Sunday, December 3, 2023
HomeJob Opportunityhow can I do well in video interviews? — Ask a Manager

how can I do well in video interviews? — Ask a Manager


This might be really easy or completely impossible, so take it for what it’s worth, but can you shift your desk a bit?

I honestly don’t think that a bit of visible bed is an issue, but I do think that if it’s bugging you that WILL be an issue, so see if you can rearrange some furniture or invest in a paper folding screen.

Other than that, my biggest tip is, if at all possible arrange a chatty video call with a friend in the next few days so you can find and tweak any issues such as:

making sure you know where all the controls are, and can adjust them without looking flustered,
figuring out where you want to put your glass of water, which you will probably want, and anything you might need to refer to as you talk,
checking that the shirt you want to wear looks the same way onscreen as it does in real life,
ensuring the window light doesn’t have you backlit or squinting,
checking that your “fill” light, the one behind your camera, is the right level of bright and also a colour temperature that doesn’t blind you or wash you out (or make you look malarial),
deciding if you want to wear any makeup, and
making sure nothing in your background moves unexpectedly (curtains, hanging decor, that sort of thing), and, lastly,
Figure out if your pets, if any, will
a) quietly stay in another room without raising hell, or if you need to
b) figure out an appropriate bribe to get them to stay quietly out of shot for the period of time you need.
(tip: always take the dog out BEFORE an important call, even if they don’t usually need to go at that time. While you’re at it, change the battery in your smoke detector if you’re going to be doing a lot of video interviews, so it doesn’t go into a prolonged fit of weeping while you’re on a call.)

Quite honestly I doubt that many, if any, of these things are big issues for interviewers, but if you’re more comfortable, you’re more confident. And that’s good.

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