Zoom Interviewing Tips

Interviewing (and working) in the age of Zoom video!

Before Covid dramatically changed every aspect of our lives most of us hadn’t even heard of Zoom yet alone used it. Suddenly we’re all working from home, creating workspaces in our bedrooms, kitchens and living rooms. We’re spontaneously getting invites for meetings and interviews with little or no notice-seemingly all day, every day. 

Having set hundreds of Zoom interviews between our clients and our candidates over the last year (and monitored, err, lurked on many of them silently in the background) I’ve seen some great ones and seen some pretty poor ones too.

Good ones? They all had the same theme. A clean, bright, well-lit and uncluttered background. Well dressed, well-lit candidates. Smooth starts in term of successfully logging into the meeting itself. Quiet, undisturbed settings. A well prepared candidate who’d researched the company and the interviewer, who had several well-reasoned questions for the interviewer and the ability to take short hand notes on the fly.

The bad ones? Hmmm, where do I start? Candidates who don’t bother to test Zoom, log on late, have no video or audio, can’t figure it out and start the interview bumbling around for the first ten minutes. How about the candidate interviewing for a VP role who hadn’t shaved and was wearing a Tee shirt and a ball cap? Or the candidate who had their kitchen sink filled with dirty dishes as the focal point right over their shoulder? Or the one who held his interview on his unmade bed littered with dirty laundry? Or the other one who had their cat continually walk across their desk in front of the camera, stopping to pet it and comment on it throughout the interview? Or the one who had three big gulp cups that she alternated chugging – not sipping- chugging- during the entire interview? 

I could go on and on, but you get the point. The good meetings were a result of thoughtful planning and a professional, prepared approach- these folks are the same ones who arrive early for an in person interview, dress professionally, with resumes and a pad and pen, on their game and demonstrating real interest in winning the position. 

Zoom interviews should be approached almost exactly the same way (for Zoom pants are definitely optional though we strongly advise wearing them for in person meetings). Candidates need to prepare for video interviews just as carefully as in person. Test Zoom, make sure it works for you, make sure your background is neat, clean, neutral, bright- make sure you’re well-lit too, free from shadows. Logging into the meeting a few minutes early allows you to see yourself exactly as your interviewer will.

Dress in at minimum in business casual- a collared shirt of some sort – avoid sweatshirts, tee shirts, uncollared shirts etc. Regardless of how your interviewer looks (and most actually look pretty professional in my experience) you as a candidate should always err on the side of looking every bit the part of a candidate in a face to face interview. Don’t confuse the “work from home” thing with the “interview” thing- they’re distinctly different. It’s key to dress appropriately for your online interview. 

Zoom’s can also be a double edged sword. On a traditional phone call the interviewer is using their imagination about what you must look like, how you’re dressed, what your mannerisms are, your level of eye contact and sincerity- on Zoom though there’s nowhere to hide! You’re out there on tightrope- hopefully not in spandex leggings though. If you’re not comfortable with a video interview then set up a Zoom call with a friend or familiar member to test it out, learn how it works, see how you look; it’ll take away the jitters when you have a real Zoom interview or meeting. 

Practice really does make perfect.