Crushing the Zoom interview
After my 2019 summer internship at JP Morgan, I turned down the return offer realizing finance wasn’t right for me. Little did I know that come March of 2020, while a senior at Harvard, I would be sent home to Virginia, searching for a job in a pandemic. I cast an extremely wide net: Fortune 500 companies, startups with 5 employees, and everything in between. That wide net meant that I would have to hop on dozens of Zoom calls over the course of 2020.
Throughout many rounds of virtual interviews, I tested and found strategies that took me to the next round, regardless of company size or industry. Having also done the traditional interviews in the pre-COVID world, I was able to find key differences between in-person and virtual interviews. I saw myself behaving more comfortably and sharing information more personally, allowing me to perform better. For anyone interviewing virtually, here are the tips and strategies I discovered along the way.
Your goal is to make a personal connection
Apart from seeing whether you’re qualified, your interviewer will ask themselves, “Is this someone I want to work with?” Your goal is to make that answer a resounding Yes.
As opposed to in-person interviews where you would awkwardly try to weave in some fact you stalked on their Linkedin, the nuance is that the pandemic and at-home Zoom calls have actually made this easier than ever before. You’re not trekking to a NYC skyscraper, dressed like every other aspiring banker in a dark suit, blue tie, and white button down. Rather, you’re calling in from your childhood bedroom, living room, or home study: a deeply personal space, to make your first impression.
Nearly all of my tips occur within the first 2–3 minutes of hopping on your call. Once you establish that connection, both you and the interviewer feel at ease and the conversation becomes 100x easier. You’ll then have more confidence throughout the interview, and the interviewer will more likely forgive any slip ups (you’re going to kill it though!).
Choose a non-distracting background, but make it personal
I’ve read and heard, “choose a blank wall,” or “put on a virtual background”…well unless your room is a mess, DON’T DO IT. The first thing your interviewer will do when turning on the camera is look at your background. They say that the first few seconds are when impressions are made. Whereas for in-person interviews, we often choose clothes to convey this first impression, you now have an opportunity to own that first impression with more agency (and less cost!).
What do you want your space to reflect about you? A piece of your artwork to show you’re creative? A thriving plant to show you’re diligent? A photo of your family to demonstrate your values? Ask yourself the question, what attributes do I want to convey, and choose a background accordingly.
Lastly, make sure it’s not distracting. Avoid any moving people or items as your interviewer could easily get distracted and stop listening to what you’re saying. If you only have a white wall, that’s OK too. You’ll just want to rely more heavily on the tips below.
Take note of their background as well
Just as they’re checking out your space, you can do the same! This is an opportunity to remark on the lovely painting they have behind them. Take note of the book that they have on their desk. Is there any indication of their personality or life to comment on. These inputs feed into the most important step below.
Generate some opening questions/comments NOT related to the job
My all time favorite strategy in these interviews was to begin with the question of “Where are you calling in from?” something that would never have made sense during an in-person interview.
People LOVE talking about themselves, and a question like this directly opens that opportunity. You can follow up with:
Is that where you’re from?
How is COVID over there?
Did you move there recently?
Have you been to X restaurant?
However, you need to find the question(s) that works best for you. As an avid traveler and foodie, this question helped me establish a connection nearly 100% of the time. I could then remark on something about that area: a time I visited, a restaurant I’ve heard of, a random historical fact, etc.
While mine is a relatively safe question to start with, get creative. Take advantage of the information of their background that you captured earlier. Maybe you love plants, and you’re able to comment on the beautiful Fiddle Leaf Fig they have in the background. Or throw in, “By the way I couldn’t help noticing The Innovators by Walter Isaacson behind you. That was my favorite book to read in middle school.” Use your best judgement and emotional intelligence on when to throw in these comments; don’t force it, but the earlier the better.
Recognize that they’ve also been in a global pandemic
The interviewer has also spent the last year and a half of their life figuring out what the h*ll has been going on! For the majority of that time, they’ve been in lockdown with their family, roommates, etc, patiently waiting for the vaccine. You can and should use this to your advantage as it’s an experience you both share. Shared experiences are one of the best ways to develop that personal connection early. It also gives them time to talk about themselves (I swear, everyone loves talking about the vaccine and the pandemic in general..that’ll probably buy you half a minute).
Did you get Pfizer? Moderna?
What were your side effects?
Where were you in March of 2020?
Again, use emotional intelligence and judgement on when and how to weave these into the conversation. You don’t have to ask, “Are you vaccinated?” at the start of the call without any prior conversation. That’s weird. Alternatively, asking what the COVID protocol is in their home town shows that you’re interested in them and their life.
*Specifically for college students: When going through your resume or background, share what it was like to be in college during the pandemic. This is an extremely interesting and unique experience that you have. It’s something you can speak to well, and nearly every employer (probably having gone to college not in a pandemic) is interested to hear how college life has changed. They’ll then most likely reflect and/or share on their own experience, which again establishes the personal connection. Personally, I loved talking about my “unprecedented” pandemic graduation, and seemingly all of my interviewers were genuinely interested in the details and logistics.
Prepare some notes in advance
Guess what? There’s an entire wall or screen in front of you that your video camera won’t capture. Fill the space with notes on your interviewer’s background, key technical tips, or general information on the company.
Whereas I used to memorize where the DOW was at, who the CEO of Morgan Stanley was, or the SOAR structure of resolving a conflict, you now can have those quick facts prepped and visible in front of you. Game changer! Also if you know the questions in advance, don’t script out your answers, but use the notes as signposts throughout.
At the end, remark on something they said earlier
This is more of a general interview strategy. By using the above steps, you should have developed some rapport with your interviewer. Now it’s time to show them you were listening.
I’ll visit you next time I’m in [X location].
Let me know what you think about [X chapter] in the book.
Good luck on your second shot.
They’ll leave feeling seen, heard, and excited to share your profile with the next person on their team.
While some of the above advice may seem personal and/or intrusive, from my experience, nearly everyone after a year and a half of the pandemic is looking for a real human connection. You can take advantage of that (not in a sleazy way), and make them feel closer to you as an applicant.
A world’s worth of companies are at your fingertips; go for it!
While I originally intended this for college students beginning their job hunt, these tactics can be used by anyone changing their job. Especially as many companies have transitioned to remote, you have an opportunity to find a company you’re truly interested in, regardless of location, and crush the virtual interview!
If you have any questions, leave them below or feel free to email me at ksanok10@gmail.com or message me here; I’d love to chat 😊. If you’re curious where I ended up, I now work for a Sequoia-backed fitness startup in San Francisco called Interval!
