Use this How to Prepare for an Interview on Zoom article to help you impress your interviewer.
If you want everything you need to ace your interview, click here.
Use this How to Prepare for an Interview on Zoom article to help you impress your interviewer.
If you want everything you need to ace your interview, click here.
How to Prepare for an Interview on Zoom (#1 Best Guide)
Are you looking for a new job? Do you want to know how to prepare for an interview on zoom?
If it’s been a while since your last job interview or if this is your first time interviewing virtually on Zoom, getting ready for your interview can be a bit daunting. How do you prepare for an interview on zoom? What interview questions will be asked? How do you answer them?
There is no reason to worry or get overwhelmed. We have all the information you need here. This article provides step-by-step instructions on how to prepare for an interview on Zoom, 10 examples of Zoom interview questions and answers, tips to create your own answers to Zoom interview questions, and answers to frequently asked questions about Zoom interviews.
By the end of this article, we guarantee that you’ll have the information and job interview tips you need to confidently prepare for your next Zoom interview.
Now let’s get right into it!
Table of Contents
How to Prepare for An Interview on Zoom (Get Familiar with Zoom)
Before your interview, take time to familiarize yourself with Zoom. This will help you feel more comfortable during the interview and make sure that you get the most out of the experience.
Zoom is a video conferencing platform that allows people to connect in real-time. It’s perfect for interviews because it allows potential employers to see and hear you, which can give them a better sense of who you are as a candidate.
To get started, visit Zoom’s website and watch Zoom video tutorials. The video tutorials will teach you everything you need to know about using Zoom, including how to join a meeting and how to use the features like screen sharing (which may be needed in your interview on Zoom).
Here’s a list of must-watch videos to prepare for an interview on Zoom:
- How to Join a Zoom video call
- Scheduling a meeting
- Managing closed captioning
- Testing audio (to make sure the interviewer can hear you)
- Testing video (to make sure the interview can see you)
- How to share your screen or desktop
- How to share multiple screens simultaneously
- Setting a virtual background image
Once you’ve watched the tutorials, try setting up a meeting with a virtual background yourself. This will help you get comfortable with the platform and test your skills in advance.
How do I Prepare for a Virtual Zoom Interview? (Steps)
How to prepare for an interview on Zoom:
- Get familiar with Zoom, if you’re not familiar with Zoom create an account, watch tutorials, schedule a call with a friend or family member, learn how to check your audio and video, and practice using features like setting a virtual background
- Confirm where you will take your Zoom interview, make sure the location you choose for your Zoom interview is quiet, free of distractions, and that you have access to power (if you will participate in a Zoom interview from home where you have children or pets do your best to ensure they will not interrupt the interview, practice aloud how you will handle a possible interruption so that the interviewer is left with a positive impression)
- Confirm the placement of your camera, you want the camera to be at eye level and have ⅓ of your torso in frame
- Confirm if you will use headphones, in a private quiet room there is no need for headphones, you should always use headphones in a room with other people
- Test your microphone and video, Zoom requires that you give permission to the camera and microphone, make sure both are working
- Confirm you look natural when speaking, practice talking to the camera, not the screen, this makes eye contact feel real
- Test your body language, ensure your chair promotes upright active, and engaged posture, the position of your body will communicate to the interviewer if you are engaged in the conversation or not
- Confirm your lighting, light the scene so that the interviewer can see you clearly, be aware of light and windows behind you as they will make you appear dark, place light and windows in front of you
- Confirm that what the interviewer sees behind you looks professional, create a professional interview “set”, use a Zoom job interview background by setting one of the virtual backgrounds provided by Zoom or sit in front of a background with minimal visual distractions
- Protect your privacy, to ensure a safe private, and professional interview “set” remove personal items such as family photos from the visual field of the interviewer, just because someone is a hiring manager/ interviewer does not mean they are a safe person
- Confirm your video interview attire, wear business casual or professional clothing, minimize visual distractions by avoiding clothing with stripes and prints, solid colors are best, light blue psychologically conveys trustworthiness
- Confirm where you will place your hidden interview support materials, trial and test the placement of materials you may want to reference, figure out the best place to have and view your resume, where you will take notes, and where you will place water, practice using your strategically placed support materials while naturally talking to the camera
- Practice your answers to interview questions, to impress the interviewer you have to prepare job-specific interview answers, be sure to practice your interview answers to common interview questions on camera to ensure you are clear, come across as professional and natural, and show your personality
Want even more Zoom interview prep help? Check out these two resources:
Zoom Interview Questions and Answers
Testing your Zoom interview skills before the interview is a good idea as it will prevent unexpected surprises from knocking you off balance on interview day. To help, below are 10 common Zoom interview questions, example answers, and tips to answer the interview questions..
Tell me about yourself.
“I have spent the last 2 years in the online advertising industry.
I was drawn to the industry because there are many methods and technologies to use.
I recently held the position of SEO associate at Toystop where I was responsible for finding broken backlinks, emailing Websites to backlink to our content, and growing our daily user traffic.
In the role I increased daily user traffic by 43%, developed content syndication partnerships with tier 1 media outlets, and built out an cost-efficient network of talented freelancers.
I worked on a team of 12 people. Our main objective was to attract new users online for the company. Together we successfully implemented a multi-channel online marketing campaign that lifted revenue by 28% month-over-month.
My success in the position has given me the experience and skills needed to develop and implement online marketing strategies that meet revenue goals, oversee SEO growth strategy, and excel at building a team that delivers results.
In the next year I want to work in a position where I can meaningfully apply my skills and experiences while growing my paid advertising skills.
If you’d like, I am happy to put you in touch with my former employer who can share more about my work.
I also have a letter of recommendation from them, which I have here.”
Tips to answer this Zoom interview question:
- Make sure what you share is about your professional self not personal, the interviewer cares about your work not life
- Make sure to share quantified work wins that relate to the job duties of the position, this will set a positive tone for the interview and highlight your qualifications right away
- Increase your credibility and trustworthiness by offering a letter of recommendation that includes contact information they can use
Use our fill-in-the-blank Tell me about yourself interview answer generator to easily create an impressive answer to this question
How did you learn about this position?
“I discovered the position on the career’s page of the Website when I was researching your company.”
Tip to answer this Zoom interview question:
- Keep your interview answer short and to the point this interview question does not require much explanation
How is your job search going?
“My job search is going well. I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the company and this position. Thank you for your mutual interest!”
Tips to answer this Zoom interview question:
- No matter how your job search is going be positive
- This question is a rapport building interview question do not ramble with unnecessary details, save your time to answer other questions
- On average a hiring manager will interview six to eight job applicants, include an element of gratitude in your interview answer
What are your greatest strengths?
“My greatest strengths are that I am open-minded and very approachable.
In my last job, I was able to use these strengths to successfully help the company navigate a difficult merger.
The company bought a small startup and the teams had a hard time meshing. My approachability and open-mindedness made it so that I was informally made the referee between an existing team and new team.
I was trusted to be impartial and have the end result in mind. As a result, I ended up getting a promotion to manage the entire department.
I see that this position requires leading a team of 30 people. If I were to be hired, my experience successfully bringing together two teams and leading them will help me hit the ground running.”
Tips to answer this Zoom interview question:
- Make sure that the strengths you share relate to the position’s job duties
- Concisely explain how the strengths would be a benefit
What do you consider to be your weakness? How do you overcome it?
“My weakness is that I am a perfectionist.
In fast paced work environments you don’t always have time for “perfect.” It can sometimes feel uncomfortable to submit work that I would prefer to have more time to execute.
I overcome being a perfectionist by giving myself hard deadlines so that I can turn things in on time even if they aren’t 100% to my standards.
The idea of perfectionism is something that is mostly in my head as I have only received praise for my high standards and professionalism.”
Tips to answer this Zoom interview question:
- When you share a weakness in an interview be honest
- Provide details that explain how you overcome your weakness
Tell me about a time you went above and beyond at work.
A time I went above and beyond at work was when I took it upon myself to develop a new hire training program.
Our company was growing quickly, new employees were being hired every couple of weeks. Because the company was hiring to keep up with growth it hadn’t had time to develop an employee training program. This meant new employees were being hired and thrown in the deep end of the pool. It really was sink or swim.
To help the new hires get up to speed I took it upon myself to develop a three-part training plan that acted as a knowledge share. The plan empowered new hires to ask questions along the way to every team member to make sure no one person was weighed down with all the training responsibilities on top of their normal responsibilities.
The process gave the entire team ownership over the success of new hires. This saved the company $85,000 as it didn’t need to hire a Training Coordinator. The company still uses the training program today.
Tips to answer this Zoom interview question:
- Provide an example of how you went above and beyond at work that relates to job’s required skills and/or responsibilities
- In the example you provide include metrics that details how what you did benefited the company (saved time, saved money, increased productivity, increased customer satisfaction, etc.)
Describe a difficult work situation or project and how you handled it.
“When the pandemic hit my former employer instituted a strict mask policy for all employees and customers. As Assistant Manager if the Manager was offsite the responsibility of communicating the company’s mask policy to customers who refused to wear a mask fell on me.
One day I found myself in a very difficult situation where a elderly woman and her adult son came into the store. She had a mask on but her son did not. He became enraged at a store clerk when he was politely given the option to put a mask on or allow us to shop for him while he waited to pick-up his groceries outside.
The Manager was offsite so I was the go-to contact. I approached the man and his mother calmly and communicated the policy. By the time I got to him he was throwing things. I was able to speak with her briefly and came to understand he had autism. Understanding this, I realized he wasn’t being a jerk but experienced sensory challenges with the mask on his face. Realizing the mask was not going to be put on I redirected the conversation to allow us to shop for them. To help him calm down, and to avoid police involvement, I asked him what type of smoothie and chips he likes and told him I’d buy him his favorite if he waited at the picnic benches in front of the store with his mom. He was hungry so this was motivating to him. He quickly walked out of the store and sat down.
I then met him and his mom outside with smoothies and chips. His mother said because of COVID his adult day program was closed and she couldn’t leave him at home alone. Being older she isn’t computer literate and didn’t feel comfortable shopping online. So I got a store ipad and walked her through her first online shopping purchase. We came up with a plan for her to call the store 1 hour before she would come over so a team member could meet her and her son outside with an ipad to shop for the things they needed. We did this four times with her and by the fifth time she was able to buy her groceries online at home and swing by to pick-them up.
It was a very difficult situation to navigate. The man who did not want to wear the mask looked typically developing but in fact had autism. By remaining calm, asking questions, having empathy, and being compassionate, I was able to safely resolve two issues: the immediate one of him not wearing a mask in the store, and the larger issue of her developing skills to confidently shop online for her groceries.”
Tips to answer this Zoom interview question:
- When asked to describe a situation you experienced be honest (you never know if the hiring manager will call your former employer to verify what you share)
- Practice answering this interview question so that you can answer it in two – three minutes
- End your interview answer with a summary of the difficult situation, how you handled the situation, and the impact of what you did
What is your greatest professional achievement?
“My greatest professional achievement was when I successfully produced our company’s annual report. It was difficult because it had to be completed in an incredibly short timeframe under tight budget constraints.
I overcame the time and budget challenges by prioritizing tasks based on deadlines and splitting the duties between four team members who helped complete various portions of the project.
Splitting the project into smaller parts and delegating pieces of the project to very talented team members allowed me to successfully meet all deadlines.
The annual report was praised by everyone including the Chairman of the Board, the CEO, each member of the executive team, and won several awards for its editorial content and graphic design. I am very proud to have created the award-winning annual report on a short deadline and tight budget.”
Tips to answer this Zoom interview question:
- Provide a professional achievement that relates to the job description
- Make sure to share concise details about what you did
- Highlight why you are proud of the professional achievement
Why did you leave your last job?
“I left my last job because I am looking for an opportunity to grow and develop my skills.
My previous employer was great but I wasn’t able to take on new challenges or responsibilities.
I’m excited by this position and the mentorship culture of the company.”
Tips to answer this Zoom interview question:
- When answering this question never speak poorly about your former employer
- Use this question as an opportunity to communicate what has attracted you to the position and/or company
- If you left your last job because you were fired or asked to resign you don’t have to say “I was fired” or “I was asked to resign” providing an answer like the example above is completely fine
Practice your answer to this interview question now. »
Why should we hire you?
“You should hire me because I have a strong work ethic and I am dedicated to my career.
I care about building relationships with others so that we can all be successful in our roles.
I have the experience you’re looking for and a track record of success as I have previously increased customer happiness by 63% annually by identifying and fixing user experience issues which increased customer conversions by 1.3% and generated an additional $130,460.00 monthly.
I’m looking to contribute my skills, be part of a team, and grow with a company. I see the possibility of many years of opportunity here and could start next week.”
Tips to answer this Zoom interview question:
- Share professional characteristics that add value to the company and position
- Share quantified outcomes you’ve achieved in your career that relate to the primary responsibilities of the position you are applying for
- Share when you could start working, this detail lets the hiring manager know you are serious about getting started with the company
- To easily create an answer to this interview question use our fill-in-the-blank “Why should I hire you?” interview answer generator
Practice your answer to this interview question now. »
If you’re overwhelmed by what to say in a Zoom interview use our universal interview answer generator to help you create impressive interview answers.
How to prepare for an interview on Zoom (Run Mock Interviews)
To be your best and stand out as the candidate to hire, practice what you will say in your Zoom interview by running a mock video interview. Mock interviews help you:
- Perfect the delivery of your interview answers,
- Develop awareness of your tone to come across confident and personable,
- Develop awareness of your body language,
- Build appropriate eye contact, and
- Learn to practice reactions to tough questions and scenarios.
InterviewDestiny provides three levels of on demand video mock interviews: Easy, Moderate, and Hard. The mock interviews simulate the pressure of real job interviews by:
- Running a complete 45-minute interview,
- Asking interview questions you will likely come across, and
- Presenting interview scenarios that you might encounter.
Once you’ve completed this How to prepare for an interview on Zoom article, be sure to give our mock interviews a try!
How to Prepare for an Interview on Zoom (FAQs)
How do I prepare for my first zoom interview?
To prepare for your first Zoom interview you want to:
- Get familiar with Zoom
- Confirm where you will take your Zoom interview
- Confirm the placement of your camera
- Confirm if you will use headphones
- Confirm you look natural when speaking
- Test your body language
- Confirm your lighting to be seen clearly
Confirm that your background looks professional - Remove personal items from view to protect your privacy
- Confirm your Zoom interview attire
- Confirm where you will place hidden interview support materials
- Run mock interviews to practice your interview answers
What should you not do in a Zoom interview?
In a Zoom interview you should not:
-
Eat or drink (a glass of water is acceptable if drank sparingly)
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Smoke
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Have family, friends, children, or pets in the room
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Be on your phone
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Have anything in your mouth (chew gum, candy, etc.)
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Cover your webcam
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Not put effort into your appearance
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Have music playing
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Try to “wing it”
How do I Prepare for a Virtual Zoom Interview?
To prepare for your Zoom interview and ensure it goes well. Make sure:
- Your internet connection is strong and without interruption
- You are familiar with the Zoom software
- You arrive (online) 10 minutes early for your interview
- You test your audio and video quality in advance
- You are aware of the time difference if interviewing with someone in another time zone
- You make your appearance professional and interview ready
- You hydrate yourself before the interview
- Your energy is upbeat and positive
- You avoid distractions and keep your environment quiet
- You do not eat or drink during the interview
- You end the interview on time
What should you wear for a Zoom interview?
How you dress for your Zoom interview depends on the company culture and the position you are interviewing for. Assess the company’s culture and select to wear business casual or professional clothing for your interview.
Unlike an in-person interview, you want to ensure your Zoom interview attire is “camera ready.” This means minimizing visual distractions by avoiding clothing with stripes and prints and selecting solid colors. Attire that is light to medium blue is a great choice as these tones psychologically convey trustworthiness which enhances the vibe of your interview.
Zoom Interview Questions for Employers
The top interview questions employers will ask you on a Zoom interview are:
- Tell me about yourself.
- How did you hear about this position?
- How is your job search going?
- What are your greatest strengths?
- What do you consider to be your weakness? How do you overcome it?
- Tell me about a time you went above and beyond at work.
- Describe a difficult work situation or project and how you handled it.
- What is your greatest professional achievement?
- Why did you leave your last job?
- Why should we hire you?
How to prepare for a panel interview on Zoom
To prepare for a panel interview on Zoom you want to do these 10 things:
- Ask for the names and titles of the panel interviewers ahead of time
- Research the panel of interviewers
- Research the company
- Become a master of the job description
- Create a list of quantified work wins that relate to the job’s duties and responsibilities
- Practice answering interviewing questions
- Practice your body language, don’t cross your arms or slouch your shoulders
- Practice positive eye contact by looking into your computer’s camera rather than the screen
- Practice listening and taking notes in order to provide complete answers to the questions that are asked
- Practice asking the panel questions
Zoom interview on phone or laptop
Zoom interviews can be done by phone but should only be used if a laptop is not available. A laptop is the best choice for a Zoom interview as it comes across more professional. Using your laptop for a Zoom interview also gives you the ability to easily screenshare. This is a great option for an interview if you have a portfolio or project you want to reference and walk the interviewer(s) through.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You’ve just learned How to prepare for an interview on Zoom. Now that you know what to expect in a Zoom interview and how to prepare for one, the only thing left is practice. We can help with that too!
Give our mock interviews a try so you feel confident on your big day. There is no reason to let an interview stress you out when we have all the tools right here at your fingertips!
If you want to learn how to build your salary negotiation skills and get the best job offer check out our sister company, PayDestiny. Otherwise, do you have any questions about preparing for your Zoom interview? Let me know below!
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Do you want to ace your interview?
InterviewDestiny provides you the tools you need to get the job offer.