The lockdowns of 2020 forced a dramatic shift in how we live. Confined to our homes, public activities like work and entertainment screeched to a halt. But life didn’t stop. Thanks to the internet, work, education, and even job hunting moved online. In this new normal, Zoom emerged as a lifeline. It allowed us to maintain professional connections and navigate work responsibilities. As a result, virtual job interviews became commonplace, a trend embraced by many companies across industries.
What is Zoom Interview?
Think of it as a regular interview, but conducted through Zoom. Zoom, a widely-used platform for remote video calling and conferencing, offers a range of tools to facilitate seamless communication for all parties involved. From screen sharing to texting, video recording, and muting, Zoom makes the entire video conferencing experience easy and convenient.
As one of the most popular video calling platforms during the pandemic, it’s no surprise that many companies have shifted to conducting virtual interviews on Zoom. However, transitioning to online interviews doesn’t diminish their importance. For some, navigating a Zoom interview may prove more challenging than an in-person one, especially for those less familiar with the platform.
If you find yourself struggling with Zoom interviews, you’re not alone. Many individuals are seeking tips to ace their virtual interviews, and we’re here to help.
In the following article, we’ll share some valuable Zoom interview tips to assist you in preparing for your next interview. So, read on and equip yourself with the tools you need to succeed in your virtual interviews.
Contents
- 1 What is Zoom Interview?
- 2 Zoom Interview Tips
- 2.1 1. Get Familiar with the Technology
- 2.2 2. Test the Equipment and Gadgets Before the Interview
- 2.3 3. Ask for the Meeting Link and Double Check the Date and Time
- 2.4 4. Find a Quiet Place for Interview
- 2.5 5. Be On Time
- 2.6 6. Avoid Any Virtual Distractions
- 2.7 7. Prepare Answers to the Most Common Interview Questions
- 2.8 8. Choose the Right Outfit
- 2.9 9. Speak Confidently, Clearly, and Slowly
- 2.10 10. Watch Your Body Language
- 2.11 11. Write Down the Questions to Ask Them
- 2.12 12. Charge Your Laptop and Find a Good Internet Connection
- 2.13 13. See for the Perfect Background and Lighting
- 2.14 14. Use the Mute Button
- 2.15 15. Look Into the Camera
- 2.16 Conclusion
Also check – Phone Interview Tips / First Job Interview Tips
Zoom Interview Tips
1. Get Familiar with the Technology
You must know what you are dealing with if your career depends on it. Since it’s (Zoom) is new, not many people are aware of the technology.
The first thing you need to do is to download the zoom app on your mobile or computer from its official website. You should do it days before your interview so you get to know what you will be dealing with. Just use the app for a few days until you get a hang of it and knows everything about the app.
2. Test the Equipment and Gadgets Before the Interview
Test whether everything is working fine or not. You should test the microphone or webcam and see how they work and if they are working fine. You should make sure you know how to use these things and that everything is fine. This would help you avoid unnecessary last-minute stress and your interview would go smoothly as well without any interruptions.
3. Ask for the Meeting Link and Double Check the Date and Time
Although they would provide you the meeting link access code before your interview, in case if they haven’t already done that then you should ask them otherwise you would struggle last minute and cause unnecessary panic to yourself or you may miss the interview as well.
It would also be helpful if you double-check the time and date for the interview to avoid any misunderstandings. You should also double-check the time difference if they are from another part of the world.
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4. Find a Quiet Place for Interview
Finding a quiet place is one of the most important things that you have to do before your interview. If you live with your family or with someone, then you gotta seek a place where won’t get distracted. You should also ask your roommate or family members to give you space during your interview.
Even if you live alone, still you gotta find a place where you can be somewhere quieter, that is no unnecessary sounds of anything.
All you have to do is to keep yourself away from any kind of distraction because you can’t afford any of them during the interview. You need to focus on the questions that you have been asked and your interviewer needs to focus on the answers and that’s the only way a zoom interview can go successfully. You need to be fully focused during the entire zoom interview.
5. Be On Time
Being on time is a generic thing for any professional meetings and especially the interviews. You can’t afford to be late for your interview because that would make a really bad impression on you. So make sure you have done everything that needs to be done before your zoom interview and you have cleared your schedule at the time of the zoom interview.
However, you can’t be early either. See it’s not like the walk-in interview, where you would be asked to sit in the lobby and wait for your turn. When you will enter the “room” that is the link you would be provided, you should be the only one. Since it’s a job interview, you might not be the only one they are interviewing so you may enter the chat room while someone else is taking the interview and this would be super awkward.
So sit tight and enter the link and enter the room at the exact time you have been asked to.
6. Avoid Any Virtual Distractions
This one is a pretty important tip. See we know you are taking the interview online so you can’t really escape the world around you but you do need to make sure that you don’t get any virtual distractions. These include any calls, messages, or notifications. Turn off the notifications and turn off your phone if you are not taking the interview on your phone. Otherwise, you might get a call or a few messages which would be proven distracting in the middle of the interview.
7. Prepare Answers to the Most Common Interview Questions
You do need to prepare for the Zoom Interview as you would prepare for any other jobs. This also includes listing down the most commonly asked interview questions. So do find them and prepare for them. Because you can at least be ready with the answers to the most asked questions in interviews.
Search for the most commonly asked questions ( and for the job you are interviewing for) in general on google and be ready for their answers as well.
8. Choose the Right Outfit
Make sure you are properly dressed for the zoom interview. Just because you are giving your interview online from the comfort of your home that doesn’t mean you don’t have to dress up professionally.
Make sure you pick up the appropriate outfit for the interview (which would wear to an actual interview). You should also make sure you are well-groomed. Accessories too count in the outfit part. This would make you look good and you would look like a professional and someone who is taking this interview seriously.
9. Speak Confidently, Clearly, and Slowly
How you speak has a lot of impact on the interviewers. Since its online interviews, some might speak abnormally thinking that the other person might not hear them clearly. So do make sure that you are speaking clearly and slowly instead of speaking fast and in an abnormal manner.
Record your own voice and see how well you speak or sound which would let you know how much you need to work on. Work on your speaking skills if you need to and make sure you sound clear, polite, and confident during the interview.
10. Watch Your Body Language
Your Body Language is as important as it would be in any walk-in-interview. Yes, the interviewers would still be watching your body language and see if you are confident enough.
Sit straight and make sure you make eye contact with the interviewer while he is talking to your questions and you are answering them. Don’t lose eye contact. Your posture should be perfect too. Find a comfortable chair and place your laptop or phone at the right angle as well so they can see you properly.
11. Write Down the Questions to Ask Them
This is one of the most important things you need to focus on. See almost all the interviewers would ask you if you have any questions for them. It would seem right if you do have some questions for them because that would mean you are interested in the job.
So think about what you can ask them and write down all the questions that you need to ask them to make sure this is the right job for you.
You should also ask them to repeat the question if you have a problem hearing or understanding the question in the first place.
12. Charge Your Laptop and Find a Good Internet Connection
This is also important that you fully charge your phone or laptop before the interview so it won’t shut down in the middle of the interview.
Secondly, to ensure good streaming you should connect to a fast and reliable internet connection because you don’t want a frozen screen or interpreted voices during the interview.
13. See for the Perfect Background and Lighting
The lighting and background do play an important role in the online interviews. You have to make sure that your background is professional looking that is you can sit just anywhere. Your background has to be neat and tidy. A blank wall or a well-organized background would do the job.
You should also sit in good lighting because your interviewers do wanna see you and not just a human figure.
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14. Use the Mute Button
Using the mute button can be quite helpful when the other person is speaking for too long. This would make sure that they can’t hear anything on your end and this would allow them to speak clearly without any distractions.
15. Look Into the Camera
This one perhaps the most important tip for the zoom interview. No matter who is speaking and what’s going on, you need to look in the camera and pay your full attention to the screen. Don’t be distracted and look somewhere else, cause this can seriously jeopardize your chances of getting that job.
Conclusion
These are essential Zoom interview tips to assist you in gearing up for your next virtual meeting. Enter the Zoom interview with confidence, believing in your capabilities—you’re more than capable of acing it! We trust these suggestions will be beneficial, and we’re rooting for your success in your forthcoming Zoom interview. Wishing you the best of luck!