It is safe to say that nobody enjoys being interviewed for a job and now the cost-benefits of video conferencing against travelling has led to many employers opting for a video conferencing interview. This is mostly carried out when the candidate is situated a considerable distance from the place where the interview is expected to take place and it is something that catches many good candidates out. The reason why many strong candidates fail a video conferencing interview is because they fail to understand that many aspects of a video conferencing interview are different to a face to face interview. If you have an interview coming up which will be taking place via video conferencing, here are five tips to help you get improve your chances of pleasing your interviewer:

1. Don’t move around too much

Unless you interviewer has a high quality HD video conferencing system with a high picture refresh rate, the chances are that when you move around, it will create a grainy image on the interviewers television screen which can annoy the interviewer. The fact of the matter is you do not know what kind of video conferencing system the interviewer is using and you therefore need to assume that the interviewer has a poor video conferencing system. If you are one of the many people who begins to move around or has a tendency to pick things up when you are nervous or during an interview then make sure that you don’t have anything near you that you may pick up and start fidgeting with during the interview. You want to try to provide your interviewer with the best experience so that he/she remembers you for the right reasons.

2. Prepare the environment

Everything that the interview can see on his/her television screen is a reflection on you and the interviewer will use the environment around you to help him/her evaluate your application therefore your room should look professional. You don’t need to go as far as re wallpapering your room and posting printouts of research papers related to your job on your wall but the room should be clean and look well organised. You should carefully where you place the camera for the video conferencing system, if you one part of your room looks more appealing than another part of your room then consider moving your video conferencing system so that it shows this section of your room.

3. Don’t forget that you are being interviewed

For most, a video conferencing interview is unfamiliar territory but a casual chat with a friend over a video conferencing system is not which leads many people to act like they would when they are talking to one of their video conferencing friends about last night’s football match. Never forget that you are being interviewed and that you should act and talk professionally.

4. Use ‘Picture in Picture’

A good video conferencing system will allow ‘picture in picture’ functionality which means that half of your screen will display your interviewer and the other half will show you what the interviewer can see. Use this feature to make sure that what the interviewer sees what you want them to see. Have a quick glance at yourself every now and again and if you notice that you are talking too fast or if you notice that your body language seems to be giving a negative vibe then you can make appropriate adjustments.

5. Practice makes perfect

Every recruitment guru that you speak to will you that it is vital that prepare for your interview well in advance by maybe rehearsing answers to popular questions or by asking a friend to interview and a video conferencing interview is no different. However, video conferencing adds an extra element to your pre interview preparations in that it is important for you look and sound professional through a video conferencing system. Set up a video conferencing interview with a friend and ask them to interview you via the video conferencing system. Once the interview has finished you can ask them to give you feedback on how well the interview went. Ask your friend questions like whether they could hear you properly or whether you gave off a professional vibe.