HR Snapshot #19: Tips for Remote Interviewing

The COVID-19 global pandemic has hugely impacted our work and personal lives. With staying at home being the priority to keep each other safe, interviews over video have been on the increase to allow businesses to continue as usual where possible. 

Here are a few tips on how to interview successfully over video including Zoom, Teams and Skype: 

 

1. Prepare as you would for a face to face interview – interviewing via video does allow you the opportunity to keep notes but don’t rely too heavily on them. Keep the conversation natural and avoid rehearsed answers. 

 

2. Do a trial run – on most video apps you can test this prior to your call. A trial run helps avoid any technical issues and give you the opportunity to check your background is clear. Keep your background neutral where possible to remove distractions for the interviewer - MS Teams has a good background effects filter. Test the angle of the lighting and amend any embarrassing usernames or email addresses. It may be worth making a quick video call to a friend to do a trial run. 

 

Top tip: using headphones is less likely to create feedback on the call. Make sure your headphones are suitable in appearance for use in an interview. 

 

3. Suit up! - dressing as you would for a face to face interview will not only get you in the right frame of mind, but it will avoid any wardrobe mishaps. Keep it corporate and avoid any overly distracting patterns. 

 

4. Engage with your interviewer – this takes practise, look into the camera instead of at the image on the screen when you can, keeping eye contact where possible and positive body language and facial expressions. 

 

5. Have more questions than usual to prompt conversation – not everyone is used to using technology, even if you are a seasoned remote interviewer. Having a few extra questions (including some good icebreakers) can help conversation flow for those awkward moments.