Much like a face-to-face interview, video interviewing is all about showing a hiring manager your personality and passion for the business. However, there are some unusual factors that come into play when you’re doing a video interview that you don’t have to deal with when you’re sitting across the table from someone. In order to excel when it’s time to do a video interview, keep these do’s and don’ts in mind:
The Do’s
- Get comfortable with your software ahead of time: You don’t want to sign on 15 minutes late because you couldn’t figure out how to get the video interviewing platform to work or you couldn’t remember your password. Do a dry run before the interview in order to ensure that technological glitches don’t get in your way when it’s time for the real thing.
- Think about what the interviewer will see in the background: Before you begin the interview, take a look in the camera and think about what the hiring manager will see when they conduct the interview. Ideally you want a neutral, clean background behind you. This means getting rid of dirty dishes, beer bottles, or other items that might send the wrong impression to the person doing the interview.
- Dress the part: Even though you’re not sitting across from the hiring manager, you still need to dress professionally for a video interview. This means full business attire from head to toe. Yes, you may be sitting, but you never know when you’ll have to get up from your computer, exposing pajama bottoms to the person in charge of hiring.
- Make sure your computer is fully charged: It seems silly, but too many video interviews have gone awry when the person’s computer died in the middle of the conversation.
The Don’ts
- Forget to smile: At first, a video interview can feel unsettling. You’re having a conversation with someone who isn’t really there, and it can seem uncomfortable. Don’t forget to smile and give off a warm, welcoming facial expression as you speak.
- Sit in a place where you’ll be distracted: If you have kids or pets in the house, make sure that they’re in another room and won’t create a disturbance in the middle of the call. It’s important to remain fully professional throughout the conversation, and it’s hard to do this when you have screaming children or barking dogs chiming in.
- Not being prepared: You shouldn’t think that a video interview is less formal than an in-person interview, therefore, thinking you can have notes in front of you is a mistake. It will be obvious if you are constantly looking away from the screen in order to grab a fact and you may come off as disrespectful. Prepare for a video interview the same way you would for a traditional job interview.
Have you done a video interview before? What did you do to ensure it went smoothly? Let us know in the comments!
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