Our current job market has seen many impacts of COVID-19 but one in particular is interviewing and recruiting in a market controlled by Zoom and other online platforms. To remain professional, virtual interviews should be conducted and handled in the same manner as face-to-face interviews. Being online it is easy to forget some basics to the interview process. To ensure you will "seal the deal" on an interview make sure to note the following:
1. Be on time - In addition to face-to-face interviews, if you do not show or arrive late you are already starting off bad. Respect the time frame you mutually decided on and ensure you have enough time to both prep and decompress before jumping back into your day.
2. Dress for success - Although we all may be extremely comfortable in our sweatpants, sweatshirt, and other comfortable loungewear, remember to treat this virtual meet just like a face-to-face interview. You would not wear loungewear to an interview so go grab the suit, dresses, and other business professional clothes out of retirement for the day.
3. Build rapport - Establishing a relationship virtually or in person allows yourself to standout among other candidates. During our virtual age many people skip over this initial stage but it is a very important aspect to remember.
4. Stay focused - Limiting distractions will keep you more concentrated and aware in an interview. Make sure you can seclude yourself to a quiet area so your full attention can be with who you are interviewing with.
5. Ask questions AND be prepared for them - Stay involved in the interview. Make sure you come prepared, do your homework and you're able to ask questions during the interview. Additionally, make sure you are prepared to answer questions about yourself and how your past and present experiences would make you the best candidate for the position.
6. CLOSE - All successful salespeople know they need to close the deal. Unfortunately, during the virtual time it id common to exit quickly by slamming your computer screen down. Make sure you close the deal and ask for next steps in the process. If you don't ask what the next step is there may never be one.
