5 Ways to Crush Your Virtual Interview

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

COVID. COVID. COVID.  There, I said it!  Like it or not, that's the world we're living in today, and it's changed life as we know it.  Unfortunately, I know many people that have been furloughed or lost their jobs due to the impact of the COVID-19 virus.  These are individuals with families that cannot afford to stay out of work for long.  Many of those individuals have been looking for a new job for quite some time and find themselves in a new environment when it comes to interviewing. 

In the past and in a perfect world, you would have applied for a job, received a screening phone call from the recruiter, visited the company, and interviewed with people sitting across a small table from you.  There were many benefits to interviewing in person:

• You can get a feel for the company culture by walking around

• You were usually able to meet with several people at once

• During the interview, you could easily make eye contact

• During the interview, you could more easily develop rapport

• Etc

Today, the interviews are usually virtual, which means many of the benefits listed above with in-person interviews are more complicated.  Couple this with needing a job in a challenging economy, and you can see why it becomes vital to deliver on your virtual interviews when you are given the opportunity. I've had the chance to interview, to be interviewed, and to read numerous articles on this topic, and I've listed my five favorite ways to crush your virtual interview.

Be aware of your surroundings

People are observant.  You would do well not to take that point for granted.  During the interviews:

• If you are in your bedroom and your bed isn't made, people notice it

• If you have a stack of mail on the floor, people notice it

• If your significant other is walking around in the background, people notice it

• If your dog is barking, people notice it

The list goes on and on, and you get the point.  For those reasons, you want to control as many variables that you can, realizing that you won't be able to manage them all.  To the extent you can go into a room with minimal distractions, you should try to do so.  If you can conduct a practice run before the call to see everything the interviewer would see, you should try to do so.  This will allow you to adjust or clean up as needed.  You can't fully recreate an in-person interview, but it's helpful if you try to mirror that experience.

Get comfortable with the technology

Calls today are on Zoom, Skype, Teams, and a myriad of other platforms.  Each of them runs a little differently than the others.  Some, it's easy to change the backgrounds; others are more difficult.  Some you can easily move the screens, and others tend to be only on the right, on the top of the screen, or to the left.  All of these mediums have their tips and tricks, and you should try to get comfortable with the one you will be using.  If the call is on Teams and you haven't used it much, call a friend that has.  Ask them to tell you how to maneuver.  Do a test phone call together.   Try to get as familiar with the relevant platform so that you can minimize your time on the call, looking for a button or another.  Schedule at least 10 minutes to ensure you can join the call on time.  Go to the site, enter your password.  Do all of this early. There's no problem if you are there ahead of time.  Sometimes there's a problem if you join late.

Eye contact

I find this one to be challenging but highly beneficial!  When you face someone, it's easy to look at him or her in the eyes.  When you are looking at a computer, it can be difficult.  In a way, this falls under getting comfortable with the technology, but there is a slight twist.  Depending on the platform, it can be harder or easier to make eye contact.  What I try to do, and the one I find the easiest, is to put their streaming video as close to my camera on my computer as possible.  This gives the impression that I'm looking directly at them.  Sometimes, this is not possible, and you can only see them in the middle of your computer.  This gives the impression that you are looking down, i.e., not making eye contact.  The solution (i.e., looking near the camera or directly at it) takes a little practice, but before the call, practice answering while looking directly at your camera.  Done successfully gives the impression that you are looking directly at him or her, which is usually positive.

Come prepared

This is the same for in-person or virtual.  The difference with in-person is that you've done all of your research ahead of time. By the time you get to the interviews, you are relatively familiar with your interviewer and the company (if you weren't already).  The trap for virtual interviews can be that you save this research until the last minute, or worse, you research while on the call.  Remember when I told you that people are observant? They realize that you are pausing between your sentences or seem to be looking away often.  If they ask if you have any questions and you look away, and it looks like you're reading questions off of a document, they are aware of this.  For these reasons, treat a virtual interview like you would an in-person one and come prepared well before the actual interview.

Dress up / Follow up

Now, I can hear people saying, "Okay, Boomer!" First, I'm not exactly a Baby Boomer, but the sentiment may still apply! J This is a bit "old school" in thinking, but I believe that getting dressed up for an interview is a good thing.  If you think about it, maybe half of the people you interview with won't care if you dress up, and the other half will.  By getting dressed up, you ensure that people focus on your content, not whether or not you are wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt.  Believe me, if you work from home, this is undoubtedly a benefit!  But in this way, you are appealing to the broadest audience possible to provide the best possible impression. It's like when people ask me, "cover letter or no cover letter." Half will care.  Half won't. Best to include one to be safe. 

Finally, the follow-up.  Pre-Covid, you would often receive a business card when you interviewed in person, which made it easy to follow up with your interviewer to thank them for their time.  Today, it's harder to get this information, and you may have to reach out to the scheduler or ask the interviewer during the call to capture their contact information. It's more work, but if you can get this information, it reflects a determination and follow-through that others may not show, and anything that can help you stand out from everyone else – in a positive way, is good. 

Summary

One of the things I miss most due to COVID is human interaction.  There is a significant benefit to looking someone in the eye during an interview.  If the person is uncomfortable, you can offer them water, pause, redirect your questioning.  With virtual interviews, this can be significantly more difficult.  However, the virtual interview is likely here to stay for a while – so we may as well get good at it. Taking the time to prepare properly can be one of the reasons you crush your virtual interview.  Good luck!

Coach Ha-Keem

You're Worth It!

For more tips, check out my book, “You’re Worth It! Navigating Your Career in Corporate America,” or go to my website, CoachHa-Keem.com.