Dos and Don’ts During an Online Job Interview

Hunting for a job during a pandemic is not easy. As companies in Singapore shift to remote working in an effort to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, job cuts and hiring freezes have become all too common in the past year. However, this does not mean that you should give up on sending out resumes, labour is an integral part of every business or organization, so hiring will not halt for an extended period of time. Job opportunities are still available in Singapore in various industries for experienced individuals. 

With that being said, Singapore’s labour market is on a steady recovery since the rollout of vaccination plans, and employers will begin to hire more labour to cope with increasing consumer demands in due time – but are you prepared for online interviews yet? 

If you haven’t, read on for some dos and don’ts to ace that job interview on Zoom. 

The Dos

1. Make Your Background Presentable

You don’t necessarily need a fancy background to appear professional in your interview but at least make sure that you are not doing the job interview amid a pile of clutter, dirty laundry, or against a wall splashed with distracting posters. Maybe a neatly framed photo, poster or painting on the wall is acceptable, but you might want to refrain from having your interview in front of a wall plastered with countless posters of your favourite boy band. 

Ideally, attend the interview against a plain wall or simple, uncluttered backdrop. More importantly, make sure any sign of mess in the room does not appear in the camera. A neat background will definitely be a good sign of professionalism. If you lack a nice professional looking background in your home, you can always use virtual backgrounds and blurring effects available on the Zoom application. 

2. Choose a Brightly Lit Space

The interviewer will need to see your face clearly throughout the interview so make sure that the room has ample light and you are not sitting against a light source as it will make your face appear as a dark silhouette on video. Additionally, you should also remove any objects that might cast a shadow on your face.

3. Turn Off Notifications

Eliminate all visual and auditory distractions from your study. Keep the windows shut for the duration of the interview to prevent any noise from disrupting the conversation with your interviewer. If you have children at home, ensure that they are occupied in another room before the interview starts. 

As for your phone, you should definitely make it a good habit to put it on “do not disturb” mode to prevent incoming notifications from distracting you. Replying or reading any text messages online during your interview is a definite no-no as it comes across as terribly impolite and unprofessional – definitely not the impression you want to leave on your potential employers.

The Don’ts

1. Google As You Speak

We get it. It is tempting to “cheat” during a virtual interview with all the correct answers at your fingertips.  Google might be a few clicks away, but do not give in to the temptation to look questions up on Google or to search for anything you don’t understand online while speaking to the interviewer as it might cause an embarrassing situation if you are caught doing so. 

You might not realise it, but your eyes darting to and fro the camera would probably give you away, and employers aren’t easy to fool either. After all, they have interviewed tons of candidates before you. 

Instead of panicking when a difficult question comes up, make sure that you set aside enough time to research and arm yourself with all the important company and industry information before attending the interview. 

With remote working growing to be a routine for many local companies, it wouldn’t be surprising if remote interviews are here to stay as well. Keep these useful tips in mind when you are preparing for your Zoom job interview, and leaving a good impression will never be a problem for you!