Virtual Interviews – What should the Interviewers be aware of?

Over the past few years, numerous articles have provided advice to prospective candidates about how to effectively participate in a virtual interview. Everything from setting your computer camera at the right angle and height to focusing your eyes on the camera light versus looking at the screen showing all the interviewers are a few of the tips for putting forth your best foot forward.

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Rarely has the advice focused on what the interviewers should do during a virtual interview. In my experience, I have seen interviewers not paying attention to the interviewee, reading e-mails or being distracted with other activities. This lack of focus on what the interviewee has to say is disrespectful and is a sign for the interviewee about whether these people would make good colleagues. If they won’t listen and give their full attention to you during a virtual interview, can you imagine how they would treat you if you were a colleague on the job?

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While there are many positives associated with virtual interviews (e.g., reducing the time and expenses associated with airport or in-person interviews, or gaining facial feedback in contrast to formerly used telephone interviews), there are potential disadvantages for both the interviewer and interviewee, if they don’t pay attention to the details of “best practices.” For the purposes of this article, I focus on how the interviewers can take advantage of virtual interviews and eliminate distractions that communicate unwanted messages.

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For interviewers, the only things they should have at their ready disposal are the candidate’s CV, cover letter, and the questions to be asked by the search committee. Anything else like having open tabs on their browser for their e-mail can be temptations to distract the interviewer from devoting 100% of their attention to the interviewee and their responses. In addition, interviewers should put away their cell phones or landlines or put them on silent mode, so it does not interrupt or distract the interview process.

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Most virtual interviews last anywhere from 30 minutes up to 75 minutes. The interviewer must maintain their sole focus on the interviewee. Not doing so is a sign of disrespect and does not communicate a positive message to the interviewee. Remember, the interview process is a two-way street, where the interviewer and interviewee gather information about each other to assess whether there is a good fit or not for mutually pursuing this opportunity.

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The interview process requires “active” listening for both the interviewer and interviewee. As someone who has extensive virtual interview experience, I notice when interviewers are paying attention and when they are not. Recently, I was being interviewed virtually and I could tell the search chair was uninterested in what I was saying, and she displayed micro-aggressions through her lack of attention to my responses to the search committee’s questions. After the interview, I reflected on the experience and I knew the probability for advancing to the finalist stage was probably low. When the decision came, I was not surprised and chalked it up to an opportunity that was probably not a good fit for me.