Zoom interviews are increasingly gaining popularity these days. And with the current Coronavirus pandemic, individuals and organizations are using the Zoom video conferencing platform to conduct interviews.
If you have been invited for a zoom interview, then you should treat it as an ordinary job interview. However, you also need to familiarize yourself with the platform, to ensure you don’t encounter any challenges during the interview. Here are some Zoom interview tips that will help you to impress the hiring manager and land that job.
Eliminate All Distractions
When attending a Zoom interview, you should ensure that you keep distractions to a minimum. If possible, you should identify a quiet area where you are sure that nothing can distract you during the interview.
Even small distractions like a text message coming through your phone, a dog barking or a baby crawling into the room could easily throw you off. Therefore, don’t give the interview any reason not to hire you.
Also, your background should be professionally set up. If you are interviewing from a home office, make sure whatever is behind you is decorated well. In case you don’t have a home office, you can set up the interview area in any area in your home, as long as it doesn’t have any distractions.
Ensure the Room Has Ample Lighting
The quality of your video feed can determine whether you will land the job or not. Therefore, you need to pay attention to basics such as lighting. To ensure your interview room is well lighted, natural light from windows should be enough. But in case the room you are using is naturally dark or the sun is too low, then you need to invest in decent artificial lighting.
Be On-Time
Most employers use the same Zoom setup to interview several candidates. Hence, you need to be on time for the interview, so that you can save time for everybody. Besides, being punctual for the interview shoes the employers that you are serious, thus increasing your chances of being hired.
However, don’t show up for the interview too early. For instance, if you arrive 10 to 15 minutes early, you may interrupt an on-going interview, and you don’t want to find yourself in such a situation.
Arriving for the interview 2 minutes before the scheduled time is ideal. It will not be too late nor too early. In case you cannot manage to make it to the interview on time due to unavoidable circumstances, you should communicate the same and explain the situation.
Dress Appropriately
Since you are not attending a physical interview, you may be tempted to wear yoga pants or pajama pants, instead of wearing an official trouser or skirt. However, this is highly discouraged. As much as no one may notice what you are wearing in the bottom half of your body, it’s always advisable to dress professionally.
As noted earlier, you should treat a Zoom interview as if it was a conventional interview. And this includes the dress code. Besides, presenting yourself professionally will also boost your confidence during the interview.
Maintain Proper Body Language
Body language plays a vital role during an interview. For instance, it helps to determine whether the interviewee is focused, goal-oriented, and confident. Therefore, the body language that you present during the interview can determine whether you are hired for the job or not.
So, how do you tailor your body language during the Zoom interview to ensure you leave a positive impression on the interviewer? First, maintain eye contact with the interviewer throughout the interview.
Second, make sure you sit upright while making sure you use the entire surface of the seat. Third, avoid clenching your jaw, scratching your face, tapping your feet, or facial gestures that may display nervousness or lack of interest.
Check and Test Your Setup
A single mishap in your tech setup can easily ruin your chances of landing the job. Therefore, don’t leave anything to chance. Before the actual day of the interview, you should run several tests to ensure your system is properly set up.
For instance, you should check your internet connection and ensure your camera is on and well adjusted. Also, you need to check whether the microphone and speakers are turned on, to ensure you don’t encounter any audio problems during the interview. You should also re-check everything again an hour before the interview, just to confirm everything is working properly.
Final Thoughts
If you follow the above Zoom interview tips, you will feel more relaxed and confident during the interview. And at the end of the day, a Zoom interview is just like any other interview. You just need to provide great answers, ask the right questions and maintain proper body language throughout the interview. When you follow these tips, you will significantly increase your chances of landing the job.
