Greeting to everyone in the self induced hostage situation aka lock down aka quarantine. Days have no rhyme or reason... I even thought today was Saturday so there's that. People are either working or looking for work and everyone has either lost their minds or are in the process of losing it. People are also learning new things like Zoom which is similar to Skype, FB video call, Snapchat video call, Google Duo, and other services of the like but lets be honest...Zoom is killing the game at the moment. Hopefully they're continuing to fix their bugs and back doors security issues but that's a different story told by my cyber security friends. Just do yourself a favor and make strong passwords that don't match any other passwords....also two step authentication...it's worth it.
Anyways along with zoom chats and zoom doctor appointments, comes zoom job interviews. It's been brought to my attention that it's just as weird and awkward as in person interviews, but with a few tweaks, you'll be more comfortable and nail that interview on your own turf rather than theirs.
So the biggest thing that needs to be decided is whether you're taking that interview on your phone or your computer. Now if you're like me and haven't really used your laptop since college, chances are that your phone is newer than your laptop. Sometimes when you go to use your laptop, it has to do hours of updates because it hasn't been turned on in more than a month...and still take five minutes just to get to the desktop that feels like a million years. For that reason, I prefer to use my phone and the Zoom app, so on that note:
1. Mind your background - with you being on your own turf interviewing for a new job, your environment is important. It sounds like common sense to not have your dirty laundry in view but there's also people ingesting disinfectant so I'm going to say it anyway. Pick a spot in front of your wall. Avoid windows especially if the light it coming in through the curtains.
2. Snag a tripod from somewhere - With it being a job interview, you want to make a good impression and that doesn't include a visible selfie stick or a selfie stance or the constant moving or repositioning. Use a coffee table, tv table, stack of books to prop it up at eye level. Or use one of your essential trips to an open store for a small tripod. I have one from amazon and it came in handy for much more than outfit shots.
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| Mine is unavailable but this is similar |
3. Mind your angles - Selfie connoisseurs know their proper photo angles but that's not what I mean. If you want to get away with a nice top and sweats or pj bottoms, you have to angle them correctly. If you are like me and have a significantly size bust, you probably don't want the camera angled down too much to show 11 miles of cleavage. So before your interview, figure out your set up and angle to feel your best up top and down below the camera.
4. Notebook and pen - The nice part of doing online interviews is that you have more resources at your disposal. Sometimes the interviewer will send you questions beforehand or I'm sure you can research typical interview questions as YouTube is your friend. Write down your answers and have them within your eye sight or other notes or questions to ask during the interview. The interviewer will appreciate the effort and initiative.
5. Water - What I've noticed with online conversations is that regardless if it's work or play, when we are talking, we talk a frigging lot. So have a little water near you in case you need it because you'll want your voice to be clear and not end of coughing because you're super dry from answering questions back to back.
Now I want to make note that if you choose your phone rather than a computer for zoom. Please keep in mind that if you get a phone call during this, your mic and sound will get cut off. I found that out the hard way but it's not the end of the world. Just tap ignore on the call and move on.
So while we adjust to the new normal for the time being, we might as well adapt and manage. For those on the job hunt, I hope this helps because I have a feeling that even after this is all over, some of these new aspects of the job market are going to stick. More is going to be digital rather than in person. Call it a hunch but that's what I think...Stay healthy and get the job.
In the meantime, here's some of my other posts:
Tales of the Tank - Quarantine Essentials - https://bit.ly/TOTTQessent
or some non-pandemic posts:
Torrid Trip - http://bit.ly/2020TCoat
Medical Guide Part 1 - http://bit.ly/DrRxtips1
Medical Guide Part 2 - http://bit.ly/Med2appt
Good Reads and the Like - http://bit.ly/Yareads22
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