Interview Questions for a Video Editor (With Sample Answers)
If you want to work as a video editor, you should be ready for an interview in case the person in charge of hiring wants to set one up. During an interview, a potential employer can find out about your relevant experience, skills, and work ethic. If you know what kinds of questions you might be asked in a video editing interview, you can plan your answers and feel more confident about them. In this article, we list some of the many interview questions you might be asked as a video editor and give you some sample answers to help you out.
General video editor interview questions
At the beginning of an interview, hiring managers often ask questions to learn more about you and your personality. Even though these questions have nothing to do with your resume, they help the interviewer figure out if you are a good cultural fit for their company. Here are some basic questions that you might be asked if you apply for a job as a video editor:
- Tell me something about you.
- In five or ten years, where do you see yourself?
- When did you first know that you wanted to edit videos?
- What do you like to do when you have free time?
- When can you begin?
- Why are you interested in working for us?
- How much do you know about it?
- What is your ideal range of pay?
- Why are you leaving the job you have now?
- As a video editor, what are your best skills?
- What do you think are your biggest flaws as a video editor?
Questions about past work and history
The questions they ask about your experience and background help them figure out if you have the right skills for the job. When you answer these questions, think about what’s on your resume and what’s most relevant to the job posting. Here are some questions you might be asked as a video editor about your background and experience:
- Where did you learn how to edit videos and where did you go to school?
- How familiar are you with different video software?
- What is your favorite software for editing videos, and why?
- Whose work as a video editor do you admire?
- How do you keep up with the latest tools, technologies, and trends in editing?
- Do you feel good about any of your side projects?
- Which of the projects in your portfolio do you think is your best?
- Tell me about one of the video projects in your online portfolio. Tell me about the pictures, the budget, the deadlines, and the rules.
- Tell me about a time you worked with people from different fields. What did you like the most, and what was the hardest part?
- How long did each of the projects in your portfolio take you to finish? Why did some projects take more time?
In-depth questions
Near the end of an interview, hiring managers will often ask you more difficult questions to see if you can do the job. For example, they might ask questions about the role or the situation. As a video editor, you may be asked the following in-depth questions:
- Tell me about a time when you and a coworker had different ideas. How did you respond?
- Have you ever done work that a client didn’t like? How did you handle the situation, and what did you do to fix it?
- Tell me about a time when you and your boss had different ideas for a project. How did you move forward?
- Describe your ideal client.
- Explain how you present your work at a meeting with a client or other important people.
- How do you measure success as a video editor?
- Tell me about a technical problem you had to solve as a video editor. What went wrong and how did you deal with it?
- Let’s say you might not meet your deadline. How do you plan to move forward?
- Have you ever had a difference of opinion with your boss? What did you do to fix it?
- Tell me about a time when you did something wrong at work. What did you do?
Sample questions and answers for an interview
Reviewing how other people have answered interview questions about being a video editor can help you come up with your own answers. Before your real interview, you might want to do a “mock interview” with family or friends to help you practice your answers. Here are some interview questions for video editors and examples of how to answer them:
What did you have to do in your last job editing videos?
Employers want to know if you’ve worked as a video editor before. By asking this question, they can figure out if your past jobs have prepared you for the job they have open. In your answer, list all of the jobs you’ve done before and highlight the ones that match the job description.
Example: “In my last job as a video editor, I met with clients to find out what they wanted and how they wanted it to look. Having an idea of what the project was supposed to do helped me make a plan for what I wanted to make. I also went through the footage and cut it down, added dialogue and music with editing software, and added special effects for an extra touch. As I worked on projects, I made sure to meet deadlines and keep the client updated often.”
How do you handle video projects that are due around the same time?
You might have to work on more than one project at once as a video editor. Interviewers might ask you this question to see how well you can manage your time. In your answer, talk about how well you can set priorities and meet deadlines. Also, show how well you can organize things.
Example: “As a video editor, I know how important it is to meet deadlines. I stay organized and keep my mind on the task at hand to handle projects with similar due dates. I think about which project’s deadline is the most important and which one is more flexible. I also use a planner to keep track of my tasks and calendar so I can better manage my time and make sure I don’t miss any deadlines.”
What do you like best about your job as a video editor?
Hiring managers ask this question to find out how interested and passionate you really are about editing videos. When you answer, talk about how much you like this field and why you love what you do.
Example: “I like a lot of things about being a video editor, but my favorite is that it gives me the chance to learn new skills while having fun. As video editors, we have to keep up with the newest trends and technologies all the time. This pushes me to get better at my job and teaches me new things all the time.”
