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8 Virtual Interview Tips to Help You Get The Job

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8 Virtual Interview Tips to Help You Get The Job

If you’ve landed on this post, it’s likely that your resume has impressed the hiring manager(s) at the company you’re applying to work for, and you’ve now been invited to a virtual interview. That’s a huge accomplishment.

8 Virtual Interview Tips to Help You Get The JobIf you’re looking for video interview tips, tricks, and best practices — or just want to know what in the world an automated interview is — you’ve come to the right place.

How to Prepare For Virtual Video Interviews

There’s something about remote interviews that can make the interview process more daunting. For some, it’s the risk of technical difficulties. For others, it’s the inability to read full body language.

However, virtual interviews can actually be better than face-to-face meetings. For one, you don’t have to travel, giving you more time to prepare and get yourself ready. Secondly, you can have some notes on your screen to help you hit some key points during your conversations.

Just like a traditional interview, a video interview is your moment to sell yourself to the interviewer and put a personality behind your amazing resume.

In fact, it’s what Shavon Bell, former executive recruiter at HubSpot, looks for when speaking with candidates.

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“I recognize it can be challenging for a senior leader to fit all of their experience into a two-page document, so don’t leave anything to be assumed during exploratory conversations or an interview, tell your story the way you want it to be told — transparency is key,” she says.

Telling your story is what will set you apart from others – but that’s not all. It’s also important to know the story behind the company you’re interviewing with.

For Kate Kearns, one of HubSpot’s campus recruiters, showing that you’ve done your research on the company will make you stand out.

“Take some time to make sure you are prepared to answer questions testing your knowledge of the company and role,” she says.

Think about what hiring managers want to know about you during your short time talking. It’s not as easy to make a connection virtual, so finding ways to do so naturally will likely raise your interview score.

For example, explain how the role will help you reach your professional and personal goals. Identify what you can add to the company, and mention those superstar qualities about your talent that will make the hiring manager go to bat for you.

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Next, we’re going to go over some tips you can follow for video interviews, but if you would like more information about preparing for an interview, check out this interview kit.

8 Virtual Video Interview Tips

It’s the big day. Or, as those in the theater call it, opening night.

The task at hand: sell yourself. Don’t let the screen interrupt the purpose of the interview. You know you have what it takes to land that role, and with these tips, you’ll knock that interview out of the park.

1. Dress to impress your interviewer.

As The Office character Michael Scott says, “I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.”

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That’s where my lucky interview blazer comes in. Every time I have a video interview so does my blazer: I never start one without it.

Even though your interview will be through a screen, dressing for the interview communicates to the interviewer that you still know how to maintain professionalism in a virtual setting.

So, even though you might be in your bedroom, or sitting at your kitchen table, make sure you’re in your business best. This can be a button-down shirt, a blazer, a suit, or simple jewelry.

2. Keep your notes accessible.

If you’re someone who finds it helpful to refer to notes when interviewing, keep them in front of you.

For me, it’s helpful to have my LinkedIn profile and resume open in another window, with sections I know I want to mention highlighted or bolded. This helps to make a quick reference.

Why it works: By already having those reference points accessible, you won’t forget anything important.

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3. Test your technology beforehand.

You will be notified of the software you need to have in order to successfully complete your interview well in advance. Maximize this time, download the software if you haven’t already, and make sure you understand the basics of how it works.

This is also a great time to test how your webcam interacts with the software. No two video technology services are the same. So, you’ll want to test:

  • Microphone
  • Lighting
  • Camera

Pro-tip: Frame your camera so that the interviewer can see your face down to your shoulders and that there are a few inches of room above your head.

4. Maintain eye contact with your interviewer.

Remember: The only difference between a video interview and a traditional interview is that you aren’t in the same room as your interviewer. That said, be sure to maintain eye contact with your interviewer.

You might have other distractions, things that are unavoidable when working from home, such as family or roommates. The best way to maintain professionalism regardless of the outside environment is to keep eye contact and make sure the interviewer knows you are engaged. After all, they will be keeping eye contact with you.

Pro-tip: If you’re using two monitors, be sure to talk and look at the screen with the camera. Otherwise, the interviewer will look at your profile and be wondering what else you’re looking at.

5. Minimize possible distractions.

Even though there might be uncontrollable distractions, there are distractions that you can control. For instance, keep your phone away from you. Turn it over and put it on silent or in another room.

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Additionally, if you plan to conduct your interview outside of an office setting, like a kitchen or a bedroom, be sure there’s nothing distracting in the background like a mess or people walking by.

Be sure to clean up your background so that the focus stays on you or use a background blur filter if your software allows.

Lastly, inform any roommates that you will be in a meeting during the time so that you’re not interrupted.

6. Set up proper lighting.

Because you won’t be meeting your interview in person, it’s important that they can clearly see you on video.

When you’re testing your technology, this is the perfect time to also test your lighting. Ideally, you can sit in front of a window to benefit from natural lighting.

If that’s not possible, you may need to buy a desk lamp to help illuminate your full face.

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Pro-tip: When using a desk lamp, don’t aim the lamp right on your face. Instead, direct it to the wall and let the light reflect back to your face. This will give you more natural, diffused light instead of a harsh light with hot spots.

7. Be early to each round.

This is a chance to go over notes and take a few deep breaths to stay calm and motivated. It makes a big difference to go into an interview calmly and composed, rather than rushing to join the video call after a quick bathroom break.

This doesn’t mean that you have to sit around on Zoom or Skype 20 minutes prior to your interview start time. However, do try to be five minutes early for each interview round.

8. Speak loudly and clearly.

If you have a soft voice, be mindful of speaking loudly enough so your microphone will pick up your voice. Video interviewers have a little less to go from, and if they can’t hear you, they won’t be able to assess your answers.

To prepare for this, record yourself saying the lyrics to your favorite song with the video software you will be using. Take time to separate the words, and listen back for volume control.

In essence, a traditional video interview is one that you can complete from your own space. Fixing up this space to be interview-ready can be a challenge, but you don’t have to completely alter the functionality of the room. Just be sure you’re communicating yourself and your professionalism.

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Now, what if your interview doesn’t include an interviewer? That means it will likely be automated. Let’s go over what that means, and provide tips on how to master them.

These interviews take an in-person interviewer out of the equation. Instead, your interviewer will be a series of questions that you’ll have an allotted amount of time to read and comprehend. Then, you will record your responses via video or text, depending on the instructions.

How do you successfully complete one? Let’s cover some best practices.

When the interviewer is merely represented by words on a screen, it can be an unnerving experience trying to prepare for the interview questions. But don’t fear, these tips will help you make sure you have all your bases covered to ace your automated interview.

1. Test your technology in advance.

When you receive your automated interview invitation, make sure you have the correct software needed. For instance, if your automated video is hosted using a third-party app that you have to download, make sure you have it beforehand.

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Additionally, test your tools:

  • Is your webcam working?
  • Is your microphone turned on?
  • Is your keyboard properly working?
  • Is your face illuminated or do you need better lighting?

All of these questions will be imperative to your success in an automated interview — there’s nothing worse than realizing something’s wrong once the timer starts.

2. Do a trial run beforehand.

Think about the questions you might be asked during the interview. Then, record yourself answering them on a time limit. Note: this will feel weird and unnatural.

However, timing your answers and analyzing your body language will help avoid those intrusive interview thoughts of, “Will I have enough time?” and “How am I coming across?”

Treat the trial as if it’s a real interview: dress for the occasion and rehearse earnestly.

3. Speak steadily and concisely.

My biggest fear when I was interacting with my first automated video interview was having enough time to get all of my thoughts out. My advice is to trust the time limit. Chances are, most of your in-person interview responses take the same amount of time the automation allows.

That said, you’ll have more than enough time to speak steadily. When you practice, take note of your sentence flow and be mindful of how fast you’re speaking.

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On the other hand, your answers should get to the point — avoid fluff so you can get to all the points of the question.

4. Be cognizant of body language.

During in-person interviews, you’re likely hyper-focused on body language. Automated interviews should be no different, especially if you are recording your answers with video.

Remember to treat these interviews as if they’re with another person (More often than not, real people will be assessing your answers.)

Make eye contact with the web camera or the screen in front of you and maintain a professional posture.

5. Don’t overthink the interview.

Automated interviews usually provide clear instructions and more than enough time to answer the question.

In fact, automated interviews can be quite fun; you’ll have the opportunity to present yourself in a new way, and to do so within the comfort of your own space.

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6. Make sure you understand the prompts.

Once you receive your prompts, take the time to read, comprehend, and form your answer before you record.

You won’t be able to ask the prompt for clarification and you may not be able to re-record your answer once you send it in. With this in mind, don’t rush into recording. Take the time to ensure you understand the question and know how you will deliver your answer.

However, just like in in-person interviews, mistakes happen. If you flub a word, misspeak, or want to change your answer mid-way, it’s not the end of the world. Continue on confidently.

You’re human and the person reviewing your interview is too.

7. Give it your best shot.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make during an automated interview is not answering a question. Even if you are unsure of what the question is asking, take your best shot. You can always restate what you believe the question is asking in the interview to clear up confusion.

If the prompt asks you to detail a situation you’ve never been in before, instead of leaving the answer field blank, or answering the question by saying, “I don’t know, I’ve never encountered that,” explain how you would approach the situation instead.

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It looks way better hiring managers for an answer to start with, “I’ve never come across this situation in particular, but if I had, this is how I would approach it,” other than no answer at all. Remember, these situational questions are to demonstrate your problem-solving skills in a work environment.

Overall, take a deep breath. Your resume has already impressed the company, and the purpose of the interview is to make sure you can back up your experience. Give the interviewer, whether automated or in-person, a chance to get to know you, your personality, and your professionalism.

Good luck!

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Apply for a job, keep track of important information, and prepare for an  interview with the help of this free job seekers kit.


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How To Combine PR and Content Marketing Superpowers To Achieve Business Goals

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A figure pulls open a dress shirt to reveal the term PR on a Superman-like costume, reflecting the superpower resulting from combining content and PR.

A transformative shift is happening, and it’s not AI.

The aisle between public relations and content marketing is rapidly narrowing. If you’re smart about the convergence, you can forever enhance your brand’s storytelling.

The goals and roles of content marketing and PR overlap more and more. The job descriptions look awfully similar. Shrinking budgets and a shrewd eye for efficiency mean you and your PR pals could face the chopping block if you don’t streamline operations and deliver on the company’s goals (because marketing communications is always first to be axed, right?).

Yikes. Let’s take a big, deep breath. This is not a threat. It’s an opportunity.

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Reach across the aisle to PR and streamline content creation, improve distribution strategies, and get back to the heart of what you both are meant to do: Build strong relationships and tell impactful stories.

So, before you panic-post that open-to-work banner on LinkedIn, consider these tips from content marketing, PR, and journalism pros who’ve figured out how to thrive in an increasingly narrowing content ecosystem.

1. See journalists as your audience

Savvy pros know the ability to tell an impactful story — and support it with publish-ready collateral — grounds successful media relationships. And as a content marketer, your skills in storytelling and connecting with audiences, including journalists, naturally support your PR pals’ media outreach.

Strategic storytelling creates content focused on what the audience needs and wants. Sharing content on your blog or social media builds relationships with journalists who source those channels for story ideas, event updates, and subject matter experts.

“Embedding PR strategies in your content marketing pieces informs your audience and can easily be picked up by media,” says Alex Sanchez, chief experience officer at BeWell, New Mexico’s Health Insurance Marketplace. “We have seen reporters do this many times, pulling stories from our blogs and putting them in the nightly news — most of the time without even reaching out to us.”

Acacia James, weekend producer/morning associate producer at WTOP radio in Washington, D.C., says blogs and social media posts are helpful to her work. “If I see a story idea, and I see that they’re willing to share information, it’s easier to contact them — and we can also backlink their content. It’s huge for us to be able to use every avenue.” 

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Kirby Winn, manager of PR at ImpactLife, says reporters and assignment editors are key consumers of their content. “And I don’t mean a news release that just hit their inbox. They’re going to our blog and consuming our stories, just like any other audience member,” he says. “Our organization has put more focus into content marketing in the past few years — it supports a media pitch so well and highlights the stories we have to tell.”

Storytelling attracts earned media that might not pick up the generic news topic. “It’s one thing to pitch a general story about how we help consumers sign up for low-cost health insurance,” Alex says. “Now, imagine a single mom who just got a plan after years of thinking it was too expensive. She had a terrible car accident, and the $60,000 ER bill that would have ruined her financially was covered. Now that’s a story journalists will want to cover, and that will be relatable to their audience and ours.” 

2. Learn the media outlet’s audience

Seventy-three percent of reporters say one-fourth or less of the stories pitched are relevant to their audiences, according to Cision’s 2023 State of the Media Report (registration required).

PR pros are known for building relationships with journalists, while content marketers thrive in building communities around content. Merge these best practices to build desirable content that works for your target audience and the media’s audiences simultaneously.

WTOP’s Acacia James says sources who show they’re ready to share helpful, relevant content often win pitches for coverage. “In radio, we do a lot of research on who is listening to us, and we’re focused on a prototype called ‘Mike and Jen’ — normal, everyday people in Generation X … So when we get press releases and pitches, we ask, ‘How interested will Mike and Jen be in this story?’” 

3. Deliver the full content package (and make journalists’ jobs easier)

Cranking out content to their media outlet’s standards has never been tougher for journalists. Newsrooms are significantly understaffed, and anything you can do to make their lives easier will be appreciated and potentially rewarded with coverage. Content marketers are built to think about all the elements to tell the story through multiple mediums and channels.

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“Today’s content marketing pretty much provides a package to the media outlet,” says So Young Pak, director of media relations at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. “PR is doing a lot of storytelling work in advance of media publication. We (and content marketing) work together to provide the elements to go with each story — photos, subject matter experts, patients, videos, and data points, if needed.”   

At WTOP, the successful content package includes audio. “As a radio station, we are focused on high-quality sound,” Acacia James says. “Savvy sources know to record and send us voice memos, and then we pull cuts from the audio … You will naturally want to do someone a favor if they did you one — like providing helpful soundbites, audio, and newsworthy stories.”  

While production value matters to some media, you shouldn’t stress about it. “In the past decade, how we work with reporters has changed. Back in the day, if they couldn’t be there in person, they weren’t going to interview your expert,” says Jason Carlton, an accredited PR professional and manager of marketing and communications at Intermountain Health. “During COVID, we had to switch to virtual interviewing. Now, many journalists are OK with running a Teams or Zoom interview they’ve done with an expert on the news.”

BeWell’s Alex Sanchez agrees. “I’ve heard old school PR folks cringe at the idea of putting up a Zoom video instead of getting traditional video interviews. It doesn’t really matter to consumers. Focus on the story, on the timeliness, and the relevance. Consumers want authenticity, not super stylized, stiff content.”

4. Unite great minds to maximize efficiency

Everyone needs to set aside the debate about which team — PR or content marketing — gets credit for the resulting media coverage.

At MedStar Washington Hospital Center, So Young and colleagues adopt a collaborative mindset on multichannel stories. “We can get the interview and gather information for all the different pieces — blog, audio, video, press release, internal newsletter, or magazine. That way, we’re not trying to figure things out individually, and the subject matter experts only have to have that conversation once,” she says.

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Regular, cross-team meetings are essential to understand the best channels for reaching key audiences, including the media. A story that began life as a press release might reap SEO and earned media gold if it’s strategized as a blog, video, and media pitch.

“At Intermountain Health, we have individual teams for media relations, marketing, social media, and hospital communications. That setup works well because it allows us to bring in the people who are the given experts in those areas,” says Intermountain’s Jason Carlton. “Together, we decide if a story is best for the blog, a media pitch, or a mix of channels — that way, we avoid duplicating work and the risk of diluting the story’s impact.”

5. Measure what matters

Cutting through the noise to earn media mentions requires keen attention to metrics. Since content marketing and PR metrics overlap, synthesizing the data in your team meetings can save time while streamlining your storytelling efforts.

“For content marketers, using analytical tools such as GA4 can help measure the effectiveness of their content campaigns and landing pages to determine meaningful KPIs such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, lead generation, and conversion rates,” says John Martino, director of digital marketing for Visiting Angels. “PR teams can use media coverage and social interactions to assess user engagement and brand awareness. A unified and omnichannel approach can help both teams demonstrate their value in enhancing brand visibility, engagement, and overall business success.”

To track your shared goals, launch a shared dashboard that helps tell the combined “story of your stories” to internal and executive teams. Among the metrics to monitor:

  • Page views: Obviously, this queen of metrics continues to be important across PR and content marketing. Take your analysis to the next level by evaluating which niche audiences are contributing to these views to further hone your storytelling targets, including media outlets.
  • Earned media mentions: Through a media tracker service or good old Google Alerts, you can tally the echo of your content marketing and PR. Look at your site’s referral traffic report to identify media outlets that send traffic to your blog or other web pages.
  • Organic search queries: Dive into your analytics platform to surface organic search queries that lead to visitors. Build from those questions to develop stories that further resonate with your audience and your targeted media.
  • On-page actions: When visitors show up on your content, what are they doing? What do they click? Where do they go next? Building next-step pathways is your bread and butter in content marketing — and PR can use them as a natural pipeline for media to pick up more stories, angles, and quotes.

But perhaps the biggest metric to track is team satisfaction. Who on the collaborative team had the most fun writing blogs, producing videos, or calling the news stations? Lean into the natural skills and passions of your team members to distribute work properly, maximize the team output, and improve relationships with the media, your audience, and internal teams.

“It’s really trying to understand the problem to solve — the needle to move — and determining a plan that will help them achieve their goal,” Jason says. “If you don’t have those measurable objectives, you’re not going to know whether you made a difference.”

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Don’t fear the merger

Whether you deliberately work together or not, content marketing and public relations are tied together. ImpactLife’s Kirby Winn explains, “As soon as we begin to talk about (ourselves) to a reporter who doesn’t know us, they are certainly going to check out our stories.”

But consciously uniting PR and content marketing will ease the challenges you both face. Working together allows you to save time, eliminate duplicate work, and gain free time to tell more stories and drive them into impactful media placements.

Register to attend Content Marketing World in San Diego. Use the code BLOG100 to save $100. Can’t attend in person this year? Check out the Digital Pass for access to on-demand session recordings from the live event through the end of the year.

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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

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Trends in Content Localization – Moz

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Trends in Content Localization - Moz

Multinational fast food chains are one of the best-known examples of recognizing that product menus may sometimes have to change significantly to serve distinct audiences. The above video is just a short run-through of the same business selling smokehouse burgers, kofta, paneer, and rice bowls in an effort to appeal to people in a variety of places. I can’t personally judge the validity of these representations, but what I can see is that, in such cases, you don’t merely localize your content but the products on which your content is founded.

Sometimes, even the branding of businesses is different around the world; what we call Burger King in America is Hungry Jack’s in Australia, Lays potato chips here are Sabritas in Mexico, and DiGiorno frozen pizza is familiar in the US, but Canada knows it as Delissio.

Tales of product tailoring failures often become famous, likely because some of them may seem humorous from a distance, but cultural sensitivity should always be taken seriously. If a brand you are marketing is on its way to becoming a large global seller, the best insurance against reputation damage and revenue loss as a result of cultural insensitivity is to employ regional and cultural experts whose first-hand and lived experiences can steward the organization in acting with awareness and respect.

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How AI Is Redefining Startup GTM Strategy

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How AI Is Redefining Startup GTM Strategy

AI and startups? It just makes sense.

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