How to Crack an Online Interview Part-2

How to prepare for an Online Interview?

Online interviews are the new age of conducting interviews, which many organisations have adopted. Some have adapted to this method because it is more convenient and some have adopted it because of the COVID situations that have forced people to work from home (W.F.H.).

Online interviews also require preparation, like the traditional model of face-to-face interviews, which organisations used to do before COVID hit the world. So in order to prepare for an online interview, there are a few steps that one should keep in mind to ace the interview in one go:-

1. Be prepared and research well- An online interview also requires the same level of preparation as a face-to-face interview does. So, the interviewee must keep in mind the following steps while preparing for an online interview :-

• Research about the organisation thoroughly.

• Research about the people in the interviewing panel (Linkedin is a helpful tool in performing this research).

• Perform a thorough analysis of the job description and brainstorm a talking point for every technical or hard skill mentioned in the job description. Focus on highlighting your accomplishments, milestones you have achieved utilising that specific skill.

• Create a list of stories from your past experience in school, college, jobs and volunteer that corresponds to the soft-skills in the job description because if you are already prepared with the talking points and stories for your hard skills and soft skills you don’t have to worry about what the question will be.

Overall, consider an online interview like a traditional face-to-face interview and prepare accordingly.

2. Be Punctual- For a face-to-face interview, it is preferable to arrive at least 15 minutes before on the venue. The same tip applies to an online interview as it not only shows you're punctuality but would give you some time to test the interview software beforehand and fix the issues if there are any as you may be completely new to the software.

3. Download the interviewing software beforehand- It is advisable to download the software that will be used to conduct your interview beforehand, as it may be new software that you have never used before. Get used to it and download it on at least two devices so that you have a backup plan ready in case of a technical issue with one of your devices.

4. Choose the device that suits you best -You may have multiple electronic devices like a laptop, mobile phone, tablet, etc. In most cases, during an online interview, it is preferred to use a laptop or a PC, as they are easier to keep steady than a tablet or a phone, but it might be the case that your phone or tablet has a better camera resolution than your laptop. So, choose wisely which device will be most suitable for you to give an interview.

5. Run a mock interview to test the technology- Run a mock interview with your friend to test your audio and video in advance and troubleshoot any issue before your actual interview.

6. Speak Slowly and Clearly- Video Technologies are not perfect and can come with instances where the microphone may not pick up your words appropriately. So, to avoid this situation take your time to speak and cue your words.

7. Listen Carefully- During an online video job interview, it is very common to cut the interviewer in between due to audio lag or from not paying attention to non-verbal cues. Keep your mind focused on active listening and also keep in mind that when the interviewer asks you any question take a few seconds to answer it to avoid cutting him/her in between.

8. Pay attention to your body language- Body language conveys a lot about you in terms of what type of person you are or a potential employee. So, you can set a positive image of yourself by sitting up straight and keeping your hands on your laps as it showcases professionalism. It is important to keep in mind where exactly you are looking, look into the camera as frequently as possible especially when you are speaking. So, that your interviewer has a sense of you being engaged in the interview and not being distracted.

Best of luck for your interview!

How to crack an online interview ?

The technology for conducting online video conferencing interviews was available long back. Like Skype, one of the most popular online video conferencing tools readily available to everyone was introduced in the year 2003 and was used by many organisations across the world for communication with clients and team members overseas as it was a cost-effective medium. But, there has been a shift in the usage of this technology because of the pandemic caused by Covid-19 which forced major IT organisations to ask their employees to operate from the comfort of their homes.

The traditional method of conducting interviews before the Covid-19 pandemic was face-to-face in the office, and interviewees were used to dressing formally and arriving on time to give their interviews. But, a shift in the style of working that is Work From Home and the shift of the process of conducting interviews from Face-to-Face to online video conferencing have made people feel so relaxed and comfortable with all of it that even people with 10-12 years of professional experience are giving interviews on Skype, MS Teams or Zoom sitting comfortably on their beds, dressed up in their casual clothes and with their microphones placed nearly between their lips which is to a significant extent wrong as knowledge is also critical, but the way you present yourself is also of importance.

Online video conferencing interviews are also considered proper technical interviews as compared to face-to-face interviews. An interviewee should keep this in mind while attending one. So, here are some tips and tricks which they should keep in mind while giving a video-conferencing interview and will help them ace these online interviews:-

1. Do: Dress Appropriately- Dressing up properly for an interview is one of the most important things to keep in mind. Just because you are at the comfort of your home doesn’t mean that you can wear your sweatshirt and give the interview. So dress up like you are giving the interview face-to-face and doing some research about the organisation’s dress code will also help.

2. Do: Have a professional virtual background- While giving the interview the second most important thing that the interviewer will notice after you is your background. To avoid having a messy background with blankets and bed in your background as it sets an unprofessional tone to the interview. So, the best thing you can do to avoid this is set a professional virtual background which you can easily do on any video conferencing medium.

3. Do: Test out the video conferencing platform- Once your interview is scheduled by the organisation. Do some research about the video conferencing tool in advance because you don’t want to show up on the date of the interview and don’t know how to enter the meeting or turn on the microphone or the camera.

4. Do: Test your Audio and Video in advance- Make sure to run a quick check of your video and audio well in advance of your interview to make sure if there is any problem you can troubleshoot it at that point and not during the interview will which lead to you interview being rescheduled unnecessarily.

5. Do: Find a strong internet connection- Make sure to give the interview from the location where you have the strongest internet connection at your place as you don’t want the call to keep dropping or any kind of lag in the call at the time of your interview.

6. Do: Send a thank you note- Even though you are giving an online interview it is considered a good habit to send a thank you note at the end of the interview as the interviewer is taking out time to conduct your interview and giving you a job opportunity.

7. Don’t: Take the interview in a loud area- Avoid giving the interview that has a lot of open space as it creates an echo effect which can be very distracting for the interviewer. So, choose your location of giving the interview wisely which doesn’t have a lot of open space.

8. Don’t: Move the camera a lot- Avoid making a lot of camera adjust during the interview as it can create a dizzy and distracting effect that does not leave a good impression. So, please make sure to adjust your camera well in advance maybe while you are checking the video in advance.

9. Don’t: Let anyone else in front of the camera- Avoid someone else coming in front of your camera during the interview as it is unprofessional. So, during the entire interview make sure you are alone in the room.

10. Don’t: Turn off your camera- Avoid tuning off your camera during the interview as it is unprofessional and lead to a bad impression and sets a strange mood as when you join an organisation you are expected to conduct video conferences with the clients and team members and if you turn off the camera during the interview how will you handle future video-conferences?

Stay tuned for the next blog which will be about how to prepare for Online Interview!