How to Master Video Interviews During COVID-19
The pandemic might have brought a lot of changes to your schedule and forced you to do business from home. If so, you may be pursuing new business ideas from your house — a process that involves interviewing new leads or chatting with hiring managers via video.
Interviewing over video is, in some ways, more difficult than talking in-person. However, you don’t need to feel intimidated. You can become skilled at digital interviews by exploring a few easy steps. And better yet, you can use these steps to set yourself up for the best possible video interview experience.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Set Up Your Room for Success
Choose a room where you’ll conduct all of your video interviews.
Think about the room arrangement, your internet connection, and the ideal area of your home. First, pick a part of your house that doesn’t have a lot of traffic that could create distracting noise. Then choose a room with a door you can close and tell your family members to be quiet during your meetings.
Also, you’ll want to test out a video call to see what shows up in the background of the room. Consider switching places if the background is a pile of laundry. Look for a bookcase or a nice painting to highlight, and try not to sit directly in front of a window because the sun can wash you out. And a blank wall is not a bad idea, either.
Finally, test your internet connection. If the Wi-Fi isn’t great, switch to a hard-line connection so your video doesn’t lag. And set up conferencing equipment, like a microphone and camera, and try them out to ensure they will function properly.
2. Practice Video Interviewing
Interviews are tough enough — throwing in a video connection can make it an even bigger challenge. However, practicing can help!
Like you should rehearse saying answers out loud for an in-person interview, try to do a run-through over video before any digital interview. Employ a friend or family member to call you over video chat, and have them ask you typical interview questions.
Repeat this process until you feel comfortable, and you’ll be much more relaxed going into a video interview. Feeling chill and confident not only makes the process less stressful, but it helps you answer the questions to the best of your ability. Practice makes perfect, after all.
3. Make Sure You Know How to Connect
The worst feeling is when you’re in a three-minute countdown until your interview starts, and you realize you have to download software to make the video call.
Then it gets worse when a window pops up: “ERROR.” The software won’t load, so you have to email the interviewer and let them know you’re having connection troubles. Although no interviewer would blame you for technical issues, it’s better, and less taxing, to nip this issue in the bud.
Avoid this anxiety-inducing moment by connecting to the conference system early. A day or two before your interview, make sure you have the connection information. Then go through the steps and make sure you can enter the digital meeting room (most systems will let you do this ahead of time).
At least go as far as possible, and install anything it prompts you to add to your computer. That way, if you do run into issues with connecting, you can let the interviewer know ahead of time and fix the problems early.
You Can Learn the Art of Video Interviews
Having an interview over video can take a bit of getting used to, but it’s something you can learn to master.
If you take a few simple steps, you can sound great and come in clearly for any digital interview during the COVID-19 pandemic. And all things considering—video interviewing is here to stay as more and more companies shift to work-from-home more generally. Check out Fiverr’s blog, The Do List, for more advice on how to thrive while working from home.
Learning how to nail a video interview is something you’re going to have to do. But soon enough, you’ll be able to land your dream job even if you have to chat with your interviewer over a screen.
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