Interviewing for jobs can be an anxious and nerve-racking time during the best of times. Layer on our current employment situation brought on by the coronavirus and the pandemic, it is downright scary.
Whether you have been laid off or had been in the process of changing position, chances are you will now need to interview remotely and use online conferencing or video methods.
Judit Bartel recently published an article on Business 2 Community and referenced a study by Taledo indicating that:
33% of bosses know within the first 90 seconds whether they will hire an applicant,
A survey of HR Managers showed that 53% used video interviews “very frequently,” and
While 13% of hiring managers plan to conduct online interviews even more frequently.
There are many articles on the web that provide tips and tricks to interviewing remotely via online tools. All list the steps you need to take to be successful. Don’t wing it, use those tips.
One tip on every list will be to “Be Prepared.” Being prepared certainly involves crafting your stories or answers to articulate your value and differentiated accomplishments and skills.
Being prepared also means practicing! Practice, practice, practice! Practicing in front of the mirror or with a mentor will help you become more comfortable and polished. I encourage one other medium to practice with – online tools.
Using online tools will allow you to practice many types of interviews (i.e., Behavioral or Case), peruse a variety of questions, review interview recordings, and get feedback from experts. There are several tools available. Some require a subscription while others are free.
Here are just three you might want to explore. (Please note, these are not paid-for endorsements.)
1. MyInterviewPractice – Offers a reasonably priced subscription that gives you access to interview structures across 12+ industries, 60+ job titles, and 5,000+ specific interview questions. There are also worksheets and workbooks available (some without a subscription).
2. BigInterview – The interview practice is part of a broader four-part curriculum that covers interview basics, practice sessions, and how to tackle some of the most challenging career situations like military transitions or adult reentry into the workplace. There are over 100 industries represented within their resources.
3. LinkedIn Interview Prep – LinkedIn’s content is offered to all users. You don’t need to be a Premium member to take advantage of the numerous questions by category (i.e., Corporate Finance, Sales Development).
You can reach out to your network for feedback on your recorded answers. If you are a Premium member, you have access to recorded answers by LinkedIn-approved experts to use as a guide. The service is a bit more limited than paid subscription models.
Additionally, I encourage people to check in with their colleges or university alumni career services. Many offer online and in-person interview tools to alumni. You paid for it, might as well use it!
Video and online recruiting and interviewing will be our new normal, at least for the foreseeable future. Make sure to follow all the advice on testing your technology, checking the background images when on video, dressing for the part (aka not wearing your PJs!), and removing distractions while on the call. But don’t forget – practice, practice, practice!
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