With more and more companies realizing that recruitment via video conferencing allows them to save money while widening their employee search, job hunters would do well to modify work on their video interview strategies. The rules of the old-fashioned interview still apply--make eye contact, speak with confidence, express enthusiasm--but video adds a few new demands. Let’s take a look at what you can do to shine on a screen.
Clear Some Space
You might feel a great urge to impress your interviewers with a well-chosen background. Your voluminous library of business books, for instance. Or a tasteful landscape painting that speaks to your sophistication. Please resist this temptation. For one thing, the extra visual noise will only distract the folks on the other side of the camera. Additionally, you never know how a seemingly innocuous background design choice might be interpreted by a stranger. Perhaps one of the books on your shelf was written by your interviewer’s sworn enemy. You really never know. Best to play it safe with a neutral background. You’re the star here.
Tweak The Framing
Imagine you’re sitting at a table with your interviewer. Which parts of your body are visible? Unless you are in some strange future where tables are inexplicably tiny, your interviewer is likely seeing you from the chest up. You will want to put the same amount of yourself on a screen during a video interview. So before connecting to the video conference, adjust your positioning in front of the camera until the bottom of the frame cuts you off at the chest and the top of the frame is barely brushing the top of your head. Effective communication is all about facial expressions and hand movement, and this positioning will allow your interlocutors to see just that.
Keep Clothing Simple
This is no time to get experimental with fashion. Avoid bright colors and bold patterns, for video can often render such aesthetic dares into a distracting visual cacophony. Stick to simple clothing with soft colors. Beiges and grays might make you feel like a boring old bowl of oatmeal, but they happen to be ideal hues for a video conference like this. Maybe after you’re hired you can start jazzing up your wardrobe. But until then, go for clothes that will escape notice.
Test The Lighting
None of the above measures will be effective without quality illumination. It doesn’t matter what kind of device you’re on--the cameras on phones and laptops and PCs all the need the same thing. And that thing is a well-lit subject. If you can swing it, sit facing a window and let the natural light of our solar system’s brightest star do its job. If this isn’t feasible--maybe it’s night or maybe you’re in your basement office--be sure to test various lighting schemes to ensure that you will not be shrouded in shadows during the interview. Avoid overhead lights--they will make you look like a vampire. A mellow desk lamp positioned next to your computer will often do the trick just fine. But again: run some tests first. This one is very important.
The optimal solution for hosting video meetings with prospective candidates is Prime Call Cloud UC, which is available as a free desktop app for guest users. Read more about it and please contact us if you have any questions. We’ll have one of our experts get back to you shortly. Or you can schedule a free consultation to get started on your video conferencing overhaul.
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