Tips for Online Interviews

While we are in lockdown I'm assuming some hiring is still taking place. But interviews are likely to be online rather than face to face. I thought it might be useful to share some suggestions and considerations to make the process less daunting to interviewees.

For my ease I'm just going to refer to Skype in this article as the de facto online platform; clearly there are other services that might be used or preferred.

Prepare

The first thing you will need is an appropriate Skype name. Just your name “MichaelJones” for example will be fine – it can even be useful to have a professional Skype account that you keep separate from your personal account. Some organisations may have Skype for Business set up, and you will be able to use this.

If this is your first-time using Skype, set up a practice call with a friend to ensure you don’t run into any technical issues on the day. Practice and get a feel for being on camera, at first this may feel a bit strange but the more you practice the more comfortable you will feel.

You could record the practice session so that you can analyse how you are coming across on camera.

Before the interview, sign in early so that you are ready for the interviewer to call you. If you do have technical issues, don’t panic, the interviewer will understand that this isn’t directly your fault so just apologise and try to resolve the problem, calmly and quickly. This may be a good indication of how you handle stressful situations.

Make sure that you have your interviewer’s telephone and email address in case you do run into any technical difficulties, this way you will be able to contact them to let them know.

Location

You are in control of the setting so make sure that you consider where you want to conduct the interview. You need to factor in the lighting, as well as the background. Posters, messy beds and anything that could be distracting are not going to help you to make a good first impression. A neutral and tidy room would be the most appropriate setting. The lighting in the room can also be important; make sure it is the right shade or tone and avoid using harsh lighting.

Sit at a desk or put your computer on a table rather than sitting with it on your lap – considering the angle of the camera.

Make sure that all pets and anyone else in the house don’t interrupt you. You want to be free from distractions. If you have children, arrange for someone to look after them for the duration. If you are at work whilst the interview is taking place, ensure that you are tucked away in a quite office and are not likely to be interrupted by colleagues either in person or via the telephone.

Clothing

Dress appropriately for an interview (from head to toe!) as you would if face to face. Not only will you appear professional, you will also feel professional as you are dressed the part. Dressing the part is proven to be motivational and can really help you feel more focussed and confident.

During the call

Essentially you want to treat this the same way you would treat a face to face interview. Eye contact is just as important as it is with a face to face interview. Look directly into the camera to give the impression of eye contact, rather than getting side-tracked by your image on the screen. It’s quite obvious on Skype if you aren’t paying attention so try not to check your email whilst the interviewer is talking.

Avoid talking over the interviewer, sometimes there may be a slight time delay between you both because of the online connection but in general, wait until they have finished speaking before responding.

At the end of the interview, make sure that you ask about the next steps so that you are clear about the process, and always ensure that you are COMPLETELY signed off from the call or offline before you make comment on how you feel the interview went!

Hope that was helpful. Good luck, keep safe and #stayathome