Remote job interviews are set to become the new normal beyond 2020. The coronavirus pandemic is showing corporations that most of their regular tasks can be shifted online and they are accepting the transition as the process is cost-effective. Even if campus placements come back in the best PGDM colleges in Delhi NCR after the COVID-19 storm blows over, expect the trend of remote interviews to stay behind and find you multiple times during the span of your entire professional career. So, here are a few tips to ace a remote interview on any given day. Many trivial factors play a massive role in online interviews that are really easy to miss out on.
- Become familiar with the most-used video calling platforms
If you start fumbling with the features of Skype or Zoom in between your remote interview, you can obviously understand that you will not be making a good first impression. Become acquainted with the most-used video calling platforms. Know exactly where the chat buttons, screen mirroring, and other such features are located. Download the application both on your laptop and phone and be ready with the basic understandings of the platforms before the actual day of the interview. In fact, if you can teach the interviewer a few hidden features, be sure that it will help your candidacy.
- Dress like the standard face-to-face interviews
The Best PGDM college in Delhi Ncr is very specific about your attire and body language during a standard corporate interview. Those same suggestions apply to remote interviews as well as the expectations of the interviewers does not change even if the medium now is virtual. Dress up appropriately for your interview from your head to toe. Do not wear a shirt and tie with causal bottom wear just because the latter will be out of view.The right attire will get you into the mindset of giving the interview which now becomes extra important as the ambiance will be a corner of your home.
- Think about the space from where you will be logging in
Speaking of ambiance, the space where you sit with your laptop or phone will matter. A screen reduces the attention span of human beings by a considerable amount. Any distraction there and the interviewer will not listen to you but remain focused on what is going on in the background. Hence, make sure that you have a neutral backdrop. Even if there is a bookshelf, keep sufficient distance so that the titles are not readable. Allow as much light as possible to flood the area. Turn off all your notifications both on the phone and laptop. And make sure no one interrupts you during your video call.
- Keep everything you need within your reach
Not that you cannot excuse yourself and get up from your chair to fetch something but you will not want to do that too many times. Could you do the same during an actual physical interview? No. You would have carried every possible thing that you are likely to need along. Do the same with virtual interviews as well. Arrange everything and keep them handy right beside your laptop desk. Go overboard with your predictions. Also, remember to have a blank sheet of paper or a writing pad to illustrate your ideas. The interviewer will appreciate your habit of explaining through jotting things down.
- Run a warm-up session before the actual interview
Most modern PGDM courses in Delhi will now conduct virtual practice or warm-up sessions with you before the placement season. Make the best out of those sessions. This is your opportunity to brush up your remote interview skills like looking at the camera while speaking instead of the screen, speaking from an appropriate distance from the microphone, pasting the important points on sticky notes on the bezel of the screen and so on. Retain the habit of running a warm-up session even after your college. Practice with a friend or colleague to pinpoint the loopholes early. The interview has to be seamless and a minor technical glitch cannot decide your fate.
Remote interviews are comparatively more difficult than physical ones. The virtual barrier brings about a lot of nuances. Like any new expertise, remote interviews also need training and practice and modern B-schools are focusing on the same given the current demand. The EMPI B-school tops that list as the institution was already training its students on remote interviews and business calls owing to its entrepreneurial approach. EMPI graduates are already masters of remote calling and interviewing as their training and exposure begin from day one. Be a part of such progressive institutes to get your PGDM and remain ahead of the curve no matter what challenges come your way.