3 Keys to Impressing Someone during a Video Interview

By: Debra Wheatman

Debra Wheatman, CPRW, CPCC is president of Careers Done Write, a premier career-services provider focused on developing highly personalized career roadmaps for senior leaders and executives across all verticals and industries. Debra may be contacted directly at debra@careersdonewrite.com. Visit her site at: careersdonewrite.com. Follow Debra on Twitter.

The challenge of conducting a video interview lies in the limits of your chosen technological medium – if you have a slow internet connection (leading to bad or diminished audio) or a low-resolution camera (leading to poor reception of your appearance), you may face additional challenges in leaving a strong impression with your interviewer to earn a call back. They key to impressing someone over video conference is to be extra-clear and articulate in your responses to ensure that you are communicating the right message throughout the session. Below are three keys to leaving a positive and lasting impression on your interviewer via Skype, Google Hangout, or FaceTime:

• Enunciate carefully. You don’t want to slow down your speaking pace to the point where it sounds unnatural; rather, be conscious of what you are saying and how you say it. If you have a large and diverse vocabulary, think about using simpler language to limit the length of your sentences. Sometimes less is more.
  
  
• Stay cheerful and smile during the interview. Reading body language over an internet camera can be quite difficult. To compensate, make sure you look into the camera with a genuine smile and try hard to connect in a positive way with your interviewer. It is tempting to look at your reflection shown on the side/bottom window on Skype or FaceTime, so be aware that to engage your interview eye-to-eye, you need to look into your camera’s lens.
  
  
• Request a follow-up interview in person. As your video interview comes to a close, it’s a good idea to request a follow-up meeting in person as the next step. This is of course dependent on your proximity to your interviewer and the opportunity; but if you are willing to travel a certain distance to meet directly, take every step you can to make that happen. Demonstrating your strong interest in meeting will convey a level of seriousness that can help put your candidacy over the top.

In summary, doing well in a video interview means being extra careful about your pace and manner of speaking and taking initiative to ask for a follow up interview face-to-face. Remain positive and enthusiastic to put yourself in a good place to advance in the recruiting process.