Three Ways to Ace Your Video Interview

If you've been granted a video interview due to distance and/or timing, you're not alone. Keep that guard up though -- just because you're not interviewing in person doesn't mean it's an opportunity to get lax. As pointed out in a piece on U.S. News & World Report, some employers choose Google Hangouts and Skype while others prefer professional video services such as Async Interview and HireVue. Regardless of the service, a webcam interview can either make it break it for you to proceed to the next round. Focusing more on the make it instead of break it factor, here are three ways to ace a webcam interview. 1. Take a practice run. Similar to how you would check out a commute to the interview site for an office meet and greet, you should also do a dry run online. Talk to friends or family online to get familiar with the process. Not only could it put your mind at ease, it can resolve potential technical glitches as well. The piece also suggests checking if your laptop is plugged in or if your battery has enough juice to last throughout the interview. 2. Dress for success. Even though it's not exactly likely the interviewer's going to be able to see your dress shoes, dress up like you would for an interview anyway. Be clean, neat and professional. Also, avoid too many patterns or bright white attire. And don't decide to wear sweatpants thinking the interviewer can only see you from the waist up. In the post, the CEO of Async Interview pointed out, "You'd be surprised. You shift around in the seat, and that would be probably the worst impression to give an employer." 3. Adjust your framing. In addition to the obvious of finding a quiet, neat spot in your home to conduct the interview, frame the shot so the camera picks up your face and shoulders. To that point, maintain eye contact by looking into the webcam during the interview. Sit up straight and sit still. If you tend to get nervous, try putting both feet flat on the ground to avoid fidgeting. Just think -- your body language could come across as magnified during the video interview so distracting movements will be easily detected.

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Three Ways to Ace Your Video Interview

Vicki Salemi

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Vicki Salemi