Virtual interviews can be traced to the early 2000s when two video interviewing companies, Hirevue and Montage invented pre-recorded video interviewing so that people could record interviews at home, and send them to hiring managers as opposed to one-on-one physical interviews.
With this in existence, however, many companies still opted for physical interviews until the pandemic. The pandemic, as you know, changed so many things all over the world, including the way work is done. Social regulations meant companies had to be more creative and flexible with their processes- including their hiring process. In a 2021 Indeed survey, 82% of employers surveyed use virtual interviews, and 93% of employers plan to continue using them.
Whether the role is physical or remote, there is a high probability that there would be at least one form of a virtual interview. This could be in the form of a phone interview, video interview, or even a pre-recorded video interview. More and more employers are looking for faster and more efficient ways to achieve their goals and 74% of recruiters have found that video interviews have made their job easier to interview and shortlist candidates.
At Propel, we are passionate about connecting people to the best global opportunities and that’s why we have put together this resource to guarantee that you ace that virtual interview and go a step closer to landing that role!
The first and most important thing to note to succeed in a virtual interview is to treat it like a normal physical interview. Many applicants get carried away and feel like the virtual world removes some of the seriousness of the interview, but this is far from the case, especially if the virtual interview is recorded. Now recruiters would have the time to scrutinize every word, playback every sentence- but no pressure, we’re going to show you how to handle it like a PRO!
The five tips to acing a virtual interview are:
- Get all your tech — including the internet, in good shape
- Get the right location
- Show up early and dress the part
- Pay attention to your behavior, posture and let your personality shine through
- Research, prepare for the interview questions, and take notes!
Now let’s take these tips one at a time
- Get all your tech — including the internet, in good shape :
This entails your internet connection, laptop, software, camera, headphones, and any and every equipment or service you need to have a successful interview.
First, let’s start with the computer: ensure that it’s updated so it doesn’t start any sudden system updates that could take hours.
- Pay attention to your webcam location: It’s usually at the top of the screen, but if you’re using some specific laptops/tablets, you would find this at the bottom or on the side, and this can be quite an awkward angle (insert medium) for a video interview. You can set up a Google meet or Zoom call or photo booth (if you use a MacBook) with your friend or colleague to see how you look during a call. Have them take photos of the screen and send them to you.
- Keep the camera steady and don’t turn it off at any point, unless it really can’t be helped- and you must communicate with your interviewer before doing so.
Hack: A hack to find the right angle and ensure you’re not looking at yourself and that you’re making eye contact (it’s a virtual interview, yes, but still achievable) is to treat your camera lens as their eyes and it will seem like you’re looking directly at them.
Some people believe that it’s not the webcam that lets you achieve eye contact, but rather looking at the top-third line of your screen. The best way is to explore different angles while on the test call with your friend and identify which one helps you achieve virtual eye contact. You may put a sticker on the exact point so you’ll remember to keep your eyes there during the interview.
WIFI: In most African countries, the struggle for good internet is real. Before your interview, you want to make sure you have good internet — typically around 10–100 Mbps, so you don’t appear blurry or have your audio lagging during the interview.
You can go to Fast.com to check your internet speed before the day. Click ‘more’ and look at the ‘upload number’ because that’s the speed your video call would be sent at.
If your internet falls lower than 10 Mbps, endeavor to invest in another network or find another location: this could be a friend’s house, a workstation, etc.
Hack: if you’re using Google Meet, for the interview, you can adjust the bandwidth settings by making the other end of the video lower-quality to help save bandwidth.
Headphones or computer audio: determine which would put you in a more comfortable position during the interview. For example, if your computer is one where you have to speak close to the speakers to be heard, you might want to invest in good headphones or Air Pods.
Software: Test the software to be used for the call before the interview. Most people are familiar with Zoom or Meet, but if it’s something you’re not familiar with like Outmatch or Willo, you want to make sure you test it out before the interview.
The information for what platform the interview would take place is usually communicated, but you can ask if it’s not. If you need to share your screen or present, try to figure out how to do so using the chosen software.
Ultimately it’s important to acknowledge that you can put all these things in place and still get thrown off by maybe a bad network or a sudden system issue. The important thing is to communicate these problems or find creative solutions to them.
For example, if your internet connection is faulty, you can communicate this at the start of the interview and ask if you can switch to a phone call instead or turn off your camera so it’s just audio.
Lastly, and this hardly needs to be said, make sure all your devices are fully charged: headphones, laptop, mobile phone, Air Pods, WIFI, anything at all that you need for the call.
2. Get the right location:
This sounds like a simple thing, but it’s not. Your choice of location for the virtual interview can affect your performance or assessment. You should choose somewhere that is quiet, and free from distractions. A bed showing in the background of your video, for example, doesn’t look professional.
Background: Your video interview background should most preferably be a wall. You can hang up an interesting decoration on the wall behind you — maybe a painting or a quote and that can be a great conversation starter during the interview.
Hack: if you’re unable to find a nice background, you may use the ‘blur background’ feature in Zoom or Google Meet — depending on the platform for the interview. You can also use one of the Google Meet virtual backgrounds like a clean office space or wall of books. You may take a photo of nice office space on the internet (be sure it’s free to use) and upload it as your video background.
Sound: If you live with people, let them know ahead of time that you need quiet and zero disturbance. Make a DND or knock sign and put it outside your door also.
Close all applications on your laptop to avoid notifications that could distract you. Keep your phone on silent or vibrate mode.
Hack: It’s almost inevitable to achieve complete silence if you live in a megacity like Lagos, for example. You can use Krisp, which is a background service to block out unwanted noise during your interviews. Just like we mentioned earlier about testing software, be sure to test it out before your interview.
Lighting: Your lighting should be bright, but not too bright it leaves a glare, and not dim either. If you suffer power cuts or are unable to find good lighting in your house, try using a quiet outdoor area, a workspace, or a friend’s home office. If you’re using natural light, sit in front of an open window, instead of behind one as this could make your video look dark.
Hack: Test your video at the time the interview would be held- at night or day- to make sure there’s no glare or shadows.
That said, if there’s a chance that you might get interrupted during the call — maybe construction work is happening outside, a family member barging into your room despite your DND sign, or your neighbor’s baby might start crying, let your interviewer know at the beginning of the meeting. This could even lighten the mood.
3. Show up early and dress the part:
Just because it’s a virtual interview, does not mean you should show up looking tacky or show up late. Even if it’s a phone interview, dressing up is important as it can boost your confidence levels and make you feel less anxious.
Punctuality: Try to show up for the call at least 15 minutes before the set time just like you would a physical interview. This would help you be more settled in by the time the interview starts. You can even use the time to make any quick changes you want to.
Outfit: Make sure you’re not wearing jewelry eg watches, or rings that can be reflecting or give off a glare to your interviewer. Dress the way employees in the firm typically dress.
For example, in most tech firms, many people wear business casual or casual clothes, so it might be awkward wearing a suit and tie for your video interview.
Hack: if you’re unsure of how they dress at the firm, try to do some stalking on their social media, or reach out to a friend in a similar industry. Better still, when in doubt, go with business casual. It‘s corporate enough for you to be taken seriously and laid back enough so it’s not awkward.
4. Pay attention to your behavior, posture and let your personality shine through
This is where practice comes in handy. Virtual interviews remove some of the nervousness you might feel during a physical interview, but it also reduces how connected an interviewer might feel towards you. Thus, it’s important to pay attention to body language, verbal expressions, posture, and so on.
Posture: Ensure you’re sitting at a comfortable distance from your computer so you don’t look too tiny or too close.
Hack: To look well proportioned, make sure there’s a bit of space on the screen above your head and check that your shoulders and upper chest can be seen.
Behavior: Being on a virtual interview does not mean social rules and etiquette no longer come to play. Remember to greet the interviewer — a simple ‘Hello, my name is Propel, Thank you for having me here!’, smile, and maybe do a slight wave at your computer, so you come off as friendly. Try not to be too frigid and feel free to gesticulate when making points as you would in a regular conversation.
You can have a practice interview with your friend where you tell them to look out for your behavior as you answer their questions. Do you come off as uninterested? Are you touching your hair too much or saying erm too many times? Take note of their feedback and try to adjust accordingly.
During your practice, also pay attention to how fast you speak, and the tone and pitch of your voice, to make sure you’re speaking in a manner that it’s easy to hear and understand, especially in cross-cultural situations.
Communication: When you’re done speaking or answering a question, it might not be clear to the interviewer that you are or if it’s a network issue, so to avoid awkward, long pauses, be sure to ask questions like, ‘did you get that?’ or end your sentence with ‘…and that’s the answer to your question.’
- If you’re writing something down or looking for some information concerning a question they just asked, communicate that so they don’t think you’re distracted or spending the time on the call to do something else.
- Be generous with your smile during the conversation, and make sure to thank the interviewer at the end of the call: Thank you for having me, enjoy the rest of your day!
- Check in frequently to be sure they are still with you and that you’ve not just spent the last minute droning on the call. Asking ‘are you with me?’ or ‘would you agree?’ helps to bring the interviewer to the conversation so you don’t bore them with long monologues.
Hack: if you get thrown off by a question, do not let this break your confidence, instead try to answer to your best ability, then admit that you’re not exactly familiar with the subject matter, but give it a shot regardless.
5. Research, prepare for the interview questions, and take notes!
So you’ve taken time to check your clothes, location, internet connection and so on, but none of these matter if you don’t have anything of value to say during the interview. It’s important to do your homework about the company as recruiters can often tell when a candidate doesn’t even know about them.
Research: Go through their website, and social media pages, read some of their blog posts, and company reviews on Glassdoor, check for press releases about them, and so on. These would help you ensure that you ask great questions (remember, you’re also trying to determine if this company is a great fit for you) and answer their questions properly.
Hack: if the interviewer’s name is not provided before the interview, you can check the company’s LinkedIn, go through their followers and see if there’s anyone with a role such as ‘hiring manager’, ‘head of talent’ or something in a similar capacity. If you’re lucky, they may be your interviewer. A good conversation point may be saying how you identified with something they posted on LinkedIn.
Practice interview questions: Download templates for typical interview questions and practice how to answer them. You could do this with a friend, a career coach, or someone in your industry with more experience than you. Questions such as What are your strengths and weaknesses? What was your greatest accomplishment in your previous job? Etc. should be a walk in the park for you to answer.
Taking notes: in order not to miss some of your talking points, you may write notes in your notepad or a Google doc. Try to make sure you don’t use too many notes so it doesn’t seem like you’re copying from somewhere. Use memory joggers such as mnemonics, and bullet points instead.
You may also take notes during the interview to ensure you don’t miss any important detail or forget to ask an important question.
Hack: To take notes on a Google doc during a virtual interview happening on Google meet or Zoom (you may try this with their chosen software to see if it’s possible), minimize the interview to the smallest possible window or thumbnail. Place this directly under your web camera, or wherever it is on the screen you’ve identified helps you achieve virtual eye contact so that even while taking notes, or reading from it, it still looks like you’re maintaining eye contact with the interviewer.
These tips we have shared are quite a lot to keep up with. That’s why it’s advisable if you’re asked, to schedule the interview around 48–72 hours from when you’re informed so you can have adequate time to prepare.
Follow these tips, but most importantly remember to be yourself, be confident in your abilities and realize that the company needs you as much as you need them, so no need to be too anxious.
If you’re a top tech talent looking for a remote opportunity, you should check out withpropel.com. We are building Africa’s largest ecosystem of tech talent and connecting them to global opportunities.
Good luck and we can’t wait to see you propel in your career!
