The entire first round was me talking to a webcam with a countdown timer and no human anywhere

Sixty seconds to think, two minutes to answer, two retakes per question, six questions. No interviewer. Just me, a progress bar, and my own face in the corner.

I've now done three of these in a month and they rattle me more than live rounds do. In a real conversation you can read whether an answer landed and adjust. Here you're performing into a void and then it's gone.

Two things I genuinely don't know: does using a retake count against you somewhere in the scoring, and does anyone actually practise these? I tried recording myself on my phone the night before the last one and it helped a little, mostly with not staring at my own face.