When you have the chance to do a video interview, you need to make sure that you have the right surroundings. Your surroundings can either help or hurt your chances of landing the job. Like in a traditional job interview, you want to present yourself in a professional manner and focus all of your attention on the interviewer. Once, I did a video interview in my room and my dog kept scratching at the door. I panicked and had to pause the video interview to go open the door and felt distracted during the rest of the interview. Don’t make the mistake of choosing the wrong place to do a video interview like I did. Here are some tips that can help you establish the right place to have your video interview and help you land that job.
For your online video interview, you want to be in a place free of distractions. This means that you don’t want to be in a place that has too much going on in the background. Ever notice how when you to a traditional job interview with an employer you usually end up in a place that is away from the commotion of the office? Having privacy is key to establishing a good personal connection with the person you are interviewing with. The best place to do your video interview is in your own home where you can control the surroundings. Doing it in a coffee shop or a friend’s place may bring unintended distractions that are out of your control.
Now that you have a good idea of where to conduct the video interview with an employer, you should check on establishing the right atmosphere. Make sure that no one else is in the room when you are interviewing with an employer. This is one of the biggest distractions. On top of that, it’s meant to be a private job interview between you and the employer. Check to see what is in the background of your webcam shot. It’s preferable to be interviewing in front of a blank wall void of anything that could distract the interviewer such as paintings, pictures, book cases or family photographs. You want to be the only of the interview. After all, this job interview is all about you.
Secondly, take care of any potential technical difficulties before your interview. This means making sure the audio and video is working on your webcam. You don’t want to spend the first moments of your video interview fixing things that could have been fixed before if you had adequately prepared. Check yourself on your webcam to see how you look and change any lighting in the room if needed.
Lighting can be tricky because it’s all about finding a good balance. Too much natural light can wash you out on the computer screen, while having one bright light in the room can cast a shadow and make the room appear darker. Play with the lighting in the room to find the best lighting to help put the perfect spotlight on you. Check the sound quality of your video as well to avoid echoes or low sound. You shouldn’t have to raise your voice in order for the interviewer to hear you.
If you follow these simple steps for your online job interview, then you shouldn’t run into any technical issues. Of course, issues can always arise unexpectedly, but if you take the right preparations you have a better chance of avoiding them in the end.
Have you ever participated in an online video interview with an employer? How was your experience? Let us know about it in the comments section below!
IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by Don Nunn
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