As the world has gone into the “work from home” mode because of the pandemic, it forced companies worldwide to explore how their employees can work from home. But since the office space is so decentralized, it’s a big shift from how companies traditionally function.
While universities have their classes conducted online and students are still graduating nationwide, the job opportunities available are scarce. Landing an interview will also impose a lot of new challenges as it will most likely be conducted online.
What we have here is a byline article by Joey Lim, Vice President of Commercial, Asia, from Lark. I’m pretty sure that many people are not familiar with the name “Lark”, but they’re essentially an office collaboration suite of tools that also has employee management features built-in. This service is developed by ByteDance, which is the parent company of TikTok.
I am personally interested in such a service because we, too, are already partially working from home since before the pandemic. Having such services to streamline our workflow is important.
So, let’s take a look at the byline and see what Joey Lim has to share with us so that fresh graduates can prepare for the interview session and fly through with ease.
Much of the world has gone virtual and we are slowly losing the human element and the spontaneity of face-to-face connectivity and conversations. In this era of coronavirus and social distancing, finding and interviewing for a job can be very stressful and nerve-wracking, especially for fresh graduates this year. Job seekers need to convince their future employers that they are competent, have the right experience, and are a good culture-fit for the job. This is where the virtual interview plays an important part, for both employer and interviewee in evaluating and determining suitability.
There is now a greater need to master the art of remote interviews. While some may treat it in the same way as an in-person interview, there are unique challenges and opportunities to consider in order to ace your next remote interview.
Get familiar with the interview platform
The first and perhaps most important step is to familiarise yourself with the platform that will be used to conduct the interview. Many employers will share a dial-in number or a link to the video conferencing tool. Take this opportunity to test the platform and practice answering interview questions with your video camera on. You can even record yourself to observe your facial expressions and body language and rehearse how to appear more confident. Nothing’s worse than logging on to your interview, only to face a list of technical issues or face awkwardness in talking to a screen. Getting comfortable with using the technology beforehand can help to ease your anxieties.
Interview from a quiet room
Equally important is to find a quiet room, preferably with a clean background and good lighting. Just like any meeting, choose a place with no noise or visual distractions. The last thing you want to be worried about is your dog barking or showing a messy background to your future employer. Fortunately, some popular video conferencing platforms now provide the option of using a virtual background. Should you use one, ensure that it is simple and not distracting.
Dress for success
It is important to treat remote interviews with the same decorum as if they were face-to-face. Dress as you would for any normal interview to put you in the right mindset for success. While we can get the most suitable room for meetings at home, we can’t stop our neighbors from drilling their walls or motorbikes with supremely loud exhausts from passing by the street. Still, a conscious effort to mitigate these external factors is a good effort.
One tip that I’d like to add here is that since we’re not at the office anymore, there are many things that are performed entirely by ourselves and no one else is able to give us feedback. In such times, I can only advise everyone to have some sort of “feedback loop” to be aware of your own actions.
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