Online MMI tips: how to do well on a video interview

Some schools run MMIs and panel interviews online, and some in person. Your invitation will say which, and an online interview is marked in exactly the same way as one in a room. The content of your answers matters most, but online interviews add a few things you can get wrong, and they are all easy to fix in advance.

Set up the room

• A quiet room you can close the door on. Tell everyone in the house when your interview is, and put a note on the door.
• Light in front of you, not behind. Facing a window is ideal. A window behind you turns you into a silhouette.
• A plain, tidy background. It does not need to be blank, just not distracting.
• A stable surface for your device, with the camera at eye level. Stack books under a laptop if needed.

Test the technology

• Install and test the exact platform the school uses, on the device you will use, well before the day.
• Use a wired connection or sit close to the router if you can. Close other apps and ask others in the house not to stream video during your slot.
• Headphones with a microphone usually sound better than laptop speakers and stop echo.
• Plug in your charger. Turn off notifications.
• Save the school’s contact details somewhere other than the device you are using.

Come across well on camera

• Look at the camera when you speak, and at the screen when you listen. Looking at the camera is how the interviewer feels eye contact.
• Sit so your head and shoulders fill the frame, with a little space above your head.
• Slow down slightly. Audio delays make people talk over each other. Leave a beat before you start answering.
• Show you are listening. Nodding and small facial reactions matter more on video, where body language is lost.

Notes and reading time

Follow each school’s rules exactly. Some allow you to make notes during reading time and some do not, and many ask you not to have anything else open or nearby. Even where notes are allowed, reading from them sounds scripted. A one-word reminder of your structure is the most that helps.

If the connection drops

It happens, and schools plan for it. Stay calm, follow any instructions in your invitation, try to reconnect, and contact the school if you cannot. When you are back, a simple “Sorry about that, I was just saying…” is enough. Technical problems are not marked.

Practise in the same conditions

The best preparation is to practise answering out loud, in the room and chair you will use, at the time of day of your interview. You get used to talking to a screen, hearing your own voice and handling the pause before a follow-up.