How To Attend Online / Virtual Interview During This Pandemic

Tips To Attend Online Interview During COVID-19 Pandemic

The manpower recruitment for each and every sector, institution, and companies are processed through interviews. In order to recruit a new employee, the organizations are required to take the course of a step-by-step process to identify a competent candidate amongst the applicants. The multi-step process includes preliminary interviews (written test) and physical interviews. But during this uncertain, unforeseen times of the Coronavirus Pandemic, most of the organizations are taking up Online Interviews, in order to continue the hiring process, without exposing the candidate or the interviewer to any kind of health hazard.

To avoid a chaotic situation as well as to maintain consistency in the process of recruitment, most of the organizations/companies, including Government and other public sector undertakings have switched over from the erstwhile recruitment process of the physical appearance of the candidates to online/virtual interviews. This online interview system not only saves time and money for both employer and job seekers but also less stressful to appear for the interview in person.

Benefits of Online Interviews:

• Saves Money – The online recruitment systems save a considerable amount of money both for the employee & the employer.

• Comfortable for Candidates –
  It is more comfortable and easy for the candidates to go for an online interview right from their residence or place of choice. The jobseekers feel comfortable for appearing the interview from their home or place of choice as they need not travel or feel stressed to appear for the interview in person.

• Safest During the Pandemic – Off late, some companies that are in urgent need of manpower recruitment, in this coronavirus pandemic situation, issued advertisements seeking online applications from candidates. Right from the initial process of the application to interview is being done online in accordance with the restrictions put on social distancing. Online Interview is the safest procedure in the present pandemic situation as movement from one place to another is highly risky, and transport availability is also uncertain.

• Easy access to talented candidates across the globe – Online/virtual interviews make it easy for employers to reach to talented candidates, wherever they are from. Often, candidates not qualified for a particular job end up attending the physical interview. Instead of wasting time talking to people who aren’t even close to what employers are looking for, video interviewing software can be used to quickly sort through and decide who’s a yes, who’s a no, and who’s a maybe.

It is necessary for the candidate to ascertain well ahead of the date of the interview the kind of tools the employer will use in the online interview process so that acquaintance with the tool (software) for the candidate may be helpful.

However, the popular online video conferencing tools used by the employers are ZOOM, GotoWebinar, Google Meet, etc. Sometimes chat applications like Skype, Facebook, and Watsapp are also used for online interviews.

The online interview appears to be easy and less stressful, but prior to the date of the interview, the following has to be kept in mind – 

• Familiarize yourself with the process for an online interview is very important to achieve a successful interview performance.
• There are different types of online job interviews, and an interview via webcam is the most typical. The webcam and the set of interview questions may be supplied by the company, or the recruiter may allow the job seeker to use their own laptop/computer as most of these devices have an in-built webcam nowadays.
• In accordance with the number of applicants and the size of the hiring committee of the company, several rounds of interview process may be scheduled.
• Earlier interviews were one-on-one in-person interviews between the hiring manager of the company/organization and the applicant. The conversations during these interviews between them are typically focused on the experience, skill, work history, and availability of the applicant. Besides, one-on-one interviews selection of candidates through group discussion may be arranged by the management via Skype, Google hangouts, etc.

It is always scary for a first-time candidate to appear for an interview for a job, particularly when the employer interacts with the candidate face to face online. However, there is nothing to worry about as the online interview is similar to traditional in-person meetings except some differences that the candidate requires to prepare before appearing in the online interview. Therefore, adequate preparation for the online interview is required, which includes analyzing the sampled questions supplied by the employer and ensuring that you are confident to reply to the questions comfortably.

Before going to face an online interview, the candidate must pay attention to the following points.

8 Tips To Follow Before You Attend An Online Interview

1.The Selection of the Hardware

The selection of the hardware to be used during an online interview is most important. It should always be selected amongst your most convenient devices (i.e., either a laptop, desktop, smartphone, or tablet, etc.) Always enquire in advance what kind of online software will be used for the interview.

2.Appropriate Physical Environment

There is an importance for the preparation of both the physical and network environment at the place from where you are going to appear the online interview. The center must be a quiet and clean physical environment, including proper lighting arrangements.

3. Network Connectivity

It should also be ensured that the location for the interview has appropriate network connectivity, and there are no technical glitches such as slow video or bad audio quality. A proper back-up plan should be arranged if anything goes wrong on the day of the interview.

4. Position of the Camera

The position of the camera in the computer is more important, and this should be adjusted in such a way that the employer(s) thinks you are looking at their eyes. This gives the employer a confident aspect of yours.

5. Familiarizing with the Online Tool

Before facing the online interview, confirm the online tool, the employer is going to use so that you can also familiarize yourself with the tool and if needed, rehearse with the tool. This will not only help the job seeker to face the interview comfortably but also facilitate the recruiters to conduct the recruitment process smoothly. It is also to be ascertained that the tool prescribed by the employer works effectively within your home environment with an uninterrupted internet connection.

6. Practicing Online interview

The popular online conferencing tools that are generally used for recruitment allow candidates to log in and practice interviewing the questions provided by the employers and obtain a recording of the interview.

7. Mock Interviews

Mock interviews may be arranged with any friend to refresh your skill with all technologies that are arranged for online interviews so as to confirm their functioning on the day of the interview.

8. Checking the System for Performance

On the day of the interview, all technology such as a computer or laptop or any other hard disc decided for use during the interview, including sound system, camera, lighting, video recording, network connectivity, etc. should be checked well ahead of the scheduled time.

It must be kept in mind that you are facing a video interview face to face with your
employer for a job, and your get-up, including presentation, mode of reply to their questions carry much value to impress your employer. A candidate should follow the above tips before he/she attend an online interview, to have a smooth conversation with the employer without any interruption.

During the current pandemic situation, the global economic condition is badly affected that forced some companies to defer their manpower recruitment policy for the time being.

But the demand for new professionals in the field of health care, pharmaceutical, and medical research-based companies is on the rise due to coronavirus diseases, and the recruiters are opting for online interviews to recruit professionals.

The number of COVID-19 infected is jumping day by day, forcing more and more companies around the world to ask their employees to work from home. This is why the recruiters and managers are switching from in-person interviews to video interviews in compliance with Health Department advisory for maintaining a safe distance to stop further spread of the virus.

It is not only the pandemic situation for COVID – 19 that forced the recruiters for online /virtual interviews; the recruiters felt it more simple, effective, comfortable as well as economical for both the recruiter and the job seeker.       

Different benefits of virtual interviews have made it so popular to the corporate world that even this pandemic situation has not deterred them from proceeding for the recruitment process.

The firms are benefitted by a virtual screening process to learn a method where both the candidate and the interviewer can comply with the health advisories to maintain social distancing and contain the spreading of the virus that has already caused unbelievable global destruction to mankind. 

Editor’s Note; Tips to attend an online interview, how to attend an online interview during this COVID-19 pandemic.