Remote interviewing

Interview processes are changing, mainly to reduce numbers of visitors to site during early stage interviews, as employers seek to de-risk during our pandemic. But I can see this become a long-term change once the intrinsic benefits are seen, so now is the time to get to grips with the remote interview.

Candidates can expect the traditional face-to-face, getting to know you, interview to move to either telephone or video interview. This doesn't mean that the interview is any less important as a means for assessing your suitability, and you need to think about how this process works for and against you.

You can expect a more artificial environment - it's harder to build a personal connection when interviewing remotely. Less body language to infer from, less opportunity to break the ice ("how was your journey", "would you like a cup of tea"?).

Critically, it is also harder for you to form an opinion of your prospective employer, when even things like driving into their car park and meeting reception can help build a gut feel. What about that first greeting and handshake? How often to you form a fixed opinion about someone from your first meet and greet? Is that even a good thing, or do you get sucked into confirmation bias? More on that later.

Interview preparation is always critical for any successful application, and there are a few simple things you do to make sure interviewers are focused on you, both in judging you fairly and in giving you what you need to understand their opportunity.

For video and telephone interviews, here are a few starters for ten:

• check you have good, stable connectivity, where you intend to make the call. Any issues? How about interviewing from a friends?
• if video interviewing, try out their system beforehand. Make sure you won't have access issues on the day
• practice with friends. See how you come across on a call, where interviewers are more reliant on tone of voice than body language to gauge your personality
• for videocalls, make sure your lighting is adequate with a suitable background. In other words, not a cluttered living room that gives unfortunate insight into personal habits that have no bearing on work
• make sure you aren't interrupted! This is cute, but won't help you get your job: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh4f9AYRCZY
• make sure you have researched the company - online, in the press, through anyone you know that works there
• treat it as a formal interview. Attend as you would in person, with a suitable dress code and presentation
• take forward any other research you have done on how to answer interview questions
• ask relevant questions, to give you the right insight into their business and employment context

There are a load of benefits to moving to a remote approach for interview.

Convenience and logistics are two, especially when annual leave is at a premium. But the key one for me is about reducing confirmation bias. There's a lot of research available online on confirmation bias, which I encourage you to look at separately, with both good and bad outcomes. I will touch on only one point, which relates to remote interviews.

While there will still be the same assumptions about your character and relevance from your CV and cover information, the same won't necessarily happen from the interview. Having a more artificial interviewing environment typically means an increased focus on skills and experience, rather than relying on the initial gut reaction from the meet and greet. And that can really work in your favour if you have managed your side of the recruitment process effectively. So you may even find you have a better success rate in getting to the next stage.

Good luck! Any thoughts to share?