Remote interviews are now an important part of today’s job market. Remote interviews have taken off with companies still hiring during the pandemic, providing businesses with a secure way to scale their teams without waiting for offices to reopen.
Remote interviews can occasionally replace a pre-screening procedure to restrict a candidate shortlist, but for many of us, they are the last step before (hopefully) landing our ideal job.
However, they can be challenging if you are unfamiliar with remote interviews or have not worked with the most recent video conferencing technologies. Does this sound familiar?
Look no further than the remote interview advice and tips provided below.
1. Please charge your computer
Make sure your computer or laptop is fully charged before your interview. Although it appears obvious, many people overlook it only if their device dies during the call.
2. Make use of a dependable high-speed Wi-Fi connection
Sitting in coffee shops and making video calls over cellular data is not very dependable. Poor Wi-Fi results in choppy audio and video, distracting for both you and your interviewer. A failed Wi-Fi connection can lead to rescheduled interviews and a negative interview experience for both parties.
Ideally, conduct your interview from home or another location with a strong Wi-Fi network, as this gives you the best chance of ensuring a smooth video call.
3. Locate a quiet area
Taking your video interview in a quiet location away from children and pets will allow you to be more present and focused during the interview. However, both parents and fur-parents cannot always step away from their responsibilities.
If this is the case, inform your interviewer that there may be some background noise and possibly an unannounced visitor.
4. Consider your background
Keep in mind that your interviewer(s) can see whatever is behind you. Is your laundry unclean? Pizza boxes from the past? If it’s behind you, it’s probably visible… Maintain a tidy and straightforward background, such as a bookshelf, a painting, or a good old-fashioned blank wall.
5. Put on your headphones
If you don’t wear headphones or earbuds, interviewers’ voices can sometimes be heard echoing in the background while they’re asking questions or responding to your answers, which can be distracting. Avoid audio blunders by simply wearing headphones.
6. Take note of your body language
During an in-person interview, job candidates are often hyper-aware of their body language, but they may relax in this area if the interview is conducted remotely.
Your body language reveals a lot about you to a recruiter. It demonstrates your eagerness, or nervousness, for the opportunity to interview, as well as your confidence, if you use positive body language.
Body language examples include:
- Your head is nodding.
- Upright posture
- Smiling
7. Look your interviewer in the eyes with adoration
Not really — eye contact is difficult to achieve when interviewing remotely, and an adoring gaze is simply creepy in an interview setting. What should I do? When answering questions, make direct eye contact with the camera or the interviewer’s face to give the impression that you’re making appropriate eye contact.
If you look away from the screen at another monitor, you’ll appear to be conversing with someone else.
8. Keep in touch/Follow up
Demonstrate your enthusiasm! Immediately following your interview(s), send an email to the interviewer expressing how much you want the job and thanking them for their time. Make a point of mentioning various nuggets of information and snippets of relevant conversations from the interview.
The only difference is that you do it from home. That’s excellent practice for when you get the job. You must prepare for the big day in the same way you would for any other interview. Whether this is your first remote interview or not, it never hurts to go over these steps again to ensure you have everything in order.