"Not sure if I'm ready for my close up" - The Business of Furniture 4/06/16 - Stephen Says







Dear Stephen: 

I've been interviewing for a new job. I'm on roughly the third step. It's an outside sales job for a manufacturer. I've interviewed with the local manager, then his boss, and now I have a Skype interview set up with the HR Manager. Interviewing over the internet is all new to me. Is this very common? How do I handle it? How do I dress? I sometimes do FaceTime with my kids. Is it like that? I think I've been doing well so far in the process, but I don't want to lose the job at the last minute be-cause I don't look good on the computer. 

- Not sure if I'm ready for my close up Mr. DeMille 
 

Dear Close up: 

First, the reality is that Skype, FaceTime, or other forms of online interviews are now the part of many interview processes for all industries, including for architects, designers, salespeople and even showroom managers. Every one of every age should be familiar with Google Hangout, Skype, and FaceTime. If you don't have a Skype account, start one now. It's very important that every candidate keep up with technology. The older you get, the more technology it seems there is to keep up with. But none of this is anything new.  Most of The Viscusi Group's clients today will Skype interview candidates, often even before they interview them in person, no matter where they're located. Some very important tips for Skype interviewing: Test what you look like on Skype before the interview. You can record it or have a friend critique you. The lighting is important, but  the background is as important. The last thing you want when trying to make a good impression in an interview is for the interviewer to be distracted because you have an unmade bed in the background, or an atrocious or distracting piece of art or memorabilia. Be sure your cat doesn't jump on the desk or that your dog isn't running around the room. Test the angle of your computer camera to be sure it's the most flattering (don't be looking down at the camera; it will give you more chins than John Goodman). Adjust your chair height accordingly as well. More on this: women have a bit of an advantage for looking good on a Skype interview, because makeup can go a long way to making yourself look good without great lighting. Men, if you're really struggling to find a way to not look washed out and pale on the webcam, it's worth trying some of your wife's powder. (I won't tell!)

It's also not uncommon today for employers to want to interview you via FaceTime if they don't use Skype or Google Hangout. All of these methods can be done on your telephone as well as your computer. It's preferable to do it on your computer because it will be less distracting and you can be seated in one place. If, for whatever reason, you can't get to a computer, try to mount or balance your phone so you can be seated and talking. This will make sure your arm won't get tired from holding the phone, which is an issue because once you start shaking the camera or switching hands, it becomes very unpleasant for the person on the other end. Don't believe me? Try FaceTiming with a toddler and see how long it takes before you feel like you have to throw up! It doesn't look that much different when you're throwing the phone around.

As with all interviews, be sure that your Linkedin picture is up to date so when the interviewer sees you, they're seeing the same person from the Linkedin picture. This is even more important during an online interview where the resolution might be a bit grainy. While we're on appearances, always dress as if you were at an in-person interview. Don't just wear a nice shirt or top; you should be fully dressed. It is entirely possible that you'll need to stand for some reason over the course of the inter-view, and it's difficult to imagine that you won't get the job if the interviewer sees that you're not wearing pants. Be sure you look professional and like you're dressed for an interview, not your Match.com date. I always remind women not to wear low-cut tops on a Skype interview. Sometimes you might lean too far forward too soon, and well...you can figure out the rest. Re-ally, the dress rules are not much different than if you were interviewing in-person.

I also often recommend to candidates that they keep a copy of the job description nearby, almost like a cheat sheet so you can explain to the interviewer how your background meets all the criteria on the job description. That's one advantage of interviewing online--just keep the description open in a different window, the interviewer will never know.

Now, the single most important thing: practice. Practicing is essential for two reasons. First, you don't get 100% of the jobs you don't interview for because you couldn't figure out how to connect with your interviewer. In the days before an interview, you have to learn whatever platform you'll be using during the interview, so you know exactly what to do if anything goes wrong (e.g. your internet cuts out). Second, and maybe even more importantly, talking in these web-conferences is different from talking in person--the pace of the conversation is different, sometimes words get dropped or the video skips, and it is often more difficult to pick up on visual cues. These are things that you can only learn by spending time on Skype or Hangout, so do that. Practice with your friends, family, neighbors, hell, if you can get your dog to sit still in front of a computer, practice with your dog.

People go through so many steps only to lose the job because they didn't understand the technology, or they just came across poorly, or a combination of the two. You won't be one of these people if you follow my tips! And remember that even if you've never used any video technology before, don't share that with the interviewer. They will think you're 100!

Stephen 

BoF
 

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Stephen Viscusi is a bestselling author, television personality, and CEO of The Viscusi Group,
global executive recruiters located in New York.
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