Do you need to treat an online job interview differently to an in-person interview?
My biggest tip for preparing for a Zoom/online job interview is actually to... treat it like you would a face-to-face job interview! ⠀
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There are obviously additional considerations when an interview is held online, but you still need to make sure you prepare, plan and practice your responses.⠀
As per an in-person interview, you need to make sure you:⠀
✔️Have confident answers prepared to the usual introductory and likely behavioural questions.⠀
✔️Plan your questions to ask them.⠀
✔️Review the position description and research the panel members and organisation.⠀
✔️Plan your outfit. I suggest dressing as formally as you would for a face-to-face interview, and make sure you wear something that makes you feel confident!
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Then you need to sort the tech!
✔️Set up a Zoom account and practice/play around with it.⠀
✔️Do a practice meeting (in Zoom this is via Host a Meeting - with video on). Tip: You can record this and watch it back to make sure you are happy with your responses.⠀
✔️Check your background environment, lighting and sound. Use lights and lamps if there isn't enough natural light (or use a virtual background), and use a headset if your computer sound isn't great.⠀
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On the day:⠀
✔️Do a final practice run.⠀
✔️Make sure your background, outfit and makeup all looks good.⠀
✔️Make chit-chat to break the ice.⠀
✔️Look at the panel members when responding to questions. Many people recommend looking direct to the camera, however this is very hard to do and can add to your stress. So instead, I recommend having gallery view on so you can see everyone, then looking at the interview panel members when you are talking. This way you can watch their body language. Try not to watch yourself as this can be distracting. ⠀
Want more help with job interview preparation? Check out these posts:
Are you terrible at job interviews? Did you know Rescue my Resume offers job interview coaching?