Nailing a Remote Interview by Amy Gallo

Author: Amy Gallo

Given that many people work from home, there’s a good chance that if you’re lucky enough to get an interview, you’ll be doing it remotely. All of the standard advice about how to prepare for and perform during an interview still applies (see the sidebar for more), but you’ll also need to think about other aspects as well.

Technology

When the interview is scheduled, ask what video platform they’ll be using and then spend time familiarizing yourself with how it works, especially if you’ll need to use any features like screen sharing. Test the link ahead of time. Be sure you have a way to reach the interviewer in case the technology fails. “The last thing you want is to be disfluent in a high-pressure situation,” advises Art Markman, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of Bring Your Brain to Work. “People are going to be as forgiving as possible, but if you can demonstrate that you’ve thought through the contingencies, it’ll convey competence.” And set up the best possible circumstances for the technology to work. For example, Markman suggests asking others in your household not to stream TV while you’re doing the interview.

Appearance

Your goal is to look professional. You don’t necessarily need to wear a suit jacket, but you don’t want to wear a sweatshirt, either. Choose a neutral background for your interview (it probably goes without saying to avoid one of those virtual beach backgrounds). If you have a professional-looking space you can show in the background, it can help humanize you, and it’s better than being right up against a wall, according to Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, a senior adviser at Egon Zehnder International and the author of Great People Decisions. However, a blank wall can be less risky when it comes to interruptions or accidentally displaying a messy room. You might also consider standing during the interview. “It’s more dynamic, your vocal cords warm up faster, and it’s easier to project,” he says.

Rehearse Ahead of Time

Experiment with how you might answer common questions. “When we get nervous, we tend to start monitoring ourselves,” says Markman. “Since you’ll be able to see your own image as you’re talking during the interview, you’re likely to get distracted. Staring at a face—especially your own—will make you lose your train of thought.” Be sure to rehearse in the spot where you plan to do the interview so that you can see how you look. If you can’t stop looking at yourself when you practice, you might want to close the window with your image in it. You don’t want to be self-conscious to the point of distraction. “But it can be useful to occasionally look at yourself during the interview,” says Markman, “to make sure you don’t have a tag sticking out or something.”

Go into the Interview with a Positive Mindset

Remember that during the interview, you won’t be getting the same level of nonverbal information from the interviewer. And as Fernández-Aráoz points out, lots of research shows that when we don’t have feedback, we tend toward a negativity bias. We think, “This isn’t going well.” So experiment ahead of time with staying positive and assuming that the best is happening. You might have a mantra you tell yourself when you start to doubt your performance. Or you might sit quietly for five minutes before the interview starts and mentally review all the reasons the interview is likely to go well.

Exaggerate Your Emotions a Bit On-Screen

For the same reason, you want to practice being emotive during the interview. “Unless you have a sophisticated set of earphones, the audio gets compressed and you lose many of the undertones, which convey emotions,” Fernández-Aráoz explains. “So you need to exaggerate those a bit.” He suggests practicing with a friend on video to “get some feedback about the setting, your tone, and your body language.” Your goal is to appear natural and at ease. You might record yourself answering a few sample questions and watch how you appear. But don’t do this if you’ll just focus on everything you’re doing wrong. Again, you don’t want to make yourself self-conscious and hinder your performance.

Ask Pertinent Questions

When you are given the chance to ask questions during the interview, Fernández-Aráoz says you should ask all “the usual questions,” such as “What are your expectations for this role?” “How will you measure success for the position?” and “What am I not asking you that I should?” Markman suggests also asking about their onboarding process in the virtual environment. How will the company be helping new hires get acclimated?

Looking for a job is never easy, and interviewing for one remotely can be a challenge. By following the advice in this chapter, you can set yourself up to impress the hiring manager and land that dream job—even when you have to do it virtually.

Amy Gallo is a contributing editor at Harvard Business Review, the cohost of the Women at Work podcast, and the author of two books: Getting Along and the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict (both Harvard Business Review Press, 2022 and 2017, respectively). She writes and speaks about workplace dynamics. Watch her TEDx talk on conflict, and follow her on LinkedIn.