Video Interview Tips: Setup, Recorded Interviews, and What Target and Best Buy Ask

• Camera at eye level, steady, framed from about the chest up.
• Light in front of you, from a window or a soft lamp. Nothing bright behind you.
• Headphones or a mic, a quiet room, and your phone on silent.
• Device charged, internet strong, and one practice question to test sound and picture.
• Look into the camera lens when you talk.

The camera, light and sound tips come from HireVue's own advice to candidates. Target and Best Buy tell candidates the same things: a well-lit space, little background noise, and a working camera and mic. Practice one answer out loud now, free:

Camera: put your laptop or phone on a stack of books so the lens is level with your eyes. Sit back far enough that the frame shows you from about the chest up. A phone works; Target and Best Buy both accept a smartphone, tablet or computer with a front camera.

Light: sit facing a window or a soft lamp. A window behind you turns you into a shadow. If the room is dim, put a lamp behind the camera, pointed at you.

Sound: headphones with a mic cut down echo and background noise. Pick a room with a door, and tell anyone at home when you will be recording.

Background: plain and tidy works best. Best Buy's advice is simple: look behind you to see what the hiring team will see. Blur can glitch around your face in poor light, so use it only if you cannot fix the background.

Clothes: dress as you would in person. Best Buy suggests leaning toward business casual, like a button-down shirt or blouse and slacks. Solid colors look better on camera than busy patterns.

In a one-way interview there is no person on the other end. A question appears on screen, a timer runs, and you record your answer. A recruiter watches it later. Full guide: what a one-way video interview is and how it works.

• Do every practice question the system offers. At Target, practice answers are never sent to anyone.
• Find out if you can re-record. Target lets you re-record an answer before you submit it. Best Buy's system gives you one chance per question, like a live interview.
• Use the prep time to pick one story and its result. Do not write a script; reading shows on camera.
• Watch the timer, but do not rush. Finishing early is fine.
• Talk to the lens. Put a sticky note with a smiley face next to it if that helps.
• Finish soon after the invite comes. Best Buy gives you five days, and Target says an interview left unfinished takes you out of the running.

A live video interview is a normal interview on Zoom, Teams or a similar app. Best Buy, for example, holds some final interviews on Microsoft Teams.

• Test the app the day before with a friend. Check your name on screen.
• Get ready 15 minutes early in a quiet space, with your resume and the job posting open beside you. Best Buy suggests exactly this for virtual interviews.
• Keep a glass of water and a notepad nearby.
• If the connection drops, rejoin right away and say where you left off.
• At the end, thank them and ask about the next step.

Target says some of its business areas use a recorded video interview, and it runs on HireVue. The invite comes by email from interviews@hirevue.com with the subject "Congrats! You've been selected to interview with Target." Full guide: the Target HireVue interview.

How it works, from Target's own page:

• Plan for about 30 minutes.
• Watch the introduction video all the way through. You cannot replay it.
• Practice as many times as you like. Nobody sees your practice answers.
• You can re-record an answer before you submit it. Target sees only your final take. You cannot retake the whole interview once you submit.
• Google Chrome is the recommended browser on a computer.
• A recruiter or hiring manager watches your answers along with your resume and application. Target says it usually replies within five business days.

The questions Target publishes as examples, with what each one tests:

• "Talk to us about your background, prior work, training or other experiences that have prepared you for this job." (job knowledge)
• "Describe how you work with people who think differently than you do." (inclusivity)
• "Describe a time you were confronted with a problem and had to help find a solution." (problem solving)
• "Describe how you partner and communicate with others to create strong working relationships." (connection)
• "Describe how you make sure your work is impactful or successful." (drive)

Candidates report questions close to these. One post on Reddit from July 2025 lists "Tell us why you are interested in the position and describe your relevant knowledge and experiences." Answer the "describe a time" questions with a real story and its result. Target also asks that your answers come from your own knowledge and experience, without help from AI tools during the interview.

For some of its most common store roles, Best Buy runs the first interview on Talview, an on-demand video tool. If you meet the job requirements, you get an email invite and five days to finish. For leadership and corporate jobs, Best Buy uses phone interviews with recruiters instead. More on the platform: the Talview interview.

How it works, from Best Buy's own page:

• You get one chance to answer each question. You cannot go back and re-record.
• You can do practice questions first to get used to the system.
• Use a computer, tablet or smartphone with a front-facing camera.
• Accommodations are available through Best Buy's Applicant Accommodation Request Form.

What candidates report being asked: on Reddit, people who took the Best Buy video interview list "Why do you want to work for Best Buy?", "Tell us a little about yourself, your work experience, and any interests or hobbies you want to share," a store scenario about how you would help a customer, and "Describe a time when" questions about solving a problem or handling an upset customer.

Top candidates from the video or phone round move to a final interview with the hiring manager and team, in person or on Microsoft Teams. Best Buy says that round covers your experience, why you want the role, and questions about your skills, critical thinking, working with others and overcoming challenges.

Run through this list 15 minutes before any video interview, recorded or live.

• Target: Recorded Video Interviews
• Target: Interview guide
• Best Buy Jobs: Preparing for your video interview
• Best Buy Jobs: An inside look at our hiring process
• Best Buy Jobs: Tips to impress the hiring team
• HireVue: Virtual interview tips
• Reddit r/Target: Target virtual interview questions (July 2025)
• Reddit r/BestBuyWorkers: Sales Advisor screening interview questions
• Reddit r/Bestbuy: What are the video interview questions?
• Reddit r/BestBuyWorkers: How did you pass the virtual interview