Most companies have had video interviews as a part of their recruitment process for more than a year now, and it seems that they will continue to play a part in the business world even after the pandemic subsides.
Uptime’s HR Manager Marge Peekman has conducted hundreds of video interviews over the past year and now shares some tips and tricks to make your interview as smooth as possible.
Treat it like a normal job interview
Although the interview takes place via video call, you should not let that intimidate you. At the end of the day, the purpose of face-to-face and video interviews is the same: to enable both you and your potential employer to get to know each other a bit better and to understand if it’s a good fit.
While it can be a little trickier to create a good connection with the other party via video, it’s not impossible and you should not overthink things. Answer the questions as you would if you were in the same room, and ask any questions that would help you learn more about the company and the role you are interviewing for. Keep in mind that with every question asked and every point raised, you get a clearer picture of the company’s activities and culture, while also clearly showing that you are serious about the prospect of working there.
Show your professional side
While interviewing from the comfort of your own home, it can be easy to forget that this is a situation where it is important to show your professional side. As such, make sure you consider how to best present yourself before the interview starts. For example, it would be wise to dress as you would if you were going to the employer’s office for an interview. It would also be best if you could find a quiet place for the interview and could minimize the risk that any other external distractions could negatively affect the interview.
With this in mind, try to avoid noisy cafes, rooms with other people, or joining the video call while riding a bike or driving a car.
Be prepared
It’d beneficial to prepare a little before any job interview, so you could offer better answers to any questions asked and ask the right questions in return. As such, you should do some research on the company, see their ongoing projects, familiarize yourself with the values and goals of the company, as well as have a general idea of what would be expected of you in the role you are applying for.
If the interview takes place via video call, you should also make sure that any technical issues are addressed before the agreed–upon start time for the meeting. You should make sure that the platform chosen for the video call works on your device, as well as check that your internet connection is stable enough for the meeting, and that your camera and microphone are functional. If you check all of these aspects well before the start time of the call, you can avoid a situation where the meeting starts in two minutes, but due to technical issues you are unable to join.
If you discover that for some technical reason you are unable to participate in the video call, you should inform the interviewer as soon as possible. You can be fairly sure that a suitable workaround will be found to the issue.
Honesty is key
It is not uncommon to get a question during a job interview that you might not know the answer to, and while it may seem easy to just find a suitable answer from the web while using your computer for the interview anyway, it is something you should avoid.
That’s because it’s not crucial that you can answer every question that you are asked. The interviewer would much rather see your thought process and understand what kind of support you may need once you join the company. Although you might be able to give a satisfactory answer to the question during the interview with some help from the internet, once you actually start working with the company, your real skillset will be obvious fairly quickly.
Also, it’s worth noting that searching for answers during the interview is fairly obvious, as such doing so will most likely end with no job offer.
Respect other people’s time
This may sound pretty obvious, but it’s still worth highlighting – whether it is a video call starting at 11; an assignment to be finished by 3; or an offer to be accepted or rejected by the end of the day – if an agreement has been reached regarding time, stick to it. Otherwise, you will keep others waiting and you’ll project an image of someone who cannot be counted on.
If you feel that you should be a part of our team, send your CV to career@uptime.eu and we will contact you shortly.
