Video Interview

H

Hope25ful

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Apr 3, 2020
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Hi all! I just received my interview date and that it will be conducted via video conferencing. I read in an earlier post about some tips for in-person interviews, and was just wondering some good tips for being online?
Thank you, and good luck to everyone!
 
There are hundreds of articles online findable by using a search string such as “virtual job interviews skills or tips.”

I have interviewed people and been interviewed virtually. This is the same scenario. Here are just a few suggestions:

- Do a complete tech check on camera angle, lighting, what’s in the background, soundproofing, doing a checklist that includes muting phone and other devices, taking steps to prevent your little sister and the dog appearing. Well before the interview!
- Put a sticky note near the camera eye to remind yourself to look into the camera and not at the screen.
- Groom and dress as if you were f2f. Sit up straight, just like all of our moms tell us. Your body language and facial expression are part of the impression you make.
- Have your resume, application and essays handy and refresh on them, so you know what you said in those.
- Refresh on the academy website(s) on mission, career paths available, etc.
- As far as questions go, search for the dozens of threads here on SAF about those.
- Resist the urge to tell jokes.
- Do not trash talk other services or academies. You do not know who is on your interview panel, and you haven’t earned the right to do that. If you have exceptional emotional intelligence and social skills in reading the room, you might have some leeway in this area. Be careful.
- Have a few questions prepared of your own, if you are given the time to ask. If you know that an interviewer attended an SA, ask them what factors went into their decision, or how they chose their career path. There are many questions that show you are taking a thoughtful approach to this process.
- Be sure to listen attentively to the question, especially if it’s a multi-part, and don’t let your mind gallop away on response-building, so that you miss part of the question.
 
Awesome advice above. I’ll add this, as someone who spends his whole day online, speaking into a webcam:

Elevate the camera so it’s level with your eyes. Amazing difference for the viewer, compared to looking up your nose.

Make sure your light source is in front of you, not behind, where it would create an unflattering silhouette.

+10 on the guidance to look into the camera when you’re talking. That’s the online version of eye contact. It can be a bit unnerving to not see the person you’re speaking with — especially their reactions — so pause every couple sentences to check them on screen. That will also serve to slow you down, when the online tendency is to speak too fast without pause. It’s OK to take a breath.

Finally, get online with someone you trust and practice, practice, practice...
 
For the ladies, see @MidCakePa post above - it is quite distracting to be looking up not only at nose, but also a curtain of hair coming towards you.

If you are going to stop and think of an answer and blame it on a computer glitch/screen freeze, make sure your ceiling fan is turned off.

Make sure it is NOT the lawn guy's day (or your next door neighbor's). The last thing you want while answering a time you failed is to have the leaf blower right outside your window.

haha! just some humor (but actual scenarios, which is why they are so funny!) to loosen you up before your big interview. Good luck, be yourself, but also your best, positive self!
 
HCopter said:
Make sure it is NOT the lawn guy's day (or your next door neighbor's).
Click to expand...

I teach a course at our flagship state university down the road. First day of online class was a Tuesday in late August. As I was setting up my laptop, webcam and ring light, I remembered that our lawn crew comes on Tuesdays and would’ve been right outside the window. So I scrambled, grabbing all the gear and resetting up in the room farthest from any grass, with just enough time to spare. Details, details...
 
At our house, I jokingly call our laundry room the “SCIF,” a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, any space outfitted to minimize or eliminate outside interference or surveillance. It has no windows (lawn guys, outside noise), is not near any door (barking dogs), far away from other things that make noise, has excellent WiFi, good indirect lighting, good acoustics, a blank wall as background, a solid door that closes, just enough room I can position the laptop well in front of a seat, and have a counter to work on. That’s where I go when I absolutely cannot be interrupted when I am with a client. I have a lovely home office/spare bedroom with my desk in front of a window and a skylight. If it rains, the noise on the skylight is intrusive, and the window overlooks the driveway and front lawn, so it’s fair game for any noise from the street.
 
Capt MJ said:
At our house, I jokingly call our laundry room the “SCIF,” a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, any space outfitted to minimize or eliminate outside interference or surveillance. It has no windows (lawn guys, outside noise), is not near any door (barking dogs), far away from other things that make noise, has excellent WiFi, good indirect lighting, good acoustics, a blank wall as background, a solid door that closes, just enough room I can position the laptop well in front of a seat, and have a counter to work on. That’s where I go when I absolutely cannot be interrupted when I am with a client. I have a lovely home office/spare bedroom with my desk in front of a window and a skylight. If it rains, the noise on the skylight is intrusive, and the window overlooks the driveway and front lawn, so it’s fair game for any noise from the street.
Click to expand...
I never knew I had a SCIF. However, it's my dog's favorite room to nap in (probably for the same reasons that make it a good SCIF), so maybe not.
 
Besides testing the software and getting the setup correct ahead of time as mentioned above, make sure to turn OFF any other software on the PC you will using to avoid beeps/buzzes/chimes for new mail/weather alerts/etc. Leave your cell phone somewhere else in the house to avoid being distracted. Make sure others at home know when you will be doing the interview to minimize disruptions and let you focus on the interview. Small children and a barking dog can be a huge distraction if you don't adequately plan.
 
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