It’s been refreshing as we start 2022 to see so many of our colleagues back in offices, enjoying the camaraderie and creative spark that can come from interacting with different people in the course of our workdays.
The return to the office comes during a time of talent shortage and increased turnover – termed by some as the Year of the Great Resignation. Many leaders will this year consider whether the time is right to pursue a new challenge and a change of employment.
More than ever before, moving to a new job will involve forms of online interaction. Leaders will need to master the art of selling themselves in the virtual world, becoming more comfortable in front of a camera and able to get their message across.
For those who are considering a change in employment this year, one of the things you will need to practise is how to do an online interview - even if your prospective employer is only using them to shortlist candidates early in a recruitment process.
To help you manage this new world of interviewing, here’s our latest advice on how to make the right impression on screen.
1. Get your tech right
The tech needs to work without a hitch. Make sure you test the platform well in advance of your interview call time. Whilst many of us are now familiar with using Microsoft Teams or Zoom, last minute software updates can unexpectedly delay calls commencing. Some organisations use less familiar platforms like Webex, Skype for Business, or Google Hangouts. Make sure you’ve run a test the day before to ensure it works on your device.
On the day itself, always log on ten minutes early – just as you would arrive early into the reception of a potential employer. It’s far better than keeping your interviewer waiting while you juggle tech hassles. And while you are waiting, make sure your on-screen username is professional – ideally your actual name!
In the case of last-minute drama, the advice is almost always the same – turn everything off and on again to enable the software to reset.
2. Get your audio right
If the interviewer can’t hear you, the whole meeting is pointless. Audio is the most critical tech component in any online conversation. To ensure the interviewer can hear you clearly, move to a quiet room, away from pets, children, or outdoor noise such as traffic and construction.
A pair of headphones with a microphone will help your interviewer tremendously. The headphones that come with your mobile phone are usually more discreet and less distracting for an interviewer than an enormous gaming headset.
3. Get your look right
First impressions count. This means you’ll need to dress in professional attire. In day-to-day work meetings that you dial into from home, you may be used to not wearing jackets, but in an interview, a jacket would be appropriate. On camera, solid colours look better than patterns.
Lighting is also important, and for that, you’ll want to sit somewhere that’s well-lit, with light coming on to your face from the front or side. Don’t sit in front of a window that makes you look back-lit and shadowy.
The preferable backdrop is a blank wall. Some people prefer sitting in front of a neat bookshelf, pot plant or lamp. Be very conscious what is visible in shot behind you – definitely no sightings of bathrooms, beds or laundry. Sitting in front of a door is a potential distraction if housemates wander through and appear on screen.
We prefer to avoid the use of virtual backgrounds as they can sometimes do odd things when gesturing with hands or moving your head. If an unfortunate backdrop is unavoidable in your home, consider using the blur function instead.
4. Know where to look
To make a great impression, we strongly recommend looking straight down the camera – not at your interviewer’s face on screen and not at yourself. If you look into the camera, the interviewer sees you looking straight at them, which is much more engaging for them.
Maintaining your gaze into the camera can be harder than you think, and you may wish to practise it a little before the day. One trick is to shrink the size of the call window and position it on your screen very close to the camera, so that if your eyes do wander to the interviewer, you are not looking far from the camera.
Ideally, your camera should be positioned at eye level (prop your laptop up on books if needed) to avoid the camera peering up your nose. Have a think about whether you prefer to do the interview sitting down or standing up – sitting down is more common, but standing up can make you feel more confident and in ‘presentation’ mode.
5. Know how to answer
You should answer questions in the same way that you would in a face-to-face interview, with the slight variation of keeping your responses slightly shorter. Attention spans seem to fade quickly in the online environment, so giving substantial answers that don’t go on too long works best. If your interviewer feels that they’d like to hear more, they can always ask a follow-up question.
In real life, conversations are two-way, with participants often speaking slightly over each other. In those real-life interview settings, interviewers can read your body language and you can see that they are wanting to speak. However, if you’re looking straight into the camera during an online interview, you can’t see them, so it is impossible for you to know they are wanting to interject. This also points to shorter answers being better for the online environment.
6. The most important part!
The reality of online meetings is that people are invariably multi-tasking. Whilst you will definitely be paying attention, if you don’t grab your interviewer’s attention upfront, you could find that they become distracted by emails, messages and other virtual tasks.
This is why we think it is imperative that you make your key points in the first couple of minutes – convey very clearly early on the value you would bring to the organisation and your key selling points. They can always be repeated later on if needed, but don’t leave your best points until last in an online interview. They may have lost interest by then!
Mastering these techniques will become increasingly important for leaders in the age of on-screen meetings, which despite the return to the office, are not going to go away. If you learn how to do an online interview, it can only stand you in better stead as you navigate your leadership journey.
Tip: If you'd like some help learning how to come across with confidence and presence, consider booking in for our Leadership Masterclass 'Presenting Confidently Online'.
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