The present state of affairs, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, has seen a shift from in-person interviews, to remote interviews. With this in mind, you have to be prepared for the eventuality of having to be interviewed remotely. A remote interview means that you are going in there without that face – to – face interaction that is bound to score some points for you. The best way to do well in this interview is to prepare adequately and this article will give a few tips on how this can be done.
1. Prepare Your Interview Area
It is important to look professional during a remote job interview just as you would for an in-house interview. While your clothing would reflect your level of professionalism face-to-face, the area in which you conduct a remote interview reflects that. Be sure your interview area is clean, organized, and does not reflect poorly on you as a potential hire. It is also important to ensure that you will not have any distractions during your interview.
2. Dress Appropriately
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Although you are interviewing from home and may not be fully visible, it is important to dress appropriately for a remote job interview. Getting ready for a remote job interview in the same way you would for an in-house interview will help you get into a professional mindset. More often than not, a confidence boost also comes with getting ready. By dressing appropriately, you also prevent any embarrassment from occurring should you have to get up during your interview.
3. Research Your Potential Employer
An interview is a chance for your potential employer to learn more about you and it’s also an opportunity for you to learn more about the company you may one day work for. Research the company's beginnings, recent news surrounding the company, and the person who is going to be interviewing you. By having some knowledge of the company on hand, you will look well prepared and interested in your potential employer. This knowledge will also make the conversation around the company flow more naturally.
4. Take Care to Prepare Your Computer
There is nothing worse than being late to a remote interview or having your computer crash mid-interview. Before your interview be sure that you've downloaded and done a trial run of the interviewing software. Set the window that you will be viewing your potential employers through at the top of your screen, centered under your webcam. This positioning helps to give the impression that you are making eye contact with your potential employer instead of looking down throughout the interview. Ensure no programs are running in the background that could cause your computer to lag and that all your chat features are turned off, so no pop-ups appear during your interview.
5. Prepare Your Own Questions
As aforementioned, a job interview is every bit a chance for you to learn more about your potential employer as it is for them to learn more about you. Come into your interview with a prepared list of questions. These questions may revolve around why the company is looking for remote work, what benefits they offer to their remote employees, and how they will work with you to ensure you're trained correctly for the job while working out of office. You can also ask questions surrounding how many employees currently work remotely for your potential employer, what sort of tools they use to promote collaboration between in-house and remote team members, and if there are potential group meetings or team-building experiences that you should expect to be a part of.
6. Explain how you will do well while working remotely
Not being in a designated work environment can make it harder to stay focused and on-task. It is important to make it clear to your potential employer that you are a motivated individual who is prepared to successfully work remotely. Confidence and honesty will help a potential employer see that you're serious and would be an asset to the company.
Remote interviews can be intimidating, like in-house interviews, which is why it is so important to prepare for them. By following the tips above, you should be off to a strong start during your next remote job interview. In the end, confidence and preparedness are the two most important factors in nailing a job interview. With these tips, you’ll be more prepared and more confident about interviewing from a remote location.
References
https://medium.com/@oldremote/this-is-how-you-nail-your-remote-interview-de0d576f9faf
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-nail-a-job-interview-via-video-conferencing/
Lindah Mavengere is a Business Consultant at Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, a business management and human resources consulting firm.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindah-mavengere-552b32b2/
Phone: +263 242 481946-48/481950
Mobile: +263 717 988 319
Email: lindah@ipcconsultants.com
Main Website: www.ipcconsultants.com