The “live” interview, conducted over services like Skype, in which interviewer and interviewee are at either end of a real-time video connection.

- The recorded interview, conducted through services like in which interviewees receive a list of questions, record their responses and then submit them for review.

http://tinyurl.com/psrp3ca

It’s possible that everyone loses with video interviewing and even when it’s not being compared to the face-to-face alternative, there are skeptics.

With video, especially in the one-way format, an applicant can hone a performance to a fine edge, but the operative word is “performance.” Some jobs need performers. For those jobs, video can provide important evidence of great presentation skills.

Many jobs, however, don’t need performers. A stellar programmer, for example, can be a great asset even if she’s painfully awkward on camera, but we’re all likely to be swayed by what we see on the screen. To combat this tendency, one skeptical HR consultant turns her back to the screen when reviewing video interviews. She simply listens, and she turns to the screen only if she likes what she’s heard, using the visual evidence to confirm what she’s already heard.

Let’s be clear, though: The choice of format is irrelevant to some of the most important parts of interview preparation, and you can’t let the fact that the interview is online distract you from what really matters.