GAIN THE EDGE: 5 STEPS TO A WINNING VIRTUAL INTERVIEW
Annette Richmond ðŸ¾
Helping B2B leverage content strategies that build trust and shorten the path to 'yes'🔗 LinkedInÂ®ï¸ Growth🎙ï¸National Speaker💥AI Enthusiast ðŸŽžï¸ Livestream / Podcast Producer / Host 🾠Rescue Dog Mom X2 ðŸ¾
Job interviews are nerve-wracking for most candidates. They’re not the highlight of most busy managers’ days, either. That may be one reason so many hiring managers ask the same questions.
When I was a recruiter, companies were conducting initial interviews virtually, even for local candidates. Today, you’ll likely have several virtual interviews before meeting anyone face to face.
INITIAL RESEARCH
One way to increase your chances of moving on to the next interview or receiving an offer is by researching in advance.
Research the Company
Review their website and LinkedIn company page. Gather additional insights by checking the company’s social media accounts.
Research Potential Interviewers
Review LinkedIn profiles and look for bios on the company website. Look for commonalities, like attending the same university.
Research the Role
Check salary ranges on sites like Salary.com or Glassdoor. Visit the Occupational Outlook Handbook, a free Department of Labor site, for information like education requirements and median pay on thousands of jobs.
TECNOLOGY CHECK
Always check your equipment—camera, microphone and lights, if using—at least a day ahead. Ensure you have a stable internet connection and a quiet place without distractions for your conversation.
Also, be aware of your background. While it doesn’t need to look like an office in the C-suite, it does need to be clean and uncluttered. If that’s not possible, try blurring your background.
If you use a virtual background, use a green screen. Otherwise, your image may become pixilated, which can look a bit bizarre.
Dress as you would for an in-person meeting. While professional on top and pajamas on the bottom may work for virtual office meetings, you don’t want to be embarrassed if you need to get up to close a door or adjust your camera.
DURING THE INTERIVEW
During the interview, look at your camera. Although it feels more natural to look at the person you’re talking with, looking at the camera lens will help you make a better connection. Putting a posted note with a smiley face right below the camera lens is an easy way to stay focused.
Speak clearly and smile. Studies have found that people can hear a smile over the phone because smiling affects the way we speak. If it’s noticeable over the phone, it certainly makes a difference during video interviews.
Show interest by preparing thoughtful questions about the company, the role, the hiring manager’s expectations of you in the first 30 days, etc.
Build rapport by noting commonalities like colleges and universities, hobbies, volunteer work or causes you uncovered during your initial research.
Have your résumé and a pen and paper nearby to take notes. Don’t type on your keyboard, as the interviewer will hear it.
INTERVIEW PREP
Most career professionals recommend practicing your interview skills. That doesn’t mean memorizing answers, which can make you sound rehearsed. It means preparing stories that demonstrate skills relevant to the job and considering setting up mock interviews with a friend or coach.
LinkedIn’s Interview Prep can be a useful job seeker tool. It allows you to respond to common interview questions and get immediate artificial intelligence (AI) feedback.
To use this feature, on desktop, click the Jobs tab on LinkedIn’s top menu and scroll down the left column to Interview Prep. You’ll find a list of common interview questions, including:
🔹 Tell me about yourself.
🔹Why should we hire you?
🔹Why do you want to work here?
🔹 Why do you want to leave your current role?
🔹 What is your greatest weakness?
LinkedIn provides the option to respond to questions via video or written response. They also offer instant AI feedback on video responses and the opportunity to receive feedback privately. Video responses can be made available to any of your first-degree connections.
Recommended by LinkedIn
ATTITUDE MATTERS
Wherever you are in the job search process, be positive. Despite laws, discrimination exists. Some companies will think you are too old or too young or too whatever. But if you go into an interview expecting discrimination, you will likely see it, even if it’s not there.
Never badmouth your former employer(s), even if they are Darth Vader incarnate. Employers may wonder if the problem’s you and what you will say about them when you leave.
The truth is, no one wants to work with a negative person.
So before your next virtual interview, research the company and people you’ll meet. Prepare and dress as if you will be meeting in person. And stay positive, because attitude matters.
ðŸ™Thanks for reading. I hope you found this newsletter helpful, if you did please share your thoughts in the comments and subscribe. Thanks!
Annette
This article originally appeared on Forbes.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ðˆ ð‡ð„ð‹ð ð˜ðŽð” ðð„ð‚ðŽðŒð„ ðŸ‘-ðƒðˆðŒð„ðð’ðˆðŽðð€ð‹ ðˆð ðŸ-ðƒðˆðŒð„ðð’ðˆðŽðð€ð‹ ð’ðð€ð‚ð„ð’
What do I mean by that?
It means I help you show people who you are, not just what you do. And that's what makes people want to hire you and work with you, whether that's as an employee or service provider.
STUFF I DO
🟦 LinkedIn Profiles and Executive Resumes that demonstrate your value
⬜ Clifton Strengths and Interview Coaching to help you move forward
🟥 LinkedIn content creation strategies (that get you noticed)
Experienced Event Planner, Marketer, Promoter and Event Services Professional seeking a new opportunity
1yAnnette Richmond all great points and all ones that i use. i have had tech issues and did my best. the newest for me is that the interviewer just does not want to show themselves yet i do or they say i dont have to show myself either and i always wonder, then what is the point.....just do a phone call. i have also had a time where i asked who would be interviewing me and didnt get any names, so i had to go into it blindly and get introduced to them at the interview beginning, which was a little awkward, but i did my best and used all of your other points, because attitude DOES matter!
Multi-Certified Technical Content Writer/Editor Researcher – Documentation, Targeted Communication, Design ♞ IT Manufacturing, Engineering, Information Security ♞ Teamwork, Effectiveness Optimization, Risk Management
1yThanks for posting, Annette Richmond! Helps people move their lives through some critical juncture-points, as always. #grateful