Since 2011, the use of video as a medium for job interviews has risen by 49%. Recent studies show that 6 of every 10 HR Managers use video to interview potential candidates*. Recently Leaders in Heels gave us 6 tips for a great Skype interview. Here, I want add a few more tips (based on plenty of experience) that will help you get a second interview, if not the job!
Physical preparation (10 min):
Wake up your body! Before the video interview stretch your arms, your legs, your neck and back. Take some deep breaths. Wake up your body for a minimum of 5 minutes.
Do some mouth and voice exercises to awaken your voice and improve pronunciation for another 5 minutes:
1. Stretch your mouth by pretending to make a big smile, then close your mouth as if you wanted to kiss somebody that is really far. Repeat 10 times. If you took choir or theater classes, I am sure you remember other exercises. Bring them back!
2. Put a pencil in your mouth and read a paragraph of the newspaper until you can clearly understand all your words.
Now that your body feels awake, you will be more focused and responsive during the interview.
93% of communication is non verbal**
1. Nod: show that you understand and that you can hear them correctly by nodding.
2. Eye contact: you will show interest and confidence by looking at the camera. I find it impossible to look at the camera if I can be looking at myself, so what I do is minimize all the programs and open a white sheet. Now there is nothing to look at and this is the only way I have to look at the camera.
3. Smile: not a fake smile, a genuine, relaxed smile, it will make your interviewer feel better. If there is something you don’t understand, don’t be afraid to show it by furrowing your brows.
4. Don’t lean your head back, lean a little bit forward to show interest.
5. If you normally use your hands to express yourself, make sure the camera catches all your movements.
6. Prepare questions
When in the online world, I have learned that you need to do everything the same as in the real world but more. To show your interest, make an extensive list of questions you would like the interviewer to answer. At the end of the interview, revise them and make sure they were all answered, and even if they were, go through them in front of your interviewer and mention that they were all answered. Asking questions only says good things about you.
Post interview email
If you felt that the interview went well, don’t be shy, even if they told you that they would call you. 1 or 2 days after the interview, send a quick email expressing your gratitude for the meeting and reminding them that you are at their disposal for another interview and that you are excited about the job. This email could make the difference between them choosing you or another person. Believe me, I have hired 300+ people in the last 5 years!
I hope these tips will help you get the job you want. If you have more tips, don’t keep them to yourself! Share them here!
Sources:
*Stats by PGI
**Studies by Albert Mehrabian Professor Emeritus Ph. D., Clark University Social Psychology
photo credit: plantronicsgermany via photopin cc
Anna Danés
Anna worked in the web sector before founding Ricaris have a nice day (www.ricaris.com) in 2009, a successful services company providing distributed solutions for companies in the web sector. Managing Virtual Teams (www.managing-virtual-teams.com) is a new consulting product bringing together all of the experience across the distributed teams of Ricaris, and putting it into bite-sized courses, virtual team activities, and consulting packages. Follow Anna @virtualteams.