Behind Those Stressful Video Interviews

video interviewThe first major client to use Kira Talent was Rotman. Now Kira Talent has around 60 clients in more than 80 countries. Their top clients are a nearly even split between industry and academia—the vast majority of which being business schools. Gauthier says Rotman gets regular calls from other business schools asking about the technology.

“It is a time savings aspect for everyone involved,” says Cushman. “Schools are receiving thousands of applicants sometimes and this is a way to be more efficient and streamline the process.”

Cushman also says with a growing population of international applicants applying to business schools.

“It is tougher to bring them to campus,” Cushman says. “This is a way to meet and get to know the applicant a little better than looking at a GMAT score or a 250 word essay.”

HOW IT WORKS

For most schools, the video interview is separated from the rest of the application. After the application is submitted, students are directed to a link. After clicking on the link, applicants get to answer a practice question asked by a pre-recorded admissions committee member. Upon completion, it gets real. Applicants are asked other questions and have an allotted amount of time to form a response and then record their response. Then the cycle is repeated usually two or three times.

“You can’t fake this,” Gauthier says. “We’re looking for a real person with thoughtful answers. Take a deep breath, smile and shine simply by being your best self.”

Questions are formulated by committee members and are recorded and uploaded using Kira Talent. The questions are asked on a random basis. Some of the questions used last year are:

Yale

What will you bring to Yale?

How has technology changed our lives?

At your current job, how do you believe you are making a contribution to the society?

Kellogg

What is one thing you have always wanted to try?

What is one piece of technology you can’t live without?

What is the most interesting course you took in university?

If you could meet anyone (living or dead), who would it be and why?

What is your most treasured possession and why?

ADVICE FROM THE COMMITTEES

“Don’t stress too much about the video essay. It’s meant to be personal and authentic. If you’ve ever used Skype or Facetime, this should feel familiar and easy. We also added a lot of information about the video essays to our website, so that’s a great place to read more to ease your mind.The video essay is about lifting you up off the pages of your written application and giving you a chance to showcase your Kellogg interest, personality and communication skills in a way that written essays and test scores can’t.” — Beth Tidmarsh, director of admissions for the full-time MBA program, Kellogg School of Management

“You can’t fake this. We’re looking for a real person with thoughtful answers. Take a deep breath, smile and shine simply by being your best self.” – Leigh Gauthier, Rotman School of Management

“Enjoy it. People worry that it will be daunting, but if you know how to use Skype, you can do this. And we know these are extemporaneous responses – we’re not looking for perfection – so it’s not something to stress over. Most of the applicants I spoke to found it actually to be a positive experience.” – Bruce DelMonico, Yale School of Management

MUST READ: KELLOGG UPS VIDEO, DROPS A WRITTEN ESSAY

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