Acing Online Interviews on Zoom, Skype, and Video Calls

1. Why this Course is Different: Welcome to this course on async, online interviews on zoom, Skype and video calls. Now, before we jump into things, let's address the elephant in the room. I know there are a ton of resources already out there on kicking butt in interviews. This one's better. Well, actually, I'll let you make that call. But when I can guarantee is that this course is original, We're going to get deep inside the head of the interviewer to understand what they're looking for and how we can make a lasting impression on them. And we're convinced that even the most seasoned candidates, we'll get a ton of value out of this course. We also wanted to create a resource that addresses online interviews, specifically, since there isn't much out there on that. So in this course we're going to go into the nuances of what makes online interviews unique. To kick things off, let's do introductions and show why we bring a fresh perspective on the topic. I'm Greg, co-founder and chief operating officer of exploring a online platform for developing professional and personal social skills. I have an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. And prior to explore learning, I was COO of a New York tech start-up which was acquired in 2018. While at that company, I develop HR systems and interviewed hundreds of candidates on a wide range of roles, might combined experiences navigating highly selective Recruiting Systems has provided me with battle tested insights in what makes for a great interview and how to equip yourself for success. Now, I'll hand it off to marry Daphne to introduce herself. Hi everyone. I'm married. Daphne, MD for short. I'm co-founder and CEO at explaining. I have an advanced EDM in Applied Linguistics from Columbia University. And prior to exploring, I ran a marketing department, global educational conglomerate. I was also a TV anchor for a national news broadcasting company. And I've taught English on a Fulbright and communications for over a decade. During that time, I screened hundreds of students, clients, and contractors across a wide range of industries. My diverse background has afforded me a unique perspective on how to stand out in competitive hiring environments. And I'm super excited to share my key takeaways with you in this course. Before committing your valuable time to something like this, it's important to determine if the course content is a fit for you. So let's quickly run through that evaluation. You'll find this course valuable if you match any of the following criteria. One, you're searching for a new job to you expect to encounter online interviews during that process. Three, you want a higher success rate with your online interviews for you want to make a great impression over video chat. Or five, you're familiar with web conferencing technology and want to make that tech work for you rather than against you. It's also important to note that even if you do plan to do in-person interviews, you'll still find tons of value in this course. So don't let that be a barrier for you. This course is broken down into seven core components, each with its own set of subtopics that we're going to explore. Specifically will be covering the following topics. What makes online interviews difference? Coming prepared, opening with confidence, conveying your authentic self, establishing a personal connection, concluding the interview memorably, and optimizing your virtual setup. To be respectful of your time, we've done our best to keep this course shorts. And to the point, as a result, some of the content may be more dense than you're used to. So feel free to slow the video down or re-watch any section that you didn't fully grasp, there's no better time than now to get started. So we recommend that you jump into the next lesson to kick things off. 2. Online Interviews are Harder than You Realize: online interviews are harder than you realize. A common misconception people have is that online interviews are easier than in person interviews because they don't feel as formal or immediate. Now, this could not be further from the truth. In many ways, all mine interviews require much more skill and attention to pull off. Ultimately, your goal with an interview is to convey to the interviewer who you are and why you're qualified for the role. For a variety of reasons, an online interview makes this process much more difficult to achieve. So don't make the mistake of underestimating online interviews. In this section, we will discuss what makes online interviews challenging, and in subsequent sections, we'll discuss important steps you can take to address these challenges. 3. What Makes Online Interviews Unique: the most obvious, and also the most important difference between online interviews and in person interviews is the presence of a screen between you and the interviewer. This screen introduces a variety of challenges, a lot of which have to do with our evolutionary biology. As social creatures, humans have evolved to interact in physical spaces. Before we have language, we learned to read each other's faces, gestures and vocal sounds. And finally, enough. Not much has changed since then. Even today are words Onley convey 7% of our meaning. The remaining 93% of our meeting is conveyed through body language and tone of voice. This is crucial to understand when it comes toe online interviews when communicating over video chat or even more so the phone. We lose a ton of data about each other because we can't see or hear each other as well as we would converse ing in person. This means that when we do online interviews are words carry more value than they would in person, so we need to choose our words wisely. Each one counts more than you think. Likewise, we need to make a special effort to express their body language and tone of voice through the camera so that they could be interpreted properly even when there's a poor connection. This situation is similar to the challenges of Ah, Hollywood actor versus a Broadway actor with a Hollywood actor. The camera is right up in their face so they can be very subtle with their voice and body language. A small twitch of the mouth or I is easily visible to the audience. A Broadway actor, on the other hand, has to speak much more clearly and exaggerate their motions that the audience members sitting far away could still understand what the actor is trying to express in an online interview. Imagine you're the Broadway actor. You need to go the extra mile to ensure the digital space between you and the interviewer is not interfering with your ability to communicate clearly and confidently. Later on. In the course, we'll talk about how to optimize your set up to achieve just that 4. Relevance to In-Person Interviews: we're often asked if our online interview strategies also apply to in person interviews. The answer is absolutely yes. Virtually everything that makes for a good online interview also makes for a successful in person interview. Well, we pay special attention in this course to the mechanics specific toe online interviews. Keep in mind that the majority of the content focuses on concepts that apply toe all interview formats. So if you can master the strategies of online interviews, you'll be even more prepared for in person interviews. Talk about a win win, right? 5. Come Prepared: before we go any further, let's make one thing clear. The surest way to do well in an interview is to come prepared when you come prepared. Your thoughts are clear and organized. You lay a strong foundation that ensures you get off on the right foot. You also feel much less anxiety because you know that you've done everything in your power to do well. Ah, prepared candidate appears professional and confidence. The preparation phase of the interview is something that we have complete control over. So the responsibility is on you to make the best of it in this section will discuss some of the best ways to come prepared. 6. Do Your Research: companies want candidates who are passionate about the mission of the company. They want candidates who fit into their culture. They want candidates who understand and even better use their products and services. They want candidates who closely track their industry and are plugged into the emerging trends. To prove you are this type of candidate, you need to do your research. Start with the company website, especially the about US page. Also check out the press or media relations section to see the latest PR and company news run through the company's social media accounts, including Linked In and Facebook. Do a search of the company in Google to see what articles fill the first page, switch over to the news tab and check that out, too. Check the company out on review sites like Trust Pilot and Cap Terra to see how customers engage with their products, scan their glass door profile to see what employees have to say about them. The key here is to get yourself into the shoes of the company and its employees. In your head. You want to feel like you've already worked there for years by doing this. When it comes time for your interview, you can demonstrate your depth of knowledge and enthusiasm for what it is that that company does. 7. Develop Your Angle: When you write an essay, your thesis is the main point you want to make in an interview. Your angle is essentially your thesis for why you're a good candidate. Anything you say in your interview should somehow reinforce this thesis. Your angle should closely align with the values and priorities of the company, which you've already researched. Ideally, your angle is original and memorable, but most important, it should honestly reflect your motivation for applying to the job. A common mistake that novice interviewers make is that they do more telling than showing. Telling is listing your accomplishments and skills showing is describing a challenging project and how you overcame those challenges to get a great outcome. Telling is boring and vague, and it's essentially regurgitating what's on your resume showing is engaging and detailed. It's centered around anecdotes that illustrate your passion and abilities. The best way to make sure that you're showing is to come up with a list of common questions , group them into themes and for each theme, have a go to story for it In your stories. Be specific about the challenge, what actions you took to overcome the challenge and how those actions achieved a positive outcome. These stories ensure that you are showing what you've accomplished rather than just telling 8. Don't Memorize: Another novice mistake is to try to memorize all of your answers. The risk with memorizing your answers is that you'll sound stiff and rehearsed. Unless you're a professional actor, it's likely to bore the interviewer and negatively impact your aura of authenticity. We'll talk about authenticity a little later. The other major risk is that if you're asked ah question you weren't expecting, you'll scramble toe. Apply one of your memorised answers, and chances are it won't quite work. Or worse yet, you might experience a brain freeze, which will be uncomfortable for you and the interviewer. That's why stories are so powerful you don't need to memorize them. Instead, build each story around one main point you want to drive home than let those stories flow out of you organically as the interview unfolds. 9. Open with Confidence: first impressions are important. Most people make up their mind about someone within the 1st 30 seconds of interacting with Um, for that reason, you want to do everything you can to start the interview off on the right foot. In some ways, it's a bit like giving a speech. You want to engage the audience right off the bat so that they're motivated to listen throughout. The entire speech in this section will go through some of the common opening questions in interviews to make sure that you give the best first impression you can. 10. Tell Me About Yourself: one of the most common questions you'll be asked at the start of an interview is. Tell me about yourself now. This is a very open ended question, which makes it challenging, but fear not. We have a template for you to nail this. To answer this question, we recommend a concise 32nd elevator pitch of what you want the interviewer to know about you fun side note. The term elevator pitch comes from the classic situation where you meet someone important in the elevator and you have 30 seconds between entering the elevator and leaving it to make a positive impression on that person. Hence, it's a pitch you give in the elevator. Your elevator pitch should be a narrative centered around the angle that you've established for yourself during your preparation period. Use this angle to construct an honest version of yourself that demonstrates that you're a match for this role that you're interviewing for in your pitch. Highlight two or three aspects of your personal and professional history that show you're an interesting person whose values, skills and interests are aligned with that of the company. These aspects are essentially your supporting arguments for your thesis about why you're a good candidate. Remember, you only have 30 seconds before you lose their attention. So you'll want to choose your words carefully. In fact, because this pitches on Lee 30 seconds and delivery here really matters. This is one of those rare situations we actually do. Want to memorize? Your answer? Yeah, yeah, I know We just told you not to memorize your answers, but hey, rules are meant to be broken, right? Anyhow, to avoid your pitch sounding rehearsed, practice it so many times that saying it feels as natural as breathing. This can take several hours of practice over several days, but it's worth the investment Now. Onley will your pitch sound boss and interviews. It's also something you can whip out next time you run into someone that you want to impress and say an elevator 11. How Did You Hear About Us: Another common question you'll hear is. So how did you hear about us? Treat this question as an opportunity to show how passionate you are about the company and the industry and have fun with this. For example, you could describe a story from your childhood that sparked your interest in the industry. Or you could launch into an amazing customer experience he had with the company's product that totally changed your life. The goal is to prove to the interviewer that your interest and motivations for working at that specific company are genuine. 12. Why Are You Qualified: one of the scarier questions you'll encounter is what makes you qualified for this role. This is where you want to talk about your specific skills that make you a good candidate. Make sure you understand the prep quiz. It's for the rule that you're applying to so that you know what skills to prioritize when you answer this. Remember, this isn't a high school application you don't want. Provide an extensive laundry list of all the various skills you have and the fact that you have black belt in karate. Instead, focus on two or three very specific skills that are critical for the role. If you lack expertise specific for the role, that's not necessarily a deal breaker. Smart employers know that skills are learned on the job. What matters much? Maura's the candidates attitude. So be upfront about your skill gap and prove to the interviewer that you're a quick learner and are highly motivated to develop any skills required for that position. Once again, this is a place for stories could be very powerful because they show your experience and ability to convert your go getter attitude into riel outcomes. 13. Convey Your Authentic Self: when it comes to a successful interview. Authenticity is one of the best ways to make a great impression. Authentic people know who they are and don't pretend to be anyone they aren't. They exude confidence and transparency, which sets the interviewer at ease and paves the way for open and engaging conversations. All of us have the ability to project authenticity. But when we're nervous or feel insecure, it can be tough to dio in. This section will run through some of the most common qualities of authentic people and how to demonstrate that you have those qualities. 14. Candidness: honesty is your ally in interviews. Humans in general and hiring managers in particular are excellent lie detectors. If they detect any dishonesty that will dramatically increase the odds of a rejection. Moreover, when we aren't being completely honest, were often expressing discomfort and that discomfort gets picked up by the interviewer, and it doesn't reflect well on us. By contrast, when it's clear you are being honest, especially when answering challenging questions like explaining an employment gap, you earn major points with the interviewer. Honesty and candidness are signs of confidence and moral integrity, both qualities that interviewers love. So if you don't understand something, they asked, get clarification. Or if you simply don't know the answer, let them know you'll get back to them after the interview once you've had some time to think about it. At the end of the day, the point of an interview is to see if you are a fit for the role. So if you misrepresent yourself and still get the job, you risk landing up in a position that might be a bad match for you, which actually ends up hurting you in the long run. 15. Humility: similar to honesty. Humility is a powerful signal of confidence and competence. People who are brave enough to admit when they're wrong, who aren't afraid to say, I don't know and who approach problems collaboratively make great employees. By contrast, people with big egos tend to create friction on teams and make a bad impression on clients . So make an effort to Devin Street humility during your interview. This doesn't mean you shouldn't talk about your accomplishments. You absolutely must do that. But it's important to frame your accomplishments as the fruits of collaboration, hard work, learning or perseverance rather than a result of your God given talents. Likewise, air on the side of using us and we language rather than I and me language because that shows you recognize the importance of teams and suggests you work well with others. Another way to demonstrate your humility is to express your eagerness to learn. There's no need to pretend that you know all the answers. It's much more admirable to say that you passionately seek solutions to unsolved problems. After all, great problem solvers make great employees 16. Thoughtfulness: In today's world of knowledge workers, interviewers are looking for intelligent candidates who think before they act. They want individuals who value quality over quantity. They want individuals who weigh the risks against the opportunities to make smart, informed, data driven decisions. To prove your this type of person, you need to demonstrate your thoughtfulness. A great way to do this is to take a deliberate pause when answering their questions. Instead of immediately launching into an answer, ask for a moment to jot down your ideas before responding. This ensures your responses organized. It also demonstrates to the interviewer that you put riel thought into it. Likewise, don't say more than you need Teoh. Your responses to their questions should be succinct and to the point. If you catch yourself rambling on without making a clear point, that's a good indicator that you should take a bit more time before answering. The next question. Remember, you're not being evaluated on how much you say, but instead on the quality of what you say. For this reason, less is often best 17. Why Personal Connections Matter: as social creatures, Humans thrive on personal connections. The closer we feel to someone, the more favorably we'll think of them. A great example is a sibling or relative that you don't get along with. They may do things that drive you nuts, yet you still can't help but love them. While not nearly as extreme in an interview, this same concept applies. The more you can connect with the interviewer on a personal level, the more likely that person is to give you a positive evaluation. In other words, developing a personal connection with the interviewer provides an opportunity that is totally independent of your qualifications to improve your chances of being accepted. And to some extent, this makes sense. If you can connect with the interviewer on a personal level, chances are you could do the same with other employees, and that suggests you'll mess well with the team. So make it an explicit goal of establishing a personal connection with your interviewer. 18. How to Establish a Personal Connection: establishing a personal connection with someone is easier than you might think. The key is to identify some type of commonality between you and that other person. A common way to do this is to learn a bit about their background and then figure out if there's any overlap with yours. Typically, the interview will provide a brief background on themselves at the start of the interview, so listen carefully to what they say even better. If you know ahead of time the name of the person who will interview you, you should absolutely study their LinkedIn and social media profiles to identify points of commonality. Baby had the same major in college or lived someplace near where they worked or once lived where they lived. Maybe you're both bands of the same sports team were traveled to the same exotic location. Or you could both be a middle child or speak the same foreign language. Or you both love tennis if you simply don't know anything about the background and they're not willing to share that at least tried to identify commonalities in your way of thinking . To do this, get their opinion on something related to the job or industry something they care about, and then see if they agree with your opinion. If they don't agree, that's fine. Choose a different topic and try again. You'd be surprised at how people who seem totally different from you can still share similarities with you. So work hard to identify those similarities. And once you find them, make a big deal about it. The more meaningful the connection feels, the more it'll work in your favor. 19. Conclude Memorably: it's important to recognize that the interviewer won't remember every detail about your interview. In fact, they're likely to remember very few specific aspects of it. Instead, they're going to recall the interview with a generalized sense of whether it went well or not. One of the most effective ways to ensure that Generalized Sense is a positive one is to conclude the interview memorably, This is actually very similar to giving a speech. You don't want to end on a Dole flat note. Instead, you want to end with something inspiring and motivational. 20. Ask Good Questions: So if your goal is to be memorable, the Q and a part of the interview is vitally important. It's almost always at the end of the interview, and it's a terrific opportunity toe. Leave the interviewer with a great impression. Moreover, the Q and A tends to be a little less scripted, so you can have a bit more control over the flow of it. Of course, you want to be respectful of the interviewer's time, and there may not be much time left for Q and A, which is why it's critical that you prepare questions ahead of the interview this way. You aren't left fumbling when it's time for Q and A. That said, some of the best questions come organically from the conversation you had during the interview. Questions like thes show that you were listening and engaging with the interviewer. So what makes a good question? Good questions are thoughtful. Original, an open ended focus on industry trends, the strategic objectives of the company, the needs of its customers and how your role fits into the bigger picture. Your questions to get the interviewer thinking and bonus points if you can provide them an opportunity to talk about their own accomplishments, which everyone loves to dio a couple of good questions and accompanying conversation can transform a mediocre interview into a superlative one. 21. Create a Reason to Follow Up: Once the interview is over, you may feel like your job is done, but it's not. Your goal after the interview is to stay top of mind with the interviewer. The first and best way to do this is to write a high quality thank you email, which must be sent within 48 hours of the interview. Don't make the email generic. Instead, spend some time reflecting on your conversation so that you can make it insightful and original. Remember, this email is one of your final opportunities. Toe leave a lasting impression on the interviewer because your opportunities for follow up are limited. A great strategy with this email is to plant an unanswered question or open item that you plan to do future research on this way. A week or two later, you can circle back to that email with the results of your research. By doing so, you put yourself back on the interviewer's radar and demonstrate that you're still interested. Also, by taking that initiative without being prompted, you show your proactive and hold yourself accountable for the deliver Bols, you commit. Teoh 22. Configure Your Virtual Setup: up to now, we've talked a lot about strategy. We're now going to shift gears to discuss the more mechanical aspects of online interviews . Where's the previous sections? Applied to both online and in person interviews? This section is focused primarily on optimizing your online video call delivery. What's great about this portion of the course is that the content applies toe all video calls, not just interviews. So if you do a lot of videoconferencing for your job, this will be very relevant for that as well. For the most part, we aren't going to reference specific product brands because technology is constantly evolving and the best product now might be old news next year. Instead, we'll introduce you to the fundamental concepts, and then we'll leave it up to you to research the best options in those product categories by the time you watch this course. That said, one product review website that comes highly recommended is wire cutter operated by the New York Times, which does a great job highlighting the best products across a wide range of categories. So we encourage you to check that out. We have no affiliation with them. We just love the work 23. Optimize Your Internet Connection: the most important variable in your online interviews set up is the quality of your Internet connection. You actually don't need a ton of bam with anything over two. MBPs or megabits will suffice. Do a search for Internet speed test and choose one of the top results to see what your Internet is running out. If your net connection clocks in at below two MBPs, there are a few things you can try to do to speed things up. First close. Oh, any other open applications on your computer, including all your open browser tabs? Most APs these days use Internet, so by shutting them off, you prevent them from hogging valuable bandwidth and has added, Plus, you free up more CPU processing power for whatever application you're using to stream your video call. Next. Ensure that you're getting a strong WiFi signal on your laptop by moving closer to your WiFi router and switching to the five gigahertz band if you have one. If that still doesn't help, you can try plugging directly into your router using an Ethernet cable. But you'll probably need an Ethernet USB adapter for that. Just search USB Ethan adapter in Amazon. You can also make sure that everyone else in your house using the WiFi is off the device during your call. Or at least ask him to not stream music or any videos, because both of those take up a ton of bandwidth. If you simply can't get it up to the two megabits level, consider doing a video call at a different location, such as a friend or family members house. You could, of course, also consider public areas like coffee shops. But be aware that the wife I could be really unreliable, and you'll have to contend with unexpected background noises and activity like sirens blaring and babies crying. 24. Get a Real Mic: Once you've gotten your Internet connection dialed in, it's time to focus on sound quality. Believe it or not, good sound quality is more important than good video quality. You don't need studio grade equipment, but the better you sound, the better impression you'll make upgrading from your belt in laptop mike to a USB plug and Mike can go a very long way. Your voice will go from sounding tinny and scratchy to clear and robust. A strong, clear voice projects confidence and shows the interviewer that you mean business. You should be able to find a high quality mike for under 50 bucks. Just run a search on Amazon for something in the 30 to $50 range that has high ratings. If you often deal with background noise, you're probably better off with a USB headset, which is better at filtering out background noise. A quality headset may run you a little bit more, but you should be able to find a solved one for around 50 to $80. Either way, if you plan on doing a lot of interviews or video calls in general, a good mike is a great investment 25. Establish a Professional Setting: Another often overlooked aspect of online interviews is your professional setting. This includes both your image frame and your background. When it comes to framing, you want to be close enough to the camera that the interviewer can make out your facial expressions but sufficiently far enough away that they can see your whole face and the tops of your shoulders. A good rule of thumb is to think about a professional headshot like your Lincoln picture. That should be roughly what you're aiming for. As for the background behind you, simple is best plain. White is fine, and it's certainly safe. But don't be afraid to spice it up just a little bit with something like a plant or a neutral piece of art. In terms of what you wear, stick with the same entire you'd wear in an in person interview. You might be tempted to dress down if you're doing the call at home or somewhere casual. But it's important to show respect for the interviewer and demonstrate that you value the time they're taking to learn more about you. Thus, it's always safer to air on the side of dressing smart 26. Fix Your Lighting: When it comes to lighting, make sure your faces well lit so that the interview you can see it clearly. Avoid light that comes straight from above because that can cause deep shadows under your eyes. Likewise, avoid light that comes from only the left or right side, because that can cast the other side of your face in shadow. You also don't want bright lights behind you, such as a bright window, because that will screw with your exposure. The camera will try to adjust the back room light, and it'll cause your picture to peer much darker. If you're doing an interview during the day, go for soft natural light near a window that gets in direct sunlight. Face the window so that the light illuminates both sides of your face evenly. If the interviews at night or you don't have a window handy, try placing a lamp or two on the table, potentially stacked on books so that the source of the light is a few feet away and position just slightly above your head. YouTube has plenty of great videos on mastering lighting, so if you really want to nail it, definitely check out a few of those 27. Look into the Lens: just like I Contact is critical during in person interviews. It's equally important during online interviews, but it's harder with online interviews. The reason has to do with the position of the camera versus the position of the person you're speaking to. For example, when you're talking to someone on a laptop or webcam, your camera is often located the top of the screen. Where is the person's face is somewhere down in the middle? This causes that awkward situation where it looks like you're speaking off into space rather than directly to the person on the other end. The solution is surprisingly simple. Look into the camera lens while you talk, but in practice this turns out to be quite difficult because you'll be tempted to look at the person's face while you're speaking. The best thing to do is to position the camera as close to the interviews faces possible. That way, you can look at both the lens and their face at the same time. On a laptop, you can typically dragged the window of the video conferencing software so that the interviewers face is closer to your camera, even if that means the edge of the application has disappeared out of view. If you have notes that you plan to read off of, you should also position those is close to the camera as possible so that when you read the notes looks like you're looking at the interviewer similar to a teleprompter. However you accomplish it by looking into the camera, you'll be looking directly at the interviewer, which signals confidence and professionalism also on the topic of notes. If you'd like to take them on your laptop during your interview, be sure to type softly so that doesn't shake the screen or make a loud clacking noise for the interviewer. Or, better yet, just take notes by hand on a no pet. You can always transcribe them to your computer later. 28. Closing Thoughts: we covered a lot of territory in this course. Don't expect to master all of it on your first run through, go back and review specific sections one at a time. We also encourage you to practice the suggested strategies and exercises with friends and family. Ultimately, the key to a successful interview is to project confidence and competence. To do that, you need to put a lot of work in ahead of time. Research and practice pay huge dividends. The more you run through the process, the better you get at it. So if you feel a bit shaky with some of these strategies, that's completely normal. Just keep at it, and eventually they'll flow through you naturally and organically. Remember, online interviews are in many ways harder than in person interviews, so if you can nail the content in this course, you'll be that much more prepared for your in person interviews. These skills last a lifetime, so you might as well walk them in now 29. Go Get Em!: Wow, You made it all the way to the end. Go You We are so happy you set aside the time to take this course. If you were happy with it, we'd really appreciate hearing what you liked about it in your review. If you have any feedback, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. These courses are living documents, and we're always looking for ways to make them even better. If you want to learn more about our work at exploding, check us out at exploring dot CO. Where we have hundreds of free lessons on personal and professional social skills. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel exploring with married after me. Finally, if you have any suggestions for other new courses, let us know about that to restructure all of our content around the needs of our students. Thanks again for your time and best of luck with your upcoming interviews