How To Prepare For A Virtual interview

No touch, remote technology tools, virtual engagement, e-anything, and e-everything, this has become a way of life since the Global Pandemic COVID19 broke. Virtual has become the new reality now. Virtual Hiring is such a concept in HR Technology. This will also reduce a lot of time in coordination and have most of the details captured on record.

There is a clear 3x jump in demand for virtual hiring systems. The non-IT industry has just woken up to the fact, and by end of FY 2020-21 major industries and close to 70% of organizations are set to embrace these systems.

Bulk hiring will be a challenge, and it’s a STRICT NO for physical drives to be conducted during these times. How will they hire such a huge number during this lockdown? We have a concept called Virtual Job fair, where we pool thousands of candidates online and facilitate hiring.

Virtual Job Fair is modeled on similar lines of a regular job fair, while we use more technology and less human coordination. Research & case studies suggest that Virtual Job Fair save at least 60-70% cost, 90% of physical activity, up to Rupees 3.5 Lakhs for every 1000 candidates attending a physical Job Fair in terms of traveling, and another 2 Lakhs for every 1000 on food. 

The beauty of HR Technology, and particularly systems enabling virtual hiring assessments of all kinds – MCQ, Coding, Psychometric, Proctoring Mechanisms, Algorithms to flag plagiarism and cheating, Video enabled interfaces.

Here are 8 tips on how you could ACE your Virtual Interviews:

1. Check Your Tech

The moment you agree to do a virtual interview, there are a lot of things to keep in mind. First things first, check your internet connection, make sure that you have no connectivity loss. Check your web camera, you need to check whether it is working as well. Do not forget to test the microphone on your headphone or your laptop – do a test call with some of your friends so that you can be sure that every single thing is in place and hence, you don’t have to worry about the interview going wrong in any way. At the end of the day, employers look for candidates who know technology and it is a bonus for recruiters to hire tech-savvy candidates.

2. Minimize Distractions

Since recruiters notice every small detail on camera, make sure that your room is well lit and tidy. An untidy room calls for a shabby person, which is not impressive to the person interviewing you. Make sure you are sitting in a clean background and the place is lit in such a way that your face is clearly seen. Once you sort your room and your scene, make sure that you cannot be distracted. Ask everyone who is present in your room to leave, so that you can have 100% concentration on the interview. Keep your mobile phone on silent and switch off your television. 

3. Practice, Don’t Memorize

HR recruiters know whether you memorized a certain question or you are genuinely answering their questions. Make sure that you practice beforehand your questions in front of a mirror or even your family. In this way, when you are sitting for the virtual interview, words will automatically come from your mind and you will not sound like a robot who by hearted answers. Always remember, your recruiter knows when you by-heart stuff and tell it to them, because they are seeing thousands of candidates every day, on screen.

4. Prepare And Execute

You need to be prepared for the interview. Make sure that you are confident when you do a virtual interview. Go to their website and grasp everything you see and learn about what they really do. This is your way of impressing your recruiter. Prepare interview questions and answers beforehand so that you do not stutter or become unconfident. Be ready for answers to these common questions – 

• Why are you interested in this role?
• What do you know about our company?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Tell me about a challenge at work and how did you deal with it?

5. Dress Well

We understand that you want to dress casually, but it is always best to wear a proper formal light-colored shirt during your virtual interview. This shows the interviewer that you are serious about your job and you are ready to take the weight of the company on your shoulders. Since the upper half of your body is shown on camera, make sure that you are well dressed. 

6. Check Your Body Language 

Having the right body language is one of the most important aspects of a virtual interview. Yes, you cannot shake your interviewer’s hand this time because you are in a virtual interview session. The best way to have a proper body language is by not hunching down, keeping your back straight, smiling, and looking right at the camera, which is your interviewer’s eyes. This is how you show confidence to your interviewer.

7. Find A Connection

Interviewers see thousands of candidates every day on camera and they are not going to remember you by person, but if you try and make a connection with them, then you might have a chance of impressing your recruiter and making him/her remember you. It’s not the easiest to connect with recruiters, but they occasionally enjoy an interest apart from the same questions they have been asking all day. 

8. Follow Up Email

This point is so underrated – You need to have a habit of thanking the interviewer for the opportunity given to you. Within 24 hours of the interview, send an individual thank you email to your interviewer. This not only shows that you are genuinely interested in the role, but also this is an opportunity to get them to remember you. Keep your mail clear and concise at the end of the day. You don’t want to overwhelm the recruiter with a large mail.