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Working remotely means that sometimes you’re going to feel a bit…remote. So when you run into roadblocks, you’ll need to be resourceful. Can you think of a time when you needed to be proactive about researching how to do something? I’ve had a lot of luck with using virtual backgrounds for online video meetings, and meetings are quite similar to video interviews, technically speaking. Consider that what to wear to a remote interview depends on the industry. The “video interview dress code” will vary, whether you’re interviewing at a chilled-out tech startup or an international bank.
If you’re job hunting right now, chances are you’re also interviewing remotely. Below is an archive of past interview guests, answering the above questions and discussing remote work with GitLab team members. For many, it is assumed that culture is simply the aura, energy, or vibe one gets when walking into an office. It is dangerous to allow company culture to be dictated by such factors, as this will create an oscillating culture that changes depending on mood or socioeconomic conditions.
When It’s “Go Time”
The video that you’ll be projecting during your video interview is going to be sent over through upload speed, so you want to make sure it’s as fast as it can be. In addition to charging headphones, make sure your laptop is charged, if you’ve brought it into another room and away from your charger. Or, bring your charger with you and stay plugged in during the interview, which is the optimal route.
If you don’t have a good window to use, find a table lamp and place it a foot or so in front of you, then fire up the video call to test what you see. Did you know that onboarding increases your retention and productivity rate? According to Glassdoor, organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by 70%. You’ve ever heard that cheesy saying that goes something like ‘Eyes are the doors of the soul’?.
How to prepare for your remote interview
It’s important to make the candidate comfortable in the first minutes. Treat them the same way you would a member of your team as they may soon be one. Practice with someone and ask them to give you feedback on your delivery or even write down expanded responses so you have an idea of what you’re going to say to each experience. Telling a story instead of simply listing your past roles and responsibilities enables a more interesting conversation and makes you a more memorable candidate to the interviewer. As companies scramble to fill a record number of job openings remotely, the internet is awash in tips for candidates seeking to stand out from the crowd while confined to a Zoom box. In the GitLab Unfiltered video above, two GitLab team members share their experiences on working in an all-remote setting, providing a glimpse at what’s possible when embracing this style of work.
The interviewer should never feel that you are taking the interview for granted, but he shouldn’t think you’re quickly taken aback. Hence, it would be best if you struck the remote interview meaning perfect balance to rock your remote interview. Although designed to imitate a face-to-face interview, a remote interview has some unique challenges and benefits of its own.
Anticipate Questions And Be Ready
If you look on the bright side, without the travel time you can conduct multiple interviews in one day from the comfort of your home. Continue your preparation as you would for an in-person interview. Think ahead about how you might respond to common competency, behavioral and situational questions for your target role. But don’t memorize your answers (or worse, think you can get away with reading them during the interview)! Instead, focus on being authentic and making eye contact with your interviewer (or reviewer in the case of a one-way virtual interview) by looking at your computer camera rather than your screen.
It’s a great opportunity to ask the hiring manager about their communication style and working norms or ask peers about the team dynamic and challenging parts of the role. I also recommend reviewing the job posting and the skills needed prior to the interview and jotting down examples of your experience you want to highlight. With limited time together, it’s important to share those highlights with the interviewer during Q&A if it didn’t already come up in the interview naturally.
If you’re looking for a remote, hybrid, or flexible job, Remote can help. Check out our Choose Remote Toolkit now for a list of remote job boards, companies hiring remotely, and tips to advocate for yourself to stay remote in your current job. The benefits of having access, speed, and ease are unrivalled, but you need to do your bit to ace this relatively new process. Based on research by the authors, here are ways to set yourself apart during virtual interviews. Remote interviewing is here to stay, as the pandemic and its evolving offshoot, the Great Resignation, continue to reshape the modern workplace.
If you’re in an industry that expects professional and formal dress, keep in mind that you’ll only be seen from above your waist. If it’ll help you mentally feel ready, dress up from head to toe. In preparing for a virtual interview, it pays to have your video setup ready at your laptop or home desktop computer. It’s been proven that smiles make people likable, so why not start off with a bright and cheery smile, whether you’re excited, nervous, anxious or eager? Lucky for you, your shaky and sweaty hands are actually something you can hide in a video interview. Once you have chosen your remote interview software you need a standard document that can be shared across all departments to keep things running smoothly.