How to crack virtual or video interviews?

Virtual job interviews have become the order of the day as people remain home bound. That presents an additional challenge for job seekers: Not only do you have to demonstrate that you are fit for the role, but also recreate a conference room environment to make a good first impression.

The Video and telephone interviews can potentially introduce a range of situations that lead to biases that would not occur if interviewing candidates face-to-face, and there are a number of things that interviewers should be mindful of.  

Here are just a few:

- A candidate not looking at the camera might commonly be mistaken for a lack of engagement, but could simply be due to the fact that if the candidate is looking into the camera, they are not able to see the interviewers on the screen.

-Whilst candidates will be reminded of the need to be somewhere quiet and free from interruptions, in our current situation this will not be possible for everyone. If candidates are interrupted by children, pets or the telephone ringing, this should not be interpreted as being a reflection of their professionalism or evidence of their capability.

- Drawing inferences. There is a natural temptation to make inferences about a candidate’s personality based on the decor of their home which can be viewed from the screen. You should ignore the location and background of where the candidate is joining the interview, and focus only on the candidate’s responses.

Also. these seven simple key pointers to all those wonderful people out there looking for work and going to use the video interviewing process(this goes for both the interviewer and interviewee):

1.  Being on time.  

Check your email 10 - 15 min before the scheduled interview to make sure nothing has changed and make sure to log in 3-5 min before the interview.  

2. Get to know the program or app 

 If you are going to be using something outside of what you are used to.  Try to use it a few times with a friend or relative to understand how it works.  This will help to avoid technical issues on the day of the interview.

3. Dress the best.

This doesn't go away just because you are not physically shaking hands with the interviewer.  Treat the interview with the same professionalism as you would in person.

4. If you can't make the interview for whatever reason... call in advance and reschedule.

5. Choose your space.  You get the opportunity to choose your setting you want to be in for the interview.  You may not be completely comfortable doing the video, but, at least you can choose where to do it at.

6. Avoid distracting locations.  Going with number 5 above, make sure you are at a place where you are not going to be distracted.

7. Stay in place. 

                                          Professional courtesy can go a long way!