Recruiting: How to Prep for a Virtual Interview

(I posted this on a former blog site, and thought I'd add it here in case it's helpful for you, given recent interest in my recruiting posts)

Congrats!! You've secured an interview. But then you find out you'll need to do it virtually, because of the recent cutbacks in paying for candidate travel to the headquarters for interviews.

How can you set up yourself to make a strong impression despite your remote interview? Below are 6 areas to think about before you start a virtual interview.

1. Avoid background noise. Generally cell phones are not your best option here. If you can use a land line, you're much more likely to have less background noise that would distract the interviewer. Additionally, you'll want to find a closed room that will prevent any passers-by from adding to background noise.

2. Present yourself as though you're in an in-person interview.

• Sit up straight, shoulders back. I find many people tend to slouch more during virtual interviews.
• Don't fidget. This goes for in-person interviews too, and people often don't realize when they fidget. Again, don't distract the interviewer, and tapping a pen or rocking in a chair will do just that, and they will forget to listen to what you're saying.
• Wear a suit just as you would in the in-person interview. This means from your hair, down to your shoes. If you wear the right outfit, you're more likely to carry yourself and speak with the same conviction and credibility as though you were in person.

3. Think about your surroundings. Pick a neutral background that won't distract the interviewer. Imagine if you were watching a screen and you saw people walking by in the background. Your goal is for the interviewer to have 100% focus on you.

4. Prep your notes. As with any interview, you need to prepare your stories and thoughts so that you're ready for the interviewers questions. The plus to a virtual interview is that you can have your resume and notes laid out in front of you. Use that to your advantage!! However, remember the "don't fidget" comment in #2. If you flip through pages, and shuffle them around, that will distract the interviewer.

5. Have questions ready. Asking strong questions of your interviewer demonstrates the thought you put into the interview, and this goes for in-person or virtual interviews. Some of my favorite questions include:

• If you had 30-90 days to stop your day job and either fix something or create something new, what would that be?
• What is the one thing that may be a limiting factor in my candidacy for this position? (i.e., a position requires financial experience and you do not have it.)
• In a past relationship with a subordinate that you believed to be effective, what was that reporting relationship like? (this should illuminate the way the individual manages others without asking "what is your management style" because who in their right mind would tell you they were a micromanager outright?)

6. Take your time to respond. When you are not in person, it is much harder to get a good cadence for conversation with someone. Be careful not to interject "OK" or "yes" while they're speaking, or jump to answer too quickly. Wait for them to finish speaking or ask their questions before speaking. After they finish, pause for a second or two and then answer the question. This may take practice, and you could always ask a friend to do a mock interview with you over a virtual platform such as Skype.

When in doubt, think about the situation as though you were the interviewer. What would distract you? What would you want to see?