Let me start with the hall of fame.
There was the candidate whose mother walked into the room carrying chai, leaned into the camera frame, looked directly at the interviewer, and said "Beta, chai pi lo. Interview baad mein kar lena." The interviewer -- a VP at a fintech company -- told me he laughed so hard he had to mute himself. The candidate got the job, by the way. Not because of the chai incident, but despite it.
Then there was the person who forgot the camera was on during a break in a panel interview. Got up, stretched, scratched places that should not be scratched on camera, and did a little dance. Three senior managers watched in silence. One of them sent me a message: "We're going to pretend that didn't happen, right?" They did. He also got the job. Talented guy.
And my personal favorite: the candidate who had set up a very impressive bookshelf behind her as a backdrop. Looked great. Very curated, very intellectual. Until the cat climbed the bookshelf, knocked off a stack of books, and the entire thing came crashing down mid-sentence. She didn't flinch. Just said, "That's my cat, Toffee. She has opinions about my bookshelf arrangement." Hired immediately.
I've been coaching people through video interviews for four years now, and I've seen everything. The good, the awkward, the technically disastrous. What I can tell you is this: video interviews are not that different from in-person interviews in terms of content. The questions are the same. The evaluation is the same. But the medium introduces about a hundred small variables that can trip you up if you're not ready. So let's make sure you're ready.
Before the Interview: The Setup Nobody Thinks About Until It's Too Late
Your internet connection is not as stable as you think it is. Test it. Go to speedtest.net the day before and again an hour before the interview. You want at least 10 Mbps upload for decent video quality. If your WiFi is unreliable, sit closer to the router or -- even better -- use a LAN cable if your laptop has an ethernet port. I've watched promising interviews fall apart because of choppy video and audio cutting out every thirty seconds. The interviewer won't hold it against you once. They'll hold it against you if it happens repeatedly and you clearly didn't prepare.
Close everything else on your computer. Every other tab, every other application. Slack, email, WhatsApp web -- all of it. Your browser with forty-seven open tabs is eating your RAM and your bandwidth. And if a notification pops up during the interview with a message preview that says something unfortunate, that's on you.
Check your audio. This is more important than video. An interviewer will tolerate grainy video but will get frustrated fast if they can't hear you clearly. Use earphones or a headset -- the microphone on your laptop picks up way more ambient noise than you realize. The AC, the fan, traffic outside, the pressure cooker in the kitchen. A simple wired earphone with a mic will solve 90% of audio problems.
Camera position matters more than you think. Your laptop camera should be roughly at eye level. If it's below your face -- which is the default when your laptop is on a desk -- you're looking down at the interviewer, which comes across as either disinterested or slightly condescending. Stack some books under your laptop. Or prop it on a box. It takes thirty seconds and it changes how you look on screen dramatically.
Lighting: The Thing That Makes You Look Like a Professional or a Ghost
Face a window. That's it. That's the tip. Natural light from the front is the best, cheapest, most effective lighting you can get. If your interview is in the evening or there's no window option, put a desk lamp behind your laptop screen so it lights your face from the front.
What you absolutely should not do is sit with a window behind you. I've been on calls where the candidate was a silhouette. I could see the outline of their head and nothing else. They sounded great. I have no idea what they looked like. The interviewer needs to see your facial expressions -- it's a huge part of how they evaluate communication skills and cultural fit.
Ring lights are nice if you have one, but honestly not necessary. A well-placed desk lamp or window light is enough. Don't overthink this part. Just avoid being in the dark.
Your Background: Keep It Boring
A clean wall is fine. A tidy room is fine. A bookshelf that isn't going to be attacked by a cat is fine. What's not fine: a bed with unmade sheets visible behind you, a pile of laundry, family members walking around in the background, a TV playing in the next room that's audible through the wall.
Virtual backgrounds are okay in theory but tricky in practice. If your laptop doesn't have a strong enough processor, the virtual background will glitch -- parts of your face will disappear, your hand will go transparent when you gesture, you'll look like you're dissolving into a stock photo of a library. If you use one, test it first. With gestures. Make sure it doesn't fall apart when you move.
The safest option is still a real, clean background. Spend ten minutes tidying the area behind your chair before the interview. It's the easiest preparation you can do.
What to Wear (Yes, the Whole Outfit)
There's a joke that video interviews mean you can wear pajamas on the bottom. And it's true -- nobody will see your lower half unless you stand up. But I'd actually recommend dressing fully. It sounds unnecessary, but wearing proper clothes changes how you carry yourself. You sit differently. You feel more professional. It's a psychological thing, and it works.
Dress the same way you would for an in-person interview at that company. If it's a startup, smart casual is fine. If it's a consulting firm or a bank, go formal. Avoid very busy patterns -- stripes and checks can create a weird visual effect on camera called moiré that makes it look like your shirt is vibrating. Solid colors work best.
During the Interview: Camera Presence Is a Real Skill
Here's the biggest challenge of video interviews that nobody talks about enough: where to look. In a real interview, you make eye contact with the person sitting across from you. In a video interview, the person's face is on your screen, but your camera is at the top of your screen. If you look at their face, you're looking slightly down or to the side from their perspective. If you look at the camera, you look like you're making direct eye contact -- but you can't see their face.
The trick is to look at the camera when you're speaking and at the screen when you're listening. This feels unnatural at first. Practice it. Do a test call with a friend and try it. After a few minutes, it becomes more comfortable. You don't have to stare at the camera every second -- just when you're making a point or answering a question, bring your gaze up to the camera occasionally.
Your energy needs to be slightly higher on video than it would be in person. Not fake-excited. Just about 10-15% more animated than your normal conversation. Video compresses energy -- the screen flattens your expressions and mutes your tone. What feels like you're being perfectly normal might come across as flat or bored on the other end. Smile a bit more than you normally would. Nod visibly. Use your hands (but keep them in frame).
Speaking of hands -- gesturing is good. It makes you look engaged and natural. Just be aware of where your camera frame ends. If your hands are gesturing below the frame, all the interviewer sees is your shoulders moving, which looks odd.
Things Nobody Tells You About Video Interviews
- There's a slight audio delay on most platforms. Wait a beat after the interviewer finishes speaking before you start. Otherwise you'll talk over each other and spend the interview saying "sorry, go ahead" twenty times.
- Your screen notifications are visible in screen-share situations, and even when you're not sharing, the ding of a notification can be picked up by your mic. Turn on Do Not Disturb mode on your laptop and your phone.
- If you're taking the interview from home and you live with others, tell them. Put a note on your door. Explain the timing. The number of interviews interrupted by a family member, a doorbell, or a roommate yelling from the kitchen is higher than you'd believe.
- Keep water nearby. You will get dry-mouthed halfway through. Don't wait until you're coughing to take a sip. Just take a quiet drink between questions. Nobody minds.
- It's okay to have notes in front of you. This is actually an advantage of video interviews that doesn't exist in person. Have your resume, the job description, a few talking points, and your questions for the interviewer written down and placed next to your screen. Don't read from them -- that's obvious -- but having them there as a safety net takes the pressure off your memory.
- Your interviewer might be having their own technical issues. Be patient and gracious about it. "No worries, take your time" when their audio cuts out makes you look composed and easy to work with.
- The interview recording thing -- some companies record video interviews, especially in early rounds. They'll usually tell you, but not always. Assume you might be recorded and behave accordingly throughout. Including during "casual" moments at the start and end.
- After the interview, send a thank-you email within 24 hours. This matters more than people think. Two or three lines: thank them for their time, reference something specific from the conversation, express your continued interest. It takes two minutes and separates you from the majority of candidates who don't bother.
When Things Go Wrong (Because They Will)
Your internet will cut out at some point. A child will scream. A dog will bark. Your laptop might freeze. None of these are career-ending disasters unless you handle them badly.
If your internet drops, rejoin calmly and say "Apologies for that -- looks like my connection had a moment. Where were we?" Don't over-apologize. Don't spend five minutes explaining your WiFi setup. The interviewer has experienced this a hundred times. They don't care as long as you recover gracefully.
If there's a background interruption, acknowledge it briefly with humor if appropriate, then move on. "Sorry about that -- my neighbor's dog has strong opinions about Tuesdays." The ability to handle the unexpected with composure is actually something interviewers notice positively. Real life is messy. Showing you can handle mess without falling apart is a selling point.
If you're using Zoom and the meeting link doesn't work, have the interviewer's email address handy so you can quickly ask for a new link. If you're using Google Meet, check that you're signed into the right Google account. If it's Microsoft Teams, make sure you've installed or updated it before the interview day -- Teams loves to require updates at the worst possible times.
The Strategy Part: Video Interviews Do Require a Different Approach
Video interviews tend to be shorter than in-person ones. You have less time to build rapport because the medium is less personal. So you need to be a bit more intentional about connection. Use the interviewer's name occasionally. Reference something they said earlier in the conversation. Be warm in your tone -- it's harder to project warmth through a screen, so you have to try a bit harder.
For panel interviews on video (multiple interviewers on the call), address your answers to the person who asked the question but periodically look at the camera to "include" the others. In person, you'd naturally glance around the room. On video, you have to simulate that by shifting between looking at the speaker and looking at the camera.
If it's a one-way video interview -- where you record your answers to pre-set questions -- the dynamic is completely different. You're talking to a camera with no human feedback. No nods, no smiles, no "hmm, interesting." This is uncomfortable for everyone. My advice: pretend there's a friendly person behind the camera. Smile before you hit record. Take a breath. And know that everyone doing this format feels awkward, so the bar for "natural-seeming" is lower than you'd think.
Platform-Specific Quick Tips
Zoom: Use the "Touch Up My Appearance" setting if available -- it adds a slight softening filter that makes you look better on camera without being obvious. Also, make sure "Original Sound" is off unless you're in music -- the noise suppression helps with background noise.
Google Meet: Reliable and lightweight but the noise cancellation isn't as strong. Use headphones to compensate. The visual effects (background blur) work decently on newer laptops.
Microsoft Teams: Can be heavy on system resources. If your laptop is older, close everything else. Teams' background blur is quite good though. And if the interviewer shares their screen, make sure your reactions are still visible -- Teams sometimes shrinks your video tile to near-invisible.
Skype: Still used by some companies, mostly smaller ones. The interface feels dated but it works. Test your audio/video settings in advance through the Skype settings menu.
A Checklist for the Night Before
Because I know you'll want something you can actually run through:
- Test your internet speed and camera/microphone
- Install and update whichever platform you'll be using
- Prepare your background -- clean, well-lit, boring
- Lay out your outfit (the full outfit, not just the top)
- Print or write down your notes -- resume, JD, talking points, questions to ask
- Charge your laptop fully and keep the charger plugged in
- Tell everyone in your house about the timing
- Set your phone to silent and turn off laptop notifications
- Place water and earphones within reach
- Do a practice run -- record yourself speaking on camera for two minutes and play it back
That last one is uncomfortable but incredibly useful. When you watch yourself back, you'll notice things -- maybe you look down too much, maybe your voice goes monotone, maybe the lighting is terrible. Better to discover that the night before than during the actual interview.
Final Thought (Sort Of)
Video interviews aren't going away. Even companies that are back to in-person work are doing initial rounds on video because it's faster and cheaper for both sides. Getting good at this format is one of those skills that will keep paying off for years.
And honestly, once you get past the initial weirdness of talking to a little green light on your laptop, video interviews have real advantages. You're in your own space. You have your notes. You don't have to commute to an office, sit in a reception area making small talk with the security guard, and try to calm your nerves in an unfamiliar building. You can do this from your bedroom, wearing your lucky socks, with your notes taped to the wall behind your camera where nobody can see them.
Which reminds me -- I should tell you about my own video interview disaster. It was 2021, I was interviewing for a consulting position, and I had everything perfectly set up. Ring light, clean background, fresh shirt, notes ready. Felt confident. The interview started well. Twenty minutes in, I was on a roll, giving what I thought was an excellent answer about change management, really building to a crescendo -- and then my power went out. The entire apartment. Mid-sentence. I was just gone. Black screen.
I scrambled for my phone, tried to rejoin from mobile data, finally got back in about four minutes later, sweating, apologizing, completely flustered. The interviewer was patient about it. I got through the rest of the interview okay. But the momentum was
Comments