✔️ You must be prepared before #interviewing with a hiring manager or recruiting manager. There is no way to wing this. You cannot answer questions in your head and expect them to come out the same when you are talking to someone. Practice answering questions out loud. Record yourself and listen to the audio first before listening to the audio and video together. You will be your best critique.
✔️ On video, nonverbals play a significant role. For example, eye contact is the most critical part of an interview. And how do you do this from your home office/bedroom or dining room? Look directly into the camera when you are responding to a question. It may feel strange because
your natural tendency will be to look at the screen. When you practice this, you will see the difference between the two.
✔️ What is your lighting like? Do you have a window behind you bringing in light? This will cause you to be in a shadow. You do not have to be a professional photographer to figure this out. Make sure direct light is facing you and lighting up your face. Play around with a lamp or one of those ‘ring’ lights, although that isn’t necessary. A simple lamp could work.
✔️ What about your backdrop? That is what the viewer sees behind you. Is it a kitchen? A cluttered room? Make sure your background is neutral. Don’t feel you need to use a virtual background because those are not 100% foolproof. I’ve seen people walking behind clients who use a virtual background. You don’t want this happening in a job interview.
✔️ What about sound? Do a sound check, as musicians do. Make sure if you use wireless earbuds, they work well. Test out your computer well in advance. Close all unnecessary windows to use less bandwidth, clear your cache, and only keep necessary windows open.
✔️ If you need to share slides in an #interview, get comfortable sharing your screen in advance.
✔️ Pay attention to your body language. Are you smiling or too appearing too serious? Do you use your hands too much? Do you use filler words (um, you know, like, etc.)? Cut these out.
The bottom line is to practice again, again and again. It’s similar to athletes and musicians who develop muscle memory. This is the key to answering questions. Most of the time, there are no ‘correct’ answers. Try not to figure out what the interviewer wants to hear. You need to be authentic by sounding interested in the role and confident you have the skills to bring to it.
Contact me if you would like to schedule a free phone consultation.