Zooming in on a job

SO, you’ve secured an interview. Now what?

Where previously your prospective employer would have invited you into their office for a faceto-face sit-down, in the current climate the chances are the interview will take place online. I expect that once life goes back to ‘normal’, the online interview will be here to stay.

Not only does it save on time and costs, the likelihood is that working from home will also be the norm.

With more and more business conversations moving online, it makes sense that the recruitment process does too.

While attending an interview from the comfort of your own house presents several advantages – not having to worry about train delays and whether you will arrive on time, for one – preparation is still important.

An online interview requires a different school of thought when creating first impressions.

Sure, you still want to look presentable and to have practised your responses to potential questions, but there are other things to consider as well.

There are various videoconferencing platforms the recruiter may use, such as Zoom, Teams or GoToMeeting. So, first up, familiarise yourself with their software of choice.

You may have used one or more of these platforms with friends and family over the past few months and think you know your way around them, but consider how to make the call more professional and businesslike.

Headset

Practise using it, even conduct a dummy interview so you are au fait with using the audio mic, being on camera and the time delay, and use a headset for better sound quality.

Think about what is in the shot behind you and remove any clutter from view or, better still, use a virtual background.

If possible, set up in front of a window, so you appear in natural light.

Use a laptop or desktop computer rather than a tablet or smartphone, because this will enable you to utilise virtual backgrounds, share documents and communicate with multiple people more easily.

Elevate your device so that the camera is at eye-level – people don’t want to feel like they are looking up or down at you, it also helps hide that double chin.

Think carefully about what clothes to wear and check how you look on screen.

Lastly, position notes around your screen to refer to and also have your CV to hand.

Done all that? Then, you’re ready to go…

But should you require additional help or would like to practise your online interview techniques, then contact Wokingham Job Support Centre, where free advice is on hand.

Until next week, good luck with your job hunting.

� For more information, visit www.wjsc.org.uk, tel: 0118 977 0517 or email jobsearch@wjsc.org.uk.