Tristan Layfield covers a handful of things that can help prepare you for virtual interviews. If you take the time to prepare for virtual interviews, it’ll make you more comfortable throughout the process and help you land that role!
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TRANSCRIPT
Tristan: What’s going on, Living Corporate? It’s Tristan, and I want to thank you for tapping back in with me as I provide some tips and advice for professionals. This week I want to touch on a few things that can help you prepare for virtual interviews.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, many companies and organizations have transitioned from conducting in-person interviews to virtual ones. While numerous things remain the same in preparation for a virtual interview, there are quite a few things that differ.
Since you’ll be at home, you have to set the mood. Find a quiet place with minimal distractions from people and pets. Ensure the space you choose doesn’t have a busy background or have anything up that could be considered offensive to a recruiter or hiring manager. Sometimes the best location in your house doesn’t have the best lighting, so I suggest you buy a ring light. You can typically find them on the low if you follow @fatkiddeals on Twitter. I also suggest you wear headphones with a microphone because it makes it easier for both parties to hear what the other is saying.
Once you have those things in place, take the time to practice. Interviewing virtually makes it harder for your personality to shine through, try to get a friend on Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, or whatever platform to practice. Ensure your space and technical setup is good, check your body language (including if you look directly in the camera to mimic eye contact), and practice answering interview questions.
Take a moment well before the interview to ensure that you test your equipment and ability to log onto the platform. Nothing is worse than having technical difficulties 5 mins before the call, which could easily throw you off your game and cost you the role. You want the focus to be on your experiences and skillset, not your technical difficulties. Make sure you play the part. Get dressed and not just from the waist up. It will put you in the right mindset and ensure you don’t have any mishaps during the interview. Lastly, make sure to follow-up with a thank-you email. I typically suggest sending this the next morning to help keep you top of mind throughout the process.
If you take the time to prepare for virtual interviews, it’ll make you more comfortable throughout the process and help you land that role.
Thanks for tapping in with me today! Don’t forget; I’m now taking submissions from you all on career questions, issues, concerns, or advice you think may help others! So make sure to submit yours at bit.ly/tapintristan.
This tip is brought to you by Tristan of Layfield Resume Consulting. Check us out on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @layfieldresume or connect with me, Tristan Layfield, on LinkedIn.
