Set yourself up for success in a world where interviews, meetings, and business have all gone digital

Let’s not pull the wool over our eyes – due to the pandemic, the HR interviewing landscape has changed dramatically. With over 10 years of Online Interview Coaching under her belt, Gillian Lana brings you 4 top tips to ace a virtual interview and help you land the job

Until not too long ago, if you were the lucky one to get a call-back for a job interview, then you’d probably be making a visit to an office in-person to sell your competencies…now you’ll likely be jumping on a Zoom call instead. Interviewing digitally comes with its’ own challenges though. Below are some top tips for you to browse and use, to navigate the shifting interviewing landscape and hopefully land a job in this new norm.

  1. REACH OUT AND BE NOTICED

The way you communicate is one of the simplest yet most effective ways of sending out an impression of yourself. Reach out quickly – don’t put things off, be heard, be curious, ask questions, and for sure send a thank you note after you’ve been interviewed.
We’re all humans and it’s the way you make people feel that can make its mark on somebody else. This way you can very easily stand out from the crowd and be remembered.
Be bold, be different and get noticed!

2. SHARPEN YOUR IMAGE

Now that interviews are being done virtually Skype, Zoom, etc., and you’re probably at home, you’ll need to make sure your background looks as office-like and presentable as possible. Choose a spot that is well-lit and even better, keep a corner you can always return quickly to for this purpose – then you’ll feel ready at the drop of a hat.
If you really have no little spot suitable, then Zoom have brought in backgrounds that you can drop in behind you and in Skype you can blur your background…just make sure you have enough light in your face to make that the focal point and not what’s behind you.

3. TALK THE TALK

Over the past few years you’ve surely become a pro, chatting online consistently with colleagues, family and friends. As you know technology can be a pain though, voices start reverberating, images freeze and things can basically get very distorted. Make sure therefore, that :
1/ you always have headphones with a mic to bring your voice into the computer
2/ your speaking voice is a good speed and that you articulate well from the start
3/ you get rid of any echo in the room. If you have wooden floors and empty walls and windows around you, your voice will sound clangy and not pleasant to listen to. A super easy, yet effective way to counter-balance this, is to throw cushions around you – especially behind your computer where your voice will be projected to, this will absorb any echo and make your voice sound much better.

4. TEST-DRIVE YOUR SKILLS

Now that the stage is set, prepping for an interview is doubly important in this highly competitive job market.
Pre-Covid, things like small talk, having the time to read the room and positive body language could be advantageous. These elements unfortunately cannot be counted on when the interview has turned digital. That’s why it’s especially important to sharpen your interviewing skills and really sell yourself during the call. You only have one chance for a positive first impression, so you want to be confident that you’ve thought of everything….you’ve understood the company, the position and more importantly what you can bring to the job and how you can verbalise this.
So, practice with a friend, or even better use this time to run through some online courses to make sure you’ve got everything pitch-perfect, or organize some individual coaching to be confident and then just be yourself.

I hope this has been helpful and it just remains for me to wish you every success on your new and exciting journey!