Preparation is very similar to a normal face to face interview. You should do your research on the company profile and re-read the job spec to make sure you’ve got a good understanding of the role and responsibilities, look over your CV again and think about some examples you can point to on your CV to demonstrate your experience in relation to the job spec.
The additional things to consider with a Video call is to look at your environment, where are you going to set up? It needs to be in a quiet, comfortable, place in your home with good lighting…no family or Dogs wandering in and switch off your mobile!
Throughout the interview process try and arrange a time that will be convenient with any potential family problems, if you have young children and limited space try and schedule something for nap times or if convenient to the interviewer – early mornings /post-bedtime or time you know you have someone else to act as children’s entertainer, we’ve all seen the BBC interview and whilst that guy was great at remaining composed I doubt it was an easy feat.
Tip 1: Check behind you:
Make sure the background isn’t cluttered and you haven’t got potentially offensive or amusing things visible as they can be distracting.
Tip 2: From the waist up:
You also still need to dress in formal interview attire unless advised to be casually smart.
Tip 3: Ideally use a laptop, PC with a webcam or an IPad:
Try not to use your mobile phone to do the skype/zoom/teams call unless you have no other options. If your view of the person interviewing you is only 2inch square on your screen, you might not pick up on any facial expressions or body language that you otherwise might pick up on your laptop, PC or IPad. We have had feedback from clients to say “The video interview has been difficult because the candidate was hunched over a mobile phone”.
Tip 4 – Check out your device:
Make sure it’s working optimally and fully charged…no connection problems and make sure the Webcam is working properly.
Tip 5 – Do a dress rehearsal:
Familiarising yourself with the specific video platform is also a good idea as you may need to download an extension to join the meeting.
Interviews can be stressful at the best of times and video interviews are new for many of us, ask a friend to practice with you so you feel more familiar with it.
Body language is key, look at the person interviewing you, avoid looking around and try not to do things like picking nails or fiddling with your hair. First impressions count, just because you’re not in the same room as the Interviewer you still need to be mindful of how you come across.
With our current “standard” working arrangement going through so much change now is a perfect time to really embrace virtual interviewing and understand how these rapid variations to the standard interview process can actually have huge benefits, less time and possibly expense travelling to interviews, the ability to interview whilst continuing to be a positively functioning employee to your current organisation and if positive a quicker onboarding process all round.
