My tips for video interview success

This week I had the experience of having my very first ever video interview. Video interviews are becoming a more common way of screening potential candidates for jobs. It’s quicker, cheaper and can be conducted literally anywhere in the world!

It took a while to get used to pretending my camera was a real life person but at the end of it, I actually found that I felt more comfortable talking about myself this way than in face-to-face interviews.

My video interview didn’t have another person asking my questions at the other end. Instead, questions were given to me on the screen and I was given time to record my answers.

Based on the questions that I got asked, I have listed above what I think the recruiter wanted to gauge from me.

In my experience, depending on how specialised the position that you’re applying for is, most recruiters are becoming less interested in technical knowledge. What they want to know is whether or not you can fit into the culture of the company. Most importantly, they want to know how easily you can learn and adapt on the job – this is much more important than sounding as smart as Einstein.

My insider tips

 

1. Take the video interview seriously and dress as you would for a face to face meeting. 

You will feel more powerful and this will transpire when you speak. You might think that you can get away by wearing a crisp shirt on top and your pyjamas as bottoms but it would do your confidence a favour to really dress to impress. 

2. Do research on potential questions that may come up based on the position you’re applying for.

Why don’t you check YouTube for other people’s video interviews so you have an idea of how best to conduct yourself? Better yet, why don’t you attend a careers interview workshop? Check out our Careers and Employability website for events to help you.

3. Familiarise yourself with the technology.

• Is the webcam/microphone working? Don’t leave it last minute to check.

• Can you stop and start the interview or will you lose time by doing this? My interview allowed me some time to read the question. Afterwards I was free to start the recording of my answers.

• Are you allowed breaks? In my experience, I wasn’t. The idea is to emulate a real life interview but merely to exploit how technology makes it quicker and cheaper to screen candidates.

4. Try and locate the fastest internet speed you can get. 

This affects the quality of your video and ultimately how the recruiter will perceive you. The University’s Eduroam connection has never failed me. If you’re having trouble getting hold of a webcam, Hartley Library provides laptops with a microphone and camera. If you need a quiet room to record your interview, you can book a library room here. Of course, you can also complete the interview in the comfort of your own room! Just make sure you tell your housemates that your life depends on their quietness for the next hour or so…

5. Do a trial run.

Skype a friend before recording so you can ask for feedback on how close you should be to the camera and any other adjustments to make such as lighting and sound. I found that a plain white background for the video was enough. Too much going on in the back takes the attention away from you.

My experience in retail job interviews

As a student, it helps to have extra income from a part-time job whilst doing a degree. I work one shift a week in retail and that is enough to pay for my weekly food shop which is fantastic. My video interview was for Transport for London but I have had more experience being interviewed for retail positions. It’s different in a sense that they are done in person but incredibly similar in a sense that most of the questions I’ve been asked want to know how easily I can fit into the culture of the team.

If you’re thinking of applying for a part-time job in retail, here are some things that my manager has told me she keeps in mind when interviewing candidates:

Retail is very much team based and customer facing. Typically, employers want to know if you are warm and welcoming to new people, if you can sell products well and if you can learn on the job quickly. Retail is also busy and fast paced. I’ve found that it’s all about using your intuition and not relying on the manager or supervisor to tell you what to do all the time. For example, if I see a spillage on the shop floor I use my intuition to follow the right clean-up procedure and not wait for my manager to ask. One other thing is that retail managers want flexible recruits. Sometimes, your colleagues will get ill or someone can’t turn up for their shift. Your CV will get a guaranteed tick if you are flexible and open to short notice shift work.

In my experience, practice makes perfect if you want to succeed in that interview. Take a few hours to search online what kind of potential questions will come up based on the technicalities or competencies needed for the position you’re applying for. Ultimately, an interview is your opportunity to bring to life your CV. If you’ve got it – flaunt it. Don’t be shy to sound passionate.

If you have had a video interview, let me know how it went in the comments below. If you have one coming up, best of luck to you!

Rylyn

Preparing for your dissertation

It’s that time of year – exams are finished and semester two begins, bringing along with it the dreaded dissertation. I was fortunate enough during my undergraduate degree to have been an intern within ECS (Electronics and Computer Science) after my second year, where I began a research project that became my dissertation completely by accident.

However, keeping momentum on any project is tough. This time last year, despite having started technically some months ago, I was still fairly unsure of what I was actually supposed to be doing. I’ve jotted down a few key pieces of advice for those of you embarking on your dissertation marathon. Take it with a pinch of salt; it worked for me, but ultimately this is your project and you know how you work best.

1. Read

Read everything about your topic that you can get your hands on. If you aren’t sure what your specific research question is yet, read an array of literature and write down questions that arise as you go - maybe one of them will be interesting enough to become your project. Once you have your research question, don’t jump into the literature review straight away. keep reading and learn as much as you can. Then when you sit down to actually write something, it will be much, much easier.

2. Talk to your supervisor

Supervisors are your best resource for advice and guidance. Arrange meetings with them and make sure to attend prepared, make a list of the questions you want to ask so that you don’t waste your time. Some departments have a limit on how frequently you can meet with your supervisor, so make sure you check your department’s rules and regulations.

3. Plan your time

Discuss a timeline with your supervisor, set reasonable deadlines for each stage of the work and try to meet them. Setting deadlines helps to avoid things being left to the last minute, and by involving your supervisor it becomes harder to miss the deadline.

4. Don’t let it take over your life

Remember that you have other modules and coursework to do, don’t let the dissertation become the only thing that you work on. Third year is a crucial time and you don’t want to ensure success in the dissertation at the expense of your other modules.

5. Talk about your ideas

Get together with friends and coursemates and talk about your ideas for your topic. Talking to someone else can really help clarify your ideas; it doesn’t matter whether or not they actually know what you are going on about. It’s like the ‘programming teddy bear’; the idea that, when you are programming, talking to a teddy bear on your desk explaining your code helps you to avoid mistakes and helps you understand what you are trying to do. The exact same thing is true with your dissertation. Find your teddy bear!

My teddy bear is actually an owl – poor thing has listened to me talk about my work far too often

The final piece of advice isn’t really so much advice as it is a cliché. Don’t leave it to the last minute. As with most things, the way to ensure a really strong dissertation is to give yourself plenty of time to write and re-write. It’s an organic process where things improve the longer you give yourself to understand what it is you are trying to do.

The final thing! Sending it to be bound is only slightly less terrifying than actually handing it in.

Good luck!

Emma

Getting back into it - the start of the final semester

It’s been several days now since my last deadline passed, and we’ve still got a few days before the new semester kicks into play, leaving life somewhat adrift. It seems I’ve become caught in some strange sense of limbo; the twilight zone between assignment work and the return of lectures, seminars and general structure.

To let this time slip on by seems almost too wasteful. It may be important to get some serious rest in before the start of the new term - what promises to be the busiest yet - but equally, this little pocket of dead space has proven mighty useful for ticking off a number of things I’ve been pushing myself to do, but never quite got round to. More pressing matters always seem to end up getting in the way, but with the deadlines now all pushed to one side, the hunt was finally on.
 

Those little green ticks have unleashed a whole new world of nothing

Jobs

Yeah, I used the ‘J’ word. This week I finally addressed that ominous spectre that seems to somehow float above the heads of all third-year students, taking some of this spare time to polish up my CV and even send off a few application forms. I won’t lie, gathering up the energy to start seriously thinking about my future hasn’t been particularly easy, but once that first form was perfected and sent off into the ether, everything became that little bit more manageable.

A quick flick through the University’s Careers and Employability Service website also proved mighty useful, giving me a necessary kick in the right direction whilst also letting me know about upcoming employability events. Knowing that there’s plenty of recruitment fairs between now and the summer helped ease a few worries for sure.

Dissertation

Oddly enough, I actually owe a lot to the fact that I have to hand in the draft of my dissertation in just over a month (a slightly scary thought now that I’ve seen it written down). Between all the research and garbled rewriting, dissertation work has not only kept me sane, but it’s also helped to maintain at least a sense of focus in my otherwise structureless days.

Occasional meetings with my tutor ended up encouraging me to head on back over to Avenue Campus, which still looks just as pretty as it did last year, despite the sudden sub-zero temperatures. The actual work itself helped me to feel productive on days when otherwise, time would have simply slipped on by. Apparently this whole dissertation thing isn’t nearly as terrifying as I’d first heard. In fact, I think I might be becoming rather fond of it.

Semester two

Otherwise known as ‘the final semester’ (cue dramatic music, thunder, lightning etc.). Suddenly having no lectures and no deadlines for a bit has of course left me plenty of time to plan out how I’m going to spend my final term here at the University.

Drawing up a timetable for my next set of modules seemed like a good way to start, but from there it seemed to mostly dissolve into a Southampton bucket list - something I’ll no doubt share with you all further down the line. Rest assured though, SURGE, The Edge and SUSUtv will hopefully remain heavy fixtures in the coming months.

It’s been a strange few weeks, but with lectures returning really rather soon, I’m sure some much needed routine will follow just as easily.

Ben

Post-exam motivation

On these grey days with exams hanging over most of our heads, I bet I’m not the only one who feels very tired. As this blog post is being published, I’m having my last exam and it would be an understatement to say that I’m looking forward to being done!

I have been thinking about what I want to do when I finish my exams. After all, I have almost a week off and I’m not planning on going back home to -16 degrees in Norway!

The best thing I could think of would be to go to a spa and just stay there for a week, but that’s probably not the best idea on a student budget! I am, however, planning on some extreme relaxing time, catching up with TV shows and highly needed sleep. However, a week off shall not be spent just being in bed. Or at least, I’m trying to convince myself of that.

I woke up to this picture sent to me by one of my best friends back home and quickly decided I will stay in England for my days off. 

For my week off I’m planning on going somewhere here on the South Coast where I haven’t been. I have mentioned it before, but from Southampton there are so many trains and coaches you can catch, so now it’s just a question of where. I’m thinking about going to nearby cities like Portsmouth, Winchester, or maybe Salisbury and see Stonehenge, but any other suggestions are also highly appreciated.

Bournemouth, 40 minutes by train away from Southampton. Send me some sunshine, please! 

Strangely enough, I’m also looking forward to semester two. It’s a fresh start in a new year and that in itself is quite motivating. It’s also a bit daunting, since I’m halfway through my degree and I have no idea where the time is going!

Semester two of second year is also very special, since this is the semester we are applying for exchange in third year. This is something I really want to do and Southampton has so many good exchange opportunities for all the different courses that it’s hard to choose where I want to apply. To my knowledge this has to be done by February so, it’s quite soon!

I’m also going to take a bit advantage of all the wonderful opportunities offered to us as students here at Southampton and attend one of the many workshops Enabling Services are offering. Did you know each Monday they arrange something called Mindful Mondays for students? I have never been, but from the description I found on the event details, it looks like something I could find useful.

Last, but not least – I’m actually excited to get all the things ‘I will do it after exams finish’ done. This includes a deep-cleaning of our house, go proper food-shopping and getting registered at the Doctors. Yes, I was one of the lazy ones who didn’t want to stand in the queue outside the Surgery, but luckily I can register all year around.

I hope everyone’s exams are going alright and that in the deepest sleep deprivation and that you all at least have something to look forward to after exams!

Alexandra

Student study tips for all subjects

We all have our different ways of working during exam season. Have you ever wondered how other students at the University of Southampton cope with theirs? I spoke to five students from different subjects, each with different studying styles, about their best exam revision tips. Of course, it helps to have done some work over the holidays but if you’re in crisis mode right now, I hope these help!

I’m going to start off with the top three most useful exam tips I have collected over my two and a half years here.

Name: Rylyn
Course: Politics and International Relations
Recognisable revision trait: the one who can only study at the library

1. Start writing – you can’t edit a blank page.Try this trick: imagine you only have five minutes left to get a task done. Time yourself, and within that five minutes do everything you can to finish it, as if your life depended on it. You’d be surprised at how effective this is to get you to realise starting isn’t really that difficult at all. You may even want to go over the timed five minutes once you get yourself going!

2. Make sure you have a good sitting position and comfortable lighting. There’s nothing worse than ruining your eyesight and your back at the same time. I bought myself a cheap wireless mouse and keyboard online. This means I can rest my back on my chair so I don’t have to be hunched over my laptop, and my laptop screen is at a safer distance from my eyes.

3. Here’s a good tip from my lecturer after going to his revision session: try and compress everything you know in one page using colours to help. You can use mind-maps, bullet points or even prose, but the ‘one page trick’ really can ease your mind into remembering – you always seem to remember everything in one page!


It helps to give yourself some short and timed breaks. SUSU held their annual petting zoo this week as part of the #StressLessFest. This means some on-campus perks and events to keep you sane during revision period.

More from the SUSU petting zoo. Alpaca-way your revision woes! 

Name: Sarah
Course: Criminology
Recognisable revision trait: the one who has no gaps in between exams

“Explain your work to your stuffed shark toy.”

If you can explain your subject well to someone else who doesn’t know it, then you’re doing it right! If you don’t have a stuffed shark toy, try a real person!


Name: Tim and Toby
Course: Civil Engineering
Recognisable revision trait: the ones who are always highly strung and/or anxious

“Buy a safe and lock your phone in it.”

…or just turn your phone off! It’s hard to get away from any electronic distractions. You can get sites blocked temporarily so you’re not tempted, or you could hand your phone to a trusted friend and have them swear to not give you back the phone after an hour of good, solid work. Remember to lock your phone with a password, though!


Name: Guilly
Course: Marine Biology
Recognisable revision trait: the one who’s never at home because of jobs, societies and everything else…

“Make a list.”

Using lists is an excellent way to make sure you complete the most urgent tasks for the day. During revision time, they are especially helpful. The trick with lists is to keep it to the top three things you HAVE to complete for the day. This keeps it manageable. There is nothing better than crossing something from that piece of paper. Again, it helps to start creating a list for what to revise for very early on in the revision process so you’re not inundated by tasks.

Tip: start with three things on your list for the day and as you gradually reach the exam period, reduce it to one.


Name: Georgie
Course: English
Recognisable revision trait: the one who’s a party animal

“Alternate your study space.”

For some people, having a dedicated study space is one way they learn. But sometimes even someone like me, who always chooses the library to study in, benefits from a new environment. Studies have actually shown that memory is coloured by location, so changing the view increases the likelihood of remembering what you’ve learnt. Of course, make sure that the new environment you choose is conducive to studying. So, no, don’t try and revise at The Stags on Karaoke Thursdays!


Don’t forget!

The SUSU Safety Bus runs from 8pm till 6am during exam season will take you within a 3-mile radius of uni for £1.50 or more if outside it. If you don’t have cash, they can take your student ID and you can pay for the fare and collect your card the next day at the box office. This service is my knight in shining armour during late night study sessions at the Library. SUSU’s priority is to keep you safe. Taking the bus is better than walking home alone in the dark and rain!

There is a light at the end of this tunnel: Refresher’s Week is coming up after exams. Use this to help you think of all the stuff you can get up to when this is over!

If you’re feeling a little blue, why not have a look at my fellow Life at Southampton Blogger Ben’s tips on how to cope with the January blues?

We’re almost there, guy!. I wish you all luck in your exams and well done to those who have finished!

Rylyn

Just a little bit of kindness

So Christmas is over and once again we’ve headed back to Southampton to start revising for exams, desperately trying to work out what we need to score to still achieve a 2:1.

I thought about writing some sort of survival guide for exams, but honestly after three years of undergraduate studies I’m still not sure of the best way to go about it; if anyone does have a good survival guide please let me know!

Instead I’m going to write about something I experienced in December.

One of my closest friends in Southampton isn’t a student, but rather she works for the University, whom I met in a roundabout sort of way a couple of years ago. This woman is impossible to shop for, and has a habit of teaming up with her partner to buy me the most amazing gifts. She is also the most selfless person I know; two or three times a week she takes a basket full of homemade muffins or cookies and gives them out to the homeless people in the city centre.

Photo of Rollz and this week’s muffin delivery

In all honesty I’ve never really paid much attention to homeless people, and I know I’m not alone in that, but on reflection it’s a really terrible thing that so many of us simply accept homelessness as something that just exists.

So, for my friend this year, I decided to buy a big Christmas card and take it round the City Centre, trying to find as many of my friends ‘streeters’ as I could, and ask them if they wanted to sign the card for her. Every single one of them that I spoke to said yes, and all of them had really lovely kind words to say about my friend.

The strange part for me was that they were all such normal people; they didn’t ask me for anything and honestly many were just grateful that someone had stopped to talk to them, when hundreds of people every day just walk by without even noticing them.

That’s when I realised what was so wonderful about my friend taking round muffins for them. It wasn’t about the food, it was the fact that when you have so little, and someone takes the time out of their day to cook for you and stop and have a chat and ask you how you’re getting on, really taking an interest, it changes your whole day and makes things just a little bit brighter.

As students at Southampton we can choose not to be just a part of the University, but part of Southampton’s community. I know many people through student societies hold charity events, such as the Athletic community’s past jogs to the homeless shelter with canned food, but you don’t have to be part of a society to do something positive. I’m definitely not suggesting we all start baking and descend upon the City Centre with cake, but there are a number of wonderful local charities that are always welcome to donations.

It doesn’t have to be money; as students we live semi-temporary lives here, buying things to kit out our student accommodation that won’t leave with us when we graduate. Blankets, sheets, canned food that you bought in the event of the apocalypse or a really rainy Sunday…all of that will be gratefully received by homeless shelters in the city. The Society of St James is a great charity that operates in Southampton – if you’re interested you can find their website here.

I think the main thing that everyone can do, that costs nothing and takes virtually no time out of your life is to simply stop thinking of homeless people as invisible. Don’t quicken your pace just a little bit and walk past, or ignore the Big Issue seller completely.

It hurts no one to just smile. Just a tiny bit of kindness can make more of a difference than you know.

Emma

Avoiding the January blues

The finest anti-climax of them all is finally here, and it’s called January. Every year excitement levels seem to reach fever-pitch around Christmas, and then promptly drop off into nowhere the second the New Year starts. January has never been a kind month, and what with exam and essay season now very much in full swing, it can be a little hard to manage sometimes.

Fear not however, for out of the ashes of 2015 comes a fresh start and a new attitude. No longer does January have to be written off as a cavalcade of awful. There are plenty of ways to keep things cheery, and here’s just a few of them (the rest I’m sure will be made available upon request - just as soon as I’ve made them up!)

It’s all in the mindset

A lot of January’s misery comes purely from its reputation. In reality, it’s just a month like any other. Yes, it means going back to school/work after a lengthy break. Yes, it means getting on with all the things you said you’d do before but never did. But that doesn’t mean it has to be terrible.

Try even just saying to yourself 'This year, January is going to be good'. Even if you don’t fully believe it right now, give it a go every now and again; it might start to sink in if you do it for long enough.

Go outside

This sounds like a silly one but seriously, going outside at least once a day can raise your mood exponentially. Whether that means digging yourself out of the trenches of Hartley Library for a quick walk to the SUSU shop for lunch or snacks, or just leaving the essay-laden cove of your bedroom for a swift sprint up to the nearest supermarket.

Any sort of fresh air and exercise can help by opening up your airways and blowing away those mental cobwebs. True, it’s cold, but stick a jumper on and you probably won’t notice the difference. The cold might even help and distract you from the stress of work. You don’t know unless you try!

Eat as healthily as you can

Okay, this one is hard. Insanely hard. In fact, if you find a way to manage it, please let me know how, I’d love to be able to eat healthily and still stay focused. It might not always be a realistic idea, but it’s certainly one that will help.

A lot of the time when you start to feel a bit downtrodden, your diet could be to blame. If you’re only eating junk food and takeaways and missing out on vegetables, your body and, more importantly, your brain, is being starved of certain things it needs to run at full capacity. If you’re really pushing yourself to work hard when you’re in this state, you’re going to burnout fast. Sugar highs are a good pick-me-up, but remember, they come with their crashes too.

I’m not saying avoid all chocolate and go vegan - we all need our little incentives. I’ve had a triple pack of Jaffa Cakes sat on my desk to keep me powering through the essay I’m currently writing, but try and balance out the sugar with some good stuff. Clean body, clean mind as someone important probably said once.


So, you see, January doesn’t have to be awful after all. With a bit of fresh air and the odd carrot in your system, you can fight off those early-2016 blues and feel like a real person again.

Good luck to everyone working hard over the next few weeks, you can do it!

Ben

Five ways to make the most of your time as a student in 2016

First of all, Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a lovely and peaceful holiday, without too much university or school work hanging over them.

I bet we all have a few New Year’s resolutions and, whether they consist of joining the gym or starting your coursework earlier, I’m sure everyone’s resolutions could be helped with better time management in 2016.

Here are a few of my personal tips for making the most of your time in 2016.

Make use of ‘dead-time’

By ‘dead-time’ I mean the time it takes for you to get to campus, the time in-between lectures etc., so when you are actually home or at the library you can devote your time 100% to doing work. For example, I often use the bus ride home to check social media, call or text my parents, or read the news. Not too say I don’t do this at home, but when I’m home I can focus on other things and I don’t have anything I ‘just have to check’ before I start doing work.

Structure the day

Writing down everything you need to have done by the end of the day is a good way to plan ahead. This way you can hopefully avoid forgetting that you have to return your course collection book at 11am, or similar nightmares. This includes writing down what work/reading you should have finished by the end of the day.

Sleep

Probably not the most surprising point in this post, but sleep is so underrated. I mean, even if you are sleep deprived and haven’t slept properly in a week you still get your work done, hence it is possible to work without your 8-hours-a-day. However, to do well over a long period of time, having a good sleeping pattern is important. It makes a nice change to sit in those 9am lectures and focus on what the lecture is actually about, instead of focusing on staying awake!

Structure your notes 

I’m personally horrible at this because in lectures I just try to write all the things I find essential (which often is almost everything). However, by structuring your notes, you save so much time later on. Use markers on important concepts and devote one notebook to each, so it’s easier to find later. Instead of copying everything from the PowerPoint, focus on writing down the things the PowerPoint doesn’t tell you. The slides will be available online later anyway.

Stop the procrastination

This one is obvious, but just think about how much time you could save by diminishing the time you procrastinate. OK, you probably think about it all the time, because I know I do, but instead of half doing your work while you keep your eyes on your phone and then ending up with watching a movie, take breaks while you work. Use these breaks to do something other than university work and then go back to your studies. For example, work intensively for 45 minutes. and then a break for 15 minutes.


This year I don’t have a lot of New Year’s resolutions. My three resolutions are to be better at making the most out of my time, calling my grandad more often and start walking more. Yes, I have an obsession with the step counter on my iPhone - I want it to be above 7,000 steps every day!

A little picture from cold, cold, cold Oslo (currently -11 degrees here) 

Happy New Year!

Alexandra