Interviewing By Zoom and Other Virtual Technologies
Video Interviewing
In 2020, the world went remote. Most interviews went remote. Zoom came practically out of nowhere to lead the pack of virtual technologies. Suddenly, everyone was preparing for their Zoom interviews.
Whether the interview takes place on Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, or another platform, it’s definitely not face-to-face. It’s a very different experience. You need to use all of the techniques we’ve discussed so far, the conversation, the right attitude, the body language, tone of voice, and so on. But, some things you need to emphasize more than the others, such as background.
Give Your Background Depth
With face-to-face, you didn’t have to worry about what your background looked like. It was provided. But, with virtual interviews, you need to arrange your background. In this virtual reality, many people are getting Zoom Fatigue. They experience it for several reasons, one of which is related to kinesthesia, our awareness of our physical position in relation to others. When we talk with someone in Zoom who is against a plain, flat background, we fatigue more easily. It has to do with our brains. Our brain gets upset if it can’t put us in a three-dimensional space. It’s also called proprioception. You will help the interviewer if you use dimension such as a room that has furniture in the background, a painting or photo, and anything else that gives you depth. The fatigue is happening nonconsciously, but it’s happening. So, address it.
Limit Movement Behind You
Movement attracts our attention. Our brains notice movement to keep us alive. If you have another person in your room and that person (or animal) enters the picture for any reason, you will lose the interviewer’s attention. I once mock interviewed a student whose boyfriend kept walking in the background in and out of the room, shirtless. Needless to say, it was distracting. Disorder in the room also distracts us. So, straighten out your room; look neat.
Keep Your Camera at Eye Level
Any time you are being photographed, don’t let the camera look up your nose. Don’t look up to the interviewer and don’t look down on her. Be at an even level with the interviewer and see her eye to eye.
Assume an Erect Posture
When you are not seated face-to-face with another person, it’s easy to slump, to get too relaxed, especially if you’re sitting in the comfort of your den in your pajama bottoms (another thing you shouldn’t do). The military services speak of command posture for a reason. When you stand or sit upright with your shoulders back and your head erect, you have that posture and you exude a certain confidence.
Light Your Face and Upper Body to Best Effect
Don’t keep yourself in the dark. Turn your camera so that you are looking out a window. You will likely achieve the Northern Light effect, a soft and flattering illumination. Whatever you do, don’t put the light below your chin. If you do this, you will look like a devil. Check out the photo of Germany’s World War Two arms manufacturer, Alfred Krupp, as photographed by Arnold Newman. You will see the devil incarnate1.
Use Your Eyes to Their Fullest Effect
When you interview virtually, you are essentially on television and you are an actor. The best actors use their eyes and faces to communicate, especially in extreme close-ups. If virtual interviewing is anything, it’s the same kind of close-up. Make eye contact; look into the camera, not down or sideways.
Gesture the Right Way
When you’re on video, you can use your hands to punctuate the points you’re making but don’t extend them beyond the camera. You will foreshorten them and make them look huge. If you decide to sit in the middle of the frame, a little further back from the camera, you will be able to gesture naturally but give up some eye contact. You objective is to animate yourself with every tool at your disposal. Organizations want to hire energetic, enthusiastic individuals, not mannequins.
Practice, tape yourself, know how you look, and improve that image.
Use the Power of Your Voice
When you interview through a device, you need to use your voice to its fullest advantage. You can use volume, tone, pitch, rate, and fluency to speak with enthusiasm and energy. Use resonance; speak in the lower pitches. If you’re a woman, try to lower your voice. We are impressed by low voices, probably because of evolution. When we heard low rumbles, either from storm clouds or the growls of wild animals, we paid attention. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher used a voice coach to help lower her voice so that she’d be taken more seriously. You can use a high pitch. When you are excited, your voice will probably rise in pitch. Try saying, “I just won the Powerball lottery” in a low-pitched voice. It’s the same with rate and fluency. If you just won $300 million, you will probably tell people the news at a high rate of speed and with less fluency than if you were saying that your best friend was just hurt in an automobile accident.
Automated Interviewing
These days, we may never meet our interviewer, on video or face-to-face. Many interviews are recorded to be watched later by unknown persons. These interviews are called automated or on demand and consist of prerecorded questions. You are asked a question, given a short time to prepare an answer, and then the machine prompts you to answer the question while you’re taped.
The finance industry and others have been using this technique. As reported on Monster.com, “…companies see this automated interview step as a way to make the hiring process more efficient. ‘Scheduling interviews and going back and forth about availability takes up a lot of time,’ says Rick Jordan, head of talent acquisition at Zappos, which also uses this method. ‘Video interviewing is extremely flexible and convenient for the candidate. In fact, most responses came after 5 p.m. or on the weekends2.’”
Check Your Equipment
If you know you will be interviewed in this way, obviously you must make sure your Internet connection is working, as well as your computer. You want speed and clarity so that your technology can help you look and sound your best.
Remember posture, eye contact, lighting, environment, and other critical factors.
Just as with a video interview on Zoom or other computer face-to-face apps, you must pay attention to your body language and non-verbal language. Even if there’s no person in front of you, you must imagine there is. Eventually, a human watches your recording and makes judgments about you based on your posture, eye contact, and so on. Record in your bedroom or study, an appropriate room, not a bedroom, make certain it’s neat, and dress professionally. Don’t interview in your pajamas; your camera may pick up more than you think.
Keep Your Answers Short and Crisp
This advice applies to any interview. No one likes to hear another person drone on and on. If you speak over a minute, you are going into dangerous territory. Likewise, don’t give answers that are too short. Terseness is likely to give the impression that you are bored, don’t have a full grasp of the questions, or are unable to make conversation—all bad things.
Take Two if You Can
Some of these platforms allow you a second chance. Take it if you feel you can do better.
Prepare for an Automated Telephone Interview
In this scenario, you will probably receive an e-mail with a phone number and codes. You will hear an automated introduction and set of questions. Here, your voice must carry your approach.
Live Interviewing by Telephone
These days, it is common for an interviewer to want to conduct a first-round interview by telephone. If that happens to you, keep these tips in mind.
You want to impress any interviewer with your energy and enthusiasm. If you sit and get too relaxed, you won’t feel energized. On the other hand, if you stand and move around, you will get the blood flowing and feel engaged.
Smile
Your smile can be seen by the person on the other end of the line. Think about a time when you spoke with a friend or loved one on the phone and you felt their emotion. The same applies here. If you are bored or otherwise bothered, the interviewer knows.
Gesture
Everyone gestures, even people who have been blind since birth3. Don’t think that because no one is watching that they won’t sense your gestures. Animate yourself. We want to hire happy, energetic, well-adjusted people, people who smile and gesture. Use the speaker function on your phone to be hands-free. However, test how that sounds with a friend first. Using the speaker function on your phone can sound tinny depending on the acoustics of your home.
Most Importantly, Use Your Voice
Need we say that your voice will carry your personality, sincerity, energy, enthusiasm, and all your other personality traits critical to a telephone interview? Vary your vocal quality. Use the full range of volume in an appropriate way. Use a lower pitch and a slow rate of speed when you’re talking. But, as said before, use a higher pitch and faster rate when you want the person on the other end of your call to feel your excitement. Don’t exaggerate your speech; just think of having a conversation with a friend, practice with a friend.
1 https://google.com/search?ei=PUu4X6DSDKap5wKHx52ABw&q=krupp+photo&oq=krupp+photo&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQARgAMgUIABDJA-zIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMggIABAWEAoQHjIGCAAQFhAeO-hEILhCxAxCDARDHARCjAhCTAjoFCC4QsQM6AgguOggILhDHARC-vAToICC4QsQMQgwE6AggAOgUIABCRAjoFCC4QkQI6CwguELEDEM-cBEKMCOggIABCxAxCDAToICAAQyQMQkQI6BQgAELEDOhEILh-CxAxDHARCvARDJAxCTAjoOCC4QxwEQrwEQyQMQkwI6BAgAEApQhzpYm2tgrXxoAXAAeACAAX6IAZsIkgEDNy40mAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdperABAMABAQ&sclient=psy-ab
2 https://monster.com/career-advice/article/ace-recorded-job-interview-0916
3 https://thecut.com/2016/09/blind-people-gesture-like-sighted-people.html