The global pandemic has greatly changed the business environment. Social distancing has meant businesses have had to work remotely where possible. This has meant utilising virtual services and processes such as zoom conferencing calls and virtual interviews.
If you’ve secured a virtual interview with a candidate for working in your company, you may be wondering how best to prepare. Impressing your candidate is important because the best ones usually have multiple offers. To help, below you’ll discover some great tips you can follow, which also apply just as well if you are the candidate or the interviewer.
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Ensure You Have a Quiet Space Available
First and foremost, you’re going to want to ensure you have a quiet space available for the interview. This means ensuring you won’t be disturbed and there will be no background noises to contend with.
The space should also be well lit and private. This ensures the the other person will be able to see your clearly and you’ll be able to focus solely on the interview. It’s a good idea to set up your own little home office. That way, you’ll have a space especially for virtual interviews.
Don’t Forget to Dress to Impress
No matter what type of candidate you are looking for, their impression of you is also important. Don’t forget to dress up. Though virtual interviews may be viewed as more casual than in-person interviews, they still require you to dress smart. Even for contract HR jobs you’ll want to wear a good suit and ensure you look smart.
Keep a Notepad and Pen Handy
When you’re preparing for the interview, it’s easy to forget the basics. You’re going to need a pen and notepad handy to take notes where needed.
You could also use the notepad to write down any questions you want to ask beforehand. Remember, this isn’t just an interview to determine whether the candidate is a good fit for your company. It’s also an opportunity for the candidate to discover if your company is a right fit for them, even if you are a virtual company.
Ensure You Have a Stable Internet Connection
As the interview will be taking place online, it’s important to ensure you have a good internet connection. There are a number of ways you can improve your connection. Start by making sure you are on the fastest speed package for your area. If your Wi-Fi isn’t reliable, consider connecting to the internet directly to the router via an Ethernet cable. You could also move the router into the same room as your computer during the call.
The last thing you need when you’re doing the interview, is for your connection to drop. Similarly, you should test your video and audio quality.
Preparing for a virtual interview is similar to preparing for a face to face interview. You should still research the company and look professional during the video call. If you follow the steps above, you should be ready to smash the interview and avoid potential issues.
