Recent changes to interviewing and hiring have made virtual interviews a hot, and panic-inducing, topic around the world. You may be asking yourself, “How do I practice? Do I need to wear a suit/dress? Do I look at the screen or the camera?“
These are all common, and somewhat difficult, questions, but we’re here to answer them for you. The guide below will help you #GetReadytoWin in any virtual interview.
How to Ace Your Virtual Interview
- Practice with and Test the Technology
You may be a Zoom aficionado at this point, but practicing with the platform the Hiring Manager is using and testing your connection and device compatibility never hurts.
To practice, log into the platform you’ll be using and have a friend or family member join you from another location. From there, have them ask you common interview questions. This will help you become more comfortable. - Clean up Your Social Media Accounts
Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok, a Hiring Manager doesn’t want to see a less-than-professional candidate broadcasting their tirades on social platforms.
You can either delete unprofessional posts, pictures, and videos, or you can enable more strict privacy settings on your accounts that won’t allow those outside of your network to view them. - Practice
Did we say practice yet? Oh, we did? Either way, practice more.
- Set the Scene
Dress professionally from head-to-toe, prepare a professional background (get rid of those empty pizza boxes and stolen road signs), and remove any distractions that may interfere with the interview.
It may seem like a hassle, but we do encourage you to ask friends, family members, and your dog Fido to leave the house or apartment you’ll be interviewing in.
Remember when we said, “dress professionally from head-to-toe,” two paragraphs ago? We just wanted to make sure you saw that. In case you were wondering, that means professional pants, too. - Look at the Camera
It’ll be so tempting to look at the person’s face when you’re speaking, but on the interviewer’s end, it looks like you’re looking down. That is why we suggest looking at the camera during your interview.
This is not easy to do – trust us, we know – so we suggest PRACTICE. - Speak with Your Mouth, Not Your Body
During the interview, it is important to use minimal hand motions. What you may think is appropriate may be misconstrued as inappropriate when taken out of proximal context.
- Be Yourself
This is self-explanatory. Don’t try to be someone else during the interview. Interviews are hard enough, and virtual interviews are super hard. Putting on an act is the last thing you need to think about.
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