Online interview techniques

[lastqueenofscotland]

I’ve got an interview on Monday on zoom.
Very corporate set up, fairly senior role.
Have some examples of questions etc but I was wondering if anyone had any handy hints for zoom as a platform for interviews! Quite nervous!

Do a trial run with someone so you can check the you have the right angle and lighting,

Plain background if possible. If using your phone, put it on something solid: I have used a music stand for this. Try to speak in your normal voice; it’s tempting to talk loudly and exaggeratedly. It’s a bit disconcerting that you can’t make proper eye contact, because your camera is not where the interviewer’s eyes are, but try to ignore this.

Be sure to have relevant documents with you.

Test out the camera angles from your laptop beforehand. You may need to raise the level of the laptop so that it is at a suitable height and check there is sufficient light.

Pick a neutral backdrop if you need to blur your background. If you dont have that option, then tidy up and remove anything distracting.

Set up a test Zoom meeting so that you are familiar with the menu options.

Dress professionally, even on your lower half!

Good luck!

I have recently conducted interviews on zoom. From that perspective, I echo the advice to check that your sound and lighting and internet connection are as good as you can get them. We had one candidate who was barely visible or audible, which made the interview hard work for everyone and I think there was quite a lot he could have done to present himself (literally) in a better light.

Plain, uncluttered background. Dress as you normally would for an interview. Try and be somewhere quiet if possible. Switch off any devices that might make a noise unexpectedly.

If it will help, take the opportunity to have reminders of key points you want to get across somewhere you can see them but the interviewers can't. That is one of the advantages of zoom. But do make sure they really can't see them and don't be too obvious about it!

I had a zoom interview a couple of weeks ago, I agree with everything what’s been said so far. I ended up using my iPad for the call itself, I put it on a tower of books (to avoid the double chin angle) and used the laptop for interview related stuff.
Also, definitely check your background and what’s “in scope” so to speak.
It was easier in some respects because I had all my notes, papers, cv and job description laid out on the table, no nervous paper shuffling.
I also used headphones, it stopped me from shouting.
Good luck

Like Chicken, i have recently conducted interviews via zoom.

Whilst things like wobbly camera, noises off etc wouldn’t put me off a candidate, it makes it so much easier to focus on what they are saying if there are minimal distractions.

We had one who held their phone and it was quite distracting. Swoopy visuals, camera under the chin so we couldnt see his expression properly and crap sound. He was actually a brilliant candidate too, so it was a pity we all had to work so hard to hear him. All he had to do was Bung the phone in a mug on the windowsill.

Also, take a good look at the art in the background. Someone else did have what looked to be an erotic art print behind them. 🤣

I had an internal interview via Webex a couple of weeks back.

If needing to do a presentation, ensure you are familiar with the functionality for sharing your screen etc and don't have anything else open on your desktop.

Check your audio connection - i now connect to Webex via a connection on my laptop rather than phone call, which has been a complete game changer - no worrying about signal, no disconnecting and the audio is so much clearer.

If you have a second monitor, put your notes up on that screen, its more subtle than flipping through a note book

I tend to look at the whole screen rather than a specific participant or the camera itself. I think most people appreciate that its not easy to make eye contact virtually, and at least there's no concern about trying to look at each person on the panel!

Good luck

Oh the second screen thing is a really good idea thank you.
I will definitely put some notes on my iPad

I had a zoom interview. I drafted up notes and prompts and stuck them to the wall behind my laptop..

Look at the camera on your phone/laptop, not at whoever you're speaking to's eyes

Sorry to hijack but I have an online interview too, is it really a no to be in front of a bookcase as I work like this and there hasn't been issues with meetings at work. Not sure where else I can go

nitgel one of our candidates was in front of a bookcase and it looked fine. Assuming there aren't any disturbing or distracting titles behind your head. Professional textbooks and/or innocuous penguin paperbooks yes ... 50 shades of gray, probably not!

Agree with the above

There’s no reason not to use a bookcase, unless you have a super dodgy book collection.

It's good to have light or window in front of you, not behind. Mine offered a tech check practice call the day before, which was great. Sadly, on the day it didn't work but I got brownie points for staying calm and carrying on with a telephone interview. This was in fact excellent for me because I could refer closely to the case study notes I had prepared. I start Tuesday ☺️.

Hope it goes well tomorrow @lastqueenofscotland.

And congratulations @ScrapThatThen!