How to ace your next online job interview?
What could possibly go wrong when it comes to online job interviews? Coming late is unlikely. Anxiety for new surroundings, new faces, or direct interaction with the interviewer? All reduced to a bare minimum. You’ll ace that online job interview from the comfort of your own home without breaking a sweat! Right?
Don’t get too comfortable
Whether you’re the candidate or the hiring party, beware of getting too comfortable in the safe surroundings of your own home. It’s still a job interview we’re talking about. Having a coffee or a glass of water at an interview is alright, but will you please leave that sandwich aside?
Dresscode
Even though online interviewing saves you the trouble of going out, you’d still want to get dressed properly to make a good impression on the screen. Light colors work way better for most complexions. Light-skinned people in particular tend to look pale on-screen wearing dark clothes.
You will most ideally be seen from the chest up, so please be mindful about what’s showing and what’s not. To prevent wardrobe malfunctions, check yourself in the mirror, just like you would before leaving the house.
Oh, and please make sure you’re visible at all. Your conversational partner deserves the courtesy of looking at your face, right? Just like you want to see theirs. Online job interviews are a bit impersonal already, compared to a regular job interview IRL. Don’t hold back asking for a visual whenever their camera seems to be turned off for no reason.
Worthy of your attention
Just like with offline job interviews, you’ve agreed to a starting time with online interviews as well.
Make sure you’re on time early and be ready.
Unforeseen detours, delays, the sudden cancellation of trains, and traffic jams are no valid excuses to be late. Consider the start-up time of the video conferencing tool, as some take a little longer than others to establish the connection.
Please, take some time for an Audio/Video-check. Pay attention to the lighting in your room. Make sure you’re not sitting with your back towards a window or other light source, as it makes your face really dark. Having some light shining directly at you should give the best results in terms of image quality.
Make sure your device is connected to power, to prevent battery failure during the interview. If you have access to wired internet, remember that it’s always more reliable than WiFi. Try the invitation link well before the start of the interview, so you can assure yourself it works properly.
Clean image
Take into account what (or who) else can be seen through your webcam. Make sure the space behind you is clean and neat, a plain wall always beats a cluttered room. If there’s no other way, at least make sure the room behind you doesn’t show an unmade bed, a pile of clothes, or a stack of empty pizza boxes.
Interview preparations
Just as with any job interview, try and get acquainted with the company culture through their career site or social media channels. See if you can get to know a little bit about the people you’ll be talking to.
Think of what you’d like to tell them about yourself. It would be nice to have something within reach that defines you as a person. If you’re into reading, make sure the book you currently read is nearby. If you’re into shoes or sneakers, wear your LPU and see if it may help to break the ice a little. Or, go the other way around and show them an item that could perfectly represent the company for you.