How to Prepare for Your Video Interview During COVID-19
How to Prepare for Your Video Interview
There is good news to share. As we enter August, we are seeing an increasing number of vacancies in London, and with them an increasing number of job interviews – the majority of which are being conducted on-line.
Here are our top tips to help you prepare for a successful ZOOM interview:
1. Check the technology in advance – it’s quite possible that your role will be a hybrid home / office job – demonstrate at this point that your technology is office quality and 100% reliable. Don’t forget to make sure you have good phone coverage as well, just in case.
2. Make sure you have downloaded and trialled your interviewer’s video-conferencing technology of choice.
3. It’s not just you that your interviewer is looking at. They can see the background and the things around you. Ensure everything is tidy and aim to be somewhere which has a neutral background.
4. Fail to prepare and you prepare to fail. Have a friend interview you; put yourself in an interviewer’s shoes and interview your friend. This is a great way to familiarise yourself with an experience which, for most people, is new.
5. Ask that same friend how you “look” on video. Are you sitting centrally, are you at an angle, are you half in shadow, is your head in good proportion to the screen? Only a friend can tell you these things.
6. Dress for Success. Be careful – yes, you’re at home and yes, the dress code may be dress down. But don’t take a risk by turning up in a t-shirt. You’ll probably wear one most days when you get the job, but you don’t want to risk looking overly confident or relaxed when making that first impression.
7. Turn down the Volume – of everything else around you! Gadgets, friends, washing machines, family. Lock the cat and the dog in whichever room they’ll be happiest and quietest. They’ll be fine for 40 minutes.
8. Have a glass of water to hand, and pen and paper. It’s ok to take notes, indeed it can help prompt tailored questions from you during or at the end of the interview which may well set you apart.
9. Be yourself. You’re online – it’s not the same – but your personality can still shine through. You’ll be sitting down (unless you have a unique approach to a video interview!) so make sure you have good posture and don’t let the act of sitting rob you of your energy. You want to be fully engaged and maintain good eye contact (looking at the webcam might feel unusual, but it is also effective).
10. Don’t forget to have some questions at the end – either prompted from the notes you took earlier, or pre-prepared. You should always have two or three pre-prepared questions – after all, an interview should be a two-way conversation, as the opportunity has to be right for both you and the interviewer.
If you are a candidate looking for your next temporary or permanent office support role in London, contact our team so we can help you with your search support@australasian.co.uk
Take care, stay safe and stay positive and we hope to see you soon!
Australasian Recruitment Company