Online Job Interviews

• 00:05 So what's the best way to prepare for an online interview?
• 00:09 These are more and more common these days,
• 00:11 in fact, it's more common than an in person interview.
• 00:14 For starters, you've got to look your best and not be distracting.
• 00:20 So, practice in advance, record yourself, look at it,
• 00:24 figure out what you like or don't like.
• 00:27 Then call a friend for zoom or Youtube, facetime,
• 00:32 any other platform to get a sense of how does someone experience you if
• 00:38 they are interviewing you, talking to you in an online environment.
• 00:44 For, starters your positioning, you should be leaning forward
• 00:49 into the camera not leaning back showing three chins.
• 00:53 Your head should be nearly touching the top of the screen.
• 00:57 What so many people do is, they have their head in the middle,
• 01:01 they might look like a little boy.
• 01:03 You don't want your head in the middle of the screen, you want it near the top.
• 01:07 People should be able to see you from mid chest area even a little bit lower.
• 01:13 That way you can gesture, you can move a little,
• 01:16 you can look like a real human being, and closer to what people experience
• 01:22 when they see a professional news anchor or news commentator.
• 01:27 You'll look better.
• 01:28 Now, pay attention to what you're wearing.
• 01:31 Just because you're at home doesn't mean you have to be in a bathrobe or
• 01:36 a t-shirt with coffee stains.
• 01:38 You need to look professional as defined by what is professional in your field.
• 01:44 Don't put on a suit and tie if it's a high tech engineering job and
• 01:49 no one in your field wears a suit and tie.
• 01:51 You need to dress in a way that's appropriate and
• 01:55 keep in mind what people can see.
• 01:57 Like right now I know you can't really see my pants or my shoes, so I have shorts on.
• 02:04 And I'm actually wearing crocs, but
• 02:07 I'm not going to wear crocs if it's a real in-person interview because
• 02:13 that might arouse suspicions, it might not seem professional.
• 02:17 You have to look professional for the environment people are going
• 02:22 to be seeing you, in this case it's an online environment.
• 02:27 You want good lighting on your face.
• 02:28 The number one problem most people have is the lighting is bad for two reasons.
• 02:35 They have a window behind them, if that's the case, you've got to close your blinds
• 02:40 but you've got to move your camera and your computer around.
• 02:43 So that the light is coming through a window in front of you, not behind you.
• 02:48 The other problem is lighting overhead and then it gives you dark circles
• 02:54 under your eyes and you just don't look your best, makes everyone look bad.
• 02:59 I would recommend you don't have to go out and
• 03:02 create a giant new expensive broadcast studio.
• 03:05 Just turn your overhead lights off, get a couple of lamps from
• 03:10 somewhere in your home, and put them on the other side of the camera.
• 03:15 Whether you're using a webcam or any other kind of camera,
• 03:19 you want light in front of you, take the lampshade off and
• 03:22 have it at your eye level and that will make your face look much more flattering.
• 03:27 What we're trying to do is not win fashion awards or
• 03:31 get hired as a TV talk show host.
• 03:33 What we really want to do is eliminate distractions so
• 03:38 people can have a real conversation with us about our area of expertise so
• 03:43 they can learn more about how we can be a value to them.
• 03:48 That's the point of the interview, whether it's an in-person interview, or online.
• 03:54 I also want you to do everything you can to eliminate distractions.
• 03:59 A big one is right here, my recommendation,
• 04:03 don't mute your phone but literally power it off.
• 04:07 I know some people feel like that's crazy, here I am,
• 04:12 literally boom, just turned it off.
• 04:15 Because you don't want to be in a job interview and
• 04:18 all of a sudden, you're like, is that my spouse, is my kid in trouble?
• 04:23 You need to be able to give undivided attention to
• 04:28 the person you're speaking to.
• 04:31 You don't want something that's causing your eyes to dark down,
• 04:35 because guess what, you can't notice your eyes,
• 04:38 I don't notice my eyes darking down, but you do, you want to focus.
• 04:42 Speaking of eyes,
• 04:44 you want to look at the camera not the screen of where the person is.
• 04:48 And a lot of setups, the where I'm staring right now I'd be looking at you if
• 04:52 you were talking on zoom.
• 04:54 But to you it looks like I'm ignoring you now,
• 04:56 it looks like I'm checking out email or Facebook.
• 04:59 Don't do that, look at the camera and treat it like you're
• 05:04 just speaking to one human being, you will come across your best.
• 05:10 Virtual interviews are not harder, or easier, or better, or
• 05:14 worse than in-person interviews, they're simply different.
• 05:19 Once you learn a few basics,
• 05:21 you can look forward to every single interview you
• 05:26 have because it's simply another opportunity to
• 05:31 tell people about your unique talents, good luck.

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