Is Job Interview Easier or Harder on Zoom? Why?
What's your tips to ace that dream job?
Is Job Interview Easier or Harder on Zoom? Why?
[Deactivated] on 08/08/2022 - 10:25
Poll Options
- 93Easier
- 100Harder
- 47About the same
Comments
- 1
- 2
I've only recorded answers for an interview once and it was the dumbest shit I ever did.
Enough that once I had finished doing it, I was turned off from wanting to work at that company afterwards.
Sorry, can you both please elaborate more on the "record answers". What does it mean?
Do you mean like you submit a video of yourself for them to review later?
One colleague had an online 'interview' recently. Once the question pops up, you have a minute or so to read it, then 2 mins to record your response. No time for umms and ahhhs.
@Ughhh: that is different type again i think? not really live interview but via zoom, but looks like automated interview?
i mean you dont face a person on zoom but just a script.so you can basically gather few friends to help answer the question then?
@CyberMurning: It was timed and it still records your face. So probably not a lot of time to discuss. You can't redo it too.
More of a test on thinking on the spot rather than actual skills imo. I hate it.
Everyone above me is responded adequately to your question.
But nowadays, I believe recorded answers tests the skills of how good you present or speak on camera more so than your actual skills for the role.
so they send you a link to a website, and then there's 5 or so questions (usual STAR questions like "tell me about a challenging time at work") and you have 30 secs to prepare your answer, and then 3 mins to record your answer.
One thing they DON'T tell you, is that if you finish your question within the 3mins, you need to press "submit" or whatever it is, or it keeps recording. A friend did the same interview as me, and he told me about it.. so when he did his interview, he finished the question in 2mins, and then theres 1min of him just sitting there looking at the camera
@87percent: Wow i thought online interviews are just like normal interview but through zoom or team, i mean i will see real person, they say please sit down etc etc not automated
The lazy way for HR to screen applicants. Recently had one with BHPB…….turned me off the role as more a beauty competition than an assessment of the candidate. I di not bother to answer the questions
you have a limited time after the question is posted. You can re record your reply one time, sometimes you cannot.
It's a one way interview.
sounds like you dodged a huge bullet.
a group of decision making people, looked at the HR interview process, and then picked a tech solution that emulates a CB radio comms and went "hey this suits our hiring interview process perfectly!" then approved and financed it.
think about that.
Very awkward as well. Had to send a recording of myself putting on PPE and answering questions to obtain my Construction White Card. Just didn't feel right.
Would never do it again, even if it was for a job interview. Live interviews any day.
The traditional propoganda is that 80% of communication is non-verbal which would mean that Zoom interviews are harder. However, get with the times, those studies were when fax machines were all the rage. Nowadays people are so accustomed to communicating via Zoom, MS Teams, etc that there's no disadvantage.
It's an extremely awkward way to do an interview, particularly if you are doing it through a laptop camera that's not at natural head height, with cheap mic.
I'm personally ok with online interviews nowadays.
However, that's only due to covid and getting used to having work meetings/talking to people online.
But for anyone who has never worked remotely before, I assume it'd be quite awkward to interview online.
Most companies are now hybrid. So part of the time you will be using teams or zoom.
well, you don't need pants
.A colleague stood up in the middle of a meeting and only had boxers on, there were screams and it was traumatic for everyone involved. Please wear pants.
easier, no shower, no pants, have a few jd cans, can fart
just dont do what i did and turn up for a zoom meeting when it was actually onsite :)
Easier if you set up your space in advance (have good lighting and elevate your webcam/laptop so it has a flattering angle of you).
You can set up notes just out of sight of the camera, to help you out when you stumble over some words.
You don't have to worry about whether your body language is radiating awkwardness or not, because they will only see your head and shoulders.
You can literally not wear pants.
I did the note thing this morning during an online interview, saved me once or twice when my brain farted.
We'e all been there during interviews.
+1 on having some notes handy - just have it in a sheet right below the camera, in a thin window so your eyes aren't obviously darting left to right across the screen.
Use system notes. I open them when I am about to go to interview. About the company and some crap about myself that they can ask and the brain goes blank during the interview.
My advice is to remember that they aren't interviewing you to prove that you can't do the job - they are interviewing you to see if you can do the job.
my advice to people interviewing is, not only the company is interviewing you. You need to make sure they are the right mob you want to work with.
How do we make sure they are right? What sort of questions would you ask?
depends on your position…. things like figuring out if there's a career path, and i pick up on red flags like "we treat everyone like family" said together with "everyone works overtime" etc..
its very up to individual, sometimes the company might be great, but the hiring manager (your direct report-to) is a micromanager… it can make life hard.
@slowmo: I had 2 toxic interviews where direct managers were micromanagers and toxic control freaks. Could pick it up during the interview.
One kept on calling for more information, and extra evidence. I ended up pulling the plug. Nothing worth it for a 9 months maternity leave gig.
Your values vs theirs basically. Only you will know that.
Ofc, ofc, all great points
it is actually easier, i have all my tools ready (presentation whiteboard/ tablets /etc) i don't have to commute, i don't need to 'register' in at the security.
i can have multiple interviews in the same half-day, looking just as fresh.
big difference is, i don't need a full suit or pay for dry cleaning now. works out cheaper too.
What sort of jobs are you applying to have multiple in one day?
ah i meant that i interviewed with multiple different companies over the same half day. it's easier for me to schedule it that way so i can take 'time off' for half a day and interview with 3-4 companies instead of in the past, physically just 1 day for 1 or 2 companies.
if that makes sense.
Much harder, I am a bit deaf and rely on seeing people's faces to understand what they're saying. So poor audio + poor vision of their faces makes it hard to understand what they say, which combined with the general anxiety of having an interview just makes it ten times worse. I will always have an interview in person if I can.
Try Google Hangouts? It has captions.
Easier because you can take notes of what they’re asking to make sure you respond to all their questions (something you could do prior, but possibly wouldn’t?)
But harder because you can bring your own notes which, if you have too many, may overwhelm you.
With modern remote working and the like I would see the Zoom interview to be like a test. If the applicant can't get clear vision and sound and cannot communicate effectively through it then that's a big warning sign.
There certainly are red flags aplenty with you
OP has made the poll results hidden, already made it harder.
Why does that make it harder?
Yeah I couldn't tell what the majority (read: 'sensible') opinion is so I just had to click something and hope for the best. Now watch Friday come around and I'm the only vote for one of the categories.
Depends on the job, and interview type.
In any case, i would lean towards harder for getting a gauge on the situation and feel for how it’s going/gone.Shouldn't be easier or harder because at the end of the day the goal/objective is the same display your skills to beat x number of people to win the job. Of course it is suited more towards some people than others so it will be easier for some than others. I personally like zoom interviews because I can easily bring up notes I have written down and also I'm not as confident in person.
Pros and cons and depends on you and your set up. I’m really experienced with videoconferencing (had been using for work for at least 10years prior to pandemic), but even still how they are set up can throw you. Sometimes it’s harder to read reactions on a screen. By the same token you might be relaxed at home and haven’t had the stress of commuting and trying to find a park and making sure your outfit is looking good etc. In person you can use eye contact much more effectively. If you do video make sure to have a really good set up. No animals or kids running in. Don’t include your bed in the background (especially an unmade one, yes I’ve seen this in a job interview). Test your equipment prior.
Definitely harder for me - I'd much prefer to do it in person - both from an interviewer and an interviewee's perspective.
In Zoom, audio/video delays are quite common so there's a good chance of talking over each other or cutting someone off. It's also hard to judge their body language just by looking at their face alone. People often have their cameras pointed at their head from a side side (instead of directly front-on). A successful interview often requires a "connection", which I think is harder to find on video than in person.
I haven't had a single Zoom meeting or teleconference all year that didn't contain at least one of the following:
- An impromptu Ouija board session ("Hey Mark… are you there? …Are you there, Mark?…")
- Someone forgetting that they were muted before resuming, only realising 30-seconds into a speech, and having to start over
- Someone's Telstra broadband being on the fritz, so they're constantly dropping out and reconnecting while people are trying to discuss things
- Something super-interesting happening in the background on someone else's camera, which distracts attention away from whatever whosit is waffling on about so he has to repeat himself
- Someone not quite getting how screen-share works, specifying to share a specific window instead of the entire screen, and then wondering why nobody has any idea what they're talking about since they've Alt+Tab'd into a different window that nobody else can see
- Someone still not getting screen-share at all, trying to figure it out for 5 minutes anyway while people sit in awkward silence or offer well-meaning but pointless tips, and then eventually giving up and emailing their slides to someone else in the call to screen-share instead
- Someone forgetting that they're not muted while they answer the phone or strike up a conversation in IRL
And it's not always me doing those things either, so I can only assume technology sucks for everyone.
lol. there should be a 'Zoom Call Bingo' board created. Getting every item means another amazing win for remote collaboration!
you do realised that some of these problems are still the same problems you get in face to face meetings right?
there are people who struggle to put their presentation mode correctly, get the displays to share the right screen, getting the projector to actually work and detect the cable plugged to the laptop…also the talking while mute happens a lot in calls outside video conferences also.
lets not pretend it's just a problem that occurs recently due to wfh.
there are people who struggle to put their presentation mode correctly, get the displays to share the right screen, getting the projector to actually work and detect the cable plugged to the laptop…
As a full-fledged member of the 1980s lamp-projector master race (truly twas a more civilised age), I can only agree. Technology is a fad and all these damn computers give me the willies.
lets not pretend it's just a problem that occurs recently due to wfh.
Can we pretend, though? My post is funnier if we pretend.
I dunno.
Are you the Interviewer or the Interviewee?
I found that it really depends on the 'style' of the whole interview session. It's a lot easier for me to perform when the session is more casual and conversational than one that is very serious, as in they just read their questions and you answer.
When interviewing people it is a lot easier and less awkward to end the interview early when you can tell straightaway that the person isn't going to be suitable
oh hai. kthxbai.
I find job interviews way easier via video conference, as both the interviewer and the interviewee.
The two main reasons are that you can have your notes/questions in front of you (previously I feel like only the interviewer was "allowed" to have notes in an interview) and because it's so much more accessible to do the interview, especially if you've got a few lined up or are interviewing for multiple positions and you have a lot of interviews to do in a short amount of time.
have your notes/questions in front of you
I wear glasses, and I feel like they can see that I am looking at something else. I can even see it in my own screen that the reflection changes.
OP, that's not going to be enough of a reason for the interviewer to disqualify you for a job.
My wife had an online interview today around the time you created this post.
She wears glasses and actually sticky tapes her notes to the monitor so she doesn't have to look down.
sticky tapes her notes to the monitor
That's a good idea, but I was referring to if I switch apps and look into notes or google, the reflection will be shown in my glasses.
Sticky notes won't be shown, because it stays there.@[Deactivated]: Avoid touching your keyboard during an interview unless you have to. Like to close a popup or something.
It's great for when you're isolating due to contracting COVID and you get called for an interview!
I don't want to drive 1 hour to just get a oh we already preselected
Did you go for a job with the NSW Liberal party?
Heaps heaps heaps easier. Don't need to dress up properly, shoes don't matter, hygiene doesn't even matter, no need to worry about transport, parking, the stress of timing that trip correctly and not being late. You can be comfortable in your own chair and not distracted because you are not comfortable. You can even have your CV in front of you and some prepared response answers or the web-page to the company open and research as you interview. Those saying otherwise are probably salespeople or people leaning on personal charisma to convince and maybe even some narcissists. I've converted 100% of my online job interviews and won't even bother with face to face ones at least for a first interview now. Half of them my dogs were climbing on me while I answered questions.
If it's about skills and experience online is much better, cuts through the crap.You can even have your CV in front of you and some prepared response answers or the web-page to the company open and research as you interview.
I wear glasses, and I feel like they can see that I am looking at something else. I can even see it in my own screen that the reflection changes.
just a quick comment, would you want to work for someone who nit pick at this?
Doesn't matter, they know you are in front of a PC, unlikely they have the screen size, resolution and interest to scrutinize. The good employers would just call it being motivated anyway and give you serious points for showing you are interested in getting the job.
I've converted 100% of my online job interviews
Do you keep getting sacked?
Half of them my dogs were climbing on me while I answered questions
Are you sure this was during a zoom interview?
Sounds like you have a limited experience of the working world. I am in demand and don't need to commit to or lock myself into the same job and employer for years on end. Is that what you do? And no it wasn't a zoom interview, again limited experience.
Sure you are
@[Deactivated]: So, so sad. Really the most pathetic thing I've seen today even after the dead Stingray floating past my jetty this morning.
@[Deactivated]: Yeah, I expect it would seem unrealistic to you……… Actually you're right everything I've said probably sounds like a fantasy to you. So Cheers then, just carry on and forget you stumbled onto my comments, no need to concern yourself.
@[Deactivated]: I know most of my info is in-comprehensive to you, but, I gotta intervene to let you know there is more than one gender in the world. I know that may feel confronting to you, confusing even, but I do feel obligated to let you know .
@[Deactivated]: Your grammar police comment needs a visit from the 'uncool people' police. Sure if I'm a schoolkid, that would make you a boomer then, good for you.
Right on about first interviews. At this point I'd probably outright say no to a first interview in person - I felt like that was such an archaic way of doing things. Someone has to take a day off, come in and get prepled just for a general chat about the role to see whether it's right for them.
Video calls have their ups but on net balance I prefer human interaction. There's something about feeling the vibration in someone's voice, reading their body language, smelling their pheromones etc that has a very real effect. This is the way we were built to communicate. Outsourcing everything to Zoom/Teams feels like the adult equivalent of giving your child an iPad instead of encouraging them to embrace the real world.
Now do really cro …..
'Someone has to take a day off, come in and get prepped', and often the employer has no intention of even considering them. It is very common for an employer to insist on comparison interviews, or a minimum number or external interviews, when they know they have no intention of hiring someone. Used to make me sick when my boss made me bring people in to interview when we had already picked a candidate as I know what a hassle it is. Employment agencies are worse, they can outright lie about even having a position to the point of advertising fake roles and will get you in to interview just to fill up their books, and also mine your references and company knowledge.
Easier cos you don't have to wear any pants, harder cos wearing pants might be a requirement to work there.
Much the same but less trying to find the place on time, waiting in reception, shaking hands with half a dozen people, not knowing where to sit etc
Ive managed to land many jobs during the pandemic via online interviews, i think its less fuss for both interviewer and interviewee. Ive done interviews and scored a job offer wearing PJ bottoms and a nice top for the interview.. no makeup. In person, i have to be dressed head to toe in interview attire. And online, i can refer to my notes i want to discuss in the interview, without looking like im fumbling thru my note book.
Welcome to covid era. If you cant even get through a simple online interview then maybe think about other jobs. People find they have more time when doing online meetings and it works very well for most office jobs. It's time saving, its much cheaper, its more green(no travel, no transport), and safer in terms of health and risk. There is no going back now, online meetings is the way to go.
Yeah I find it harder over video call.
I had an interview last year that I thought went really well with the person in the room. Everything seemed comfortable and fluid.
However there was a HR person who was taking part via a video call who could barely hear me, appeared to be distracted, generally didn't seem to mesh.Not a huge loss, the job was questionable at best, but was a pain.
Had the same experience. Was interviewing with a HR person and an engineer who worked in rural QLD, he had the shittest internet and I had to guess what he was saying and when I replied it made no sense. Didn't get the job lol. The HR person was also doing other stuff during the interview.
It seems like you made a poor first impression or they weren’t interested in what you had to say.
You can usually get a feel for a person’s personality type/attitude within the first two minutes. Team fit is just as important as capabilities. So maybe that’s why they weren’t interested.
Blaming the panel is a typical coping mechanism. Perhaps look at your locus of control. That is, things you can control, things you can influence and things you cannot control.
Most people expend energy on the last part without thinking of the first two.
I went through this the end of last year and it’s a mixed bag.
I didn’t mind it as I got the job and it was towards the end of Covid when most people have an idea of how to run virtual setups. It did help that the recruiter setup the meeting, so it actually worked first go.
Pro’s
-No travel time and less stressful finding where to go
-you can do it during a break from your current role without having to take time off.Con’s
-harder to read people and get your whole self across.
-extra hard if like me, my interviewers couldn’t turn on their camera due to bandwidth concerns.language matters, you mean end of covid lockdowns, covid is still ongoing.covid is still happening.
in nsw a 7 day average 28 people died .
even google has their own result page for this: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=nsw+covid…
The problem I’ve seen with zoom meetings is pop up messages about emails and IM. Ya really don’t want to have the wrong message pop up during the meeting.
close the application(s)? like why would you leave the hentai game you played halfway minimised for yourself to accidentally alt-tab into? is it really that hard to do?
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harder… i hate doing interviews on camera because its hard to get a feel for the person. Especially those new ones where you have to record answers to questions on camera