Google Meet interview howto
August 2, 2020 12:23 PM Subscribe
I've been asked to a 15 minute interview via Google Meet for a job I'm applying for. What are some tips for doing a remote interview?
I'm in the middle of a job search and found a local employer who is inviting me to a 15 minute interview via Google Meet. I've never done an interview this way so feeling a bit of trepidation about how to present myself.
The employer has stated the 15 minute interview process is a way to narrow down the large number of applicants. The fact that I've made it to this stage, and I'm qualified, are good signs, so far so good.
It's a technical company so I would want to present myself via Google Meet as best I can manage, including the video stream, audio and lighting. Having a hiccup here would not look good. My Dell XPS laptop is running Win10 so I plan to use that for the meeting.
The presumption here would be for the interviewers to get some sense of the applicant and, given the pandemic, avoid a lot of in person interviews.
My job would be to present myself as favorably as I can manage. Good audio, good video, good lighting, prepared for the interview.
I have a USB external mic for example, a good quality one. My Dell XPS has the camera at the bottom of the screen, not the top. There's an aspect to online video where you if are not looking directly at the camera so the watcher doesn't perceive you as looking directly at them.
What tips or processes should I follow to give myself the best outcome from this meeting? If the meeting is only 15 minutes how can I focus myself on what's most important? Online charisma tips? Good meeting do's and don'ts?
I'm in the middle of a job search and found a local employer who is inviting me to a 15 minute interview via Google Meet. I've never done an interview this way so feeling a bit of trepidation about how to present myself.
The employer has stated the 15 minute interview process is a way to narrow down the large number of applicants. The fact that I've made it to this stage, and I'm qualified, are good signs, so far so good.
It's a technical company so I would want to present myself via Google Meet as best I can manage, including the video stream, audio and lighting. Having a hiccup here would not look good. My Dell XPS laptop is running Win10 so I plan to use that for the meeting.
The presumption here would be for the interviewers to get some sense of the applicant and, given the pandemic, avoid a lot of in person interviews.
My job would be to present myself as favorably as I can manage. Good audio, good video, good lighting, prepared for the interview.
I have a USB external mic for example, a good quality one. My Dell XPS has the camera at the bottom of the screen, not the top. There's an aspect to online video where you if are not looking directly at the camera so the watcher doesn't perceive you as looking directly at them.
What tips or processes should I follow to give myself the best outcome from this meeting? If the meeting is only 15 minutes how can I focus myself on what's most important? Online charisma tips? Good meeting do's and don'ts?
Tiny tip: make sure you don’t interrupt your interviewers! I am bad at this irl, personally, and worse in remote interviews.
posted by ferret branca at 12:45 PM on August 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by ferret branca at 12:45 PM on August 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Breathe! Write down a few notes or thoughts you would like to get across in case you completely blank so you're not just staring at them in panicked silence for 3 full minutes.
Be confident, the tip about a trial run with a friend is very helpful. Nthing headphones if you have them, preferably wireless. Try not to fidget and have as neutral a background if possible so as not to be distracting. You got this!
posted by VyanSelei at 12:49 PM on August 2, 2020
Be confident, the tip about a trial run with a friend is very helpful. Nthing headphones if you have them, preferably wireless. Try not to fidget and have as neutral a background if possible so as not to be distracting. You got this!
posted by VyanSelei at 12:49 PM on August 2, 2020
Best answer: Adding to the excellent advice above - be well lit. Natural light is best (ie the arrangement for the call is window, laptop screen, then you). If the light source is behind you, then your features will be masked - no one wants to appear as if in a witness protection program :)
And on the day of the interview one more tip - if you get a little warm (and interviews put us under pressure) use foundation powder to make your face matte, not shiny. This is unisex advice, btw. Make sure that powder matches your skin tone.
posted by seawallrunner at 1:23 PM on August 2, 2020
And on the day of the interview one more tip - if you get a little warm (and interviews put us under pressure) use foundation powder to make your face matte, not shiny. This is unisex advice, btw. Make sure that powder matches your skin tone.
posted by seawallrunner at 1:23 PM on August 2, 2020
Best answer: Everyone's advice is good. Keep in mind that even if you feel kinda weird with your laptop on a box, your interviewers won't know that's what's going on, so try to get the camera up at/near your eye level. Go for the best lighting/background combination you have available in your place with neutral being the best option. Keeping your eyebrows slightly raised can be a way to show "I'm listening" and appearing friendly without having to keep a grin on your face the whole time. I exaggerate facial expressions slightly so they are obvious on screen (and also so it's clear you're not frozen, even a tilt of the head can get this across). Dress professional. I am female and always try to make sure my hair looks decent and I have earrings on (also this only works if you don't have headphones that are on your ears, if this is you: no earrings.). Definitely try this out with someone beforehand just so you can get the timing reasonable. Have a couple of stock answers in case someone has "small talk" that turns out to not be so small (I find "How are you doing" questions particularly loaded during COVID times)
posted by jessamyn at 2:04 PM on August 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by jessamyn at 2:04 PM on August 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Try out your exact A/V setup and meeting application with a friend before the interview. I've done a number of remote interviews with people who had some kind of hardware problem (microphone cutting in and out, camera only has partial view, things like that) and it's really disruptive so try to work that out beforehand.
I'm going to recommend against putting yourself on mute at any point unless you're in a very noisy environment and have no other choice. It's easy to forget you've muted yourself and the "Oops, sorry, I was muted" dance is the kind of awkward you'll want to avoid for an interview call.
Be careful of talking over each other. Not because of politeness issues, but because on video chats this can lead to choppy sound and a back-and-forth of "Oops, sorry, you go" that can take time to settle down. Something about the lag between video and audio feedback, maybe. It's more of an issue on larger group meetings than with just two people, but again, it's the kind of thing that adds awkward.
posted by 4rtemis at 5:52 PM on August 2, 2020
I'm going to recommend against putting yourself on mute at any point unless you're in a very noisy environment and have no other choice. It's easy to forget you've muted yourself and the "Oops, sorry, I was muted" dance is the kind of awkward you'll want to avoid for an interview call.
Be careful of talking over each other. Not because of politeness issues, but because on video chats this can lead to choppy sound and a back-and-forth of "Oops, sorry, you go" that can take time to settle down. Something about the lag between video and audio feedback, maybe. It's more of an issue on larger group meetings than with just two people, but again, it's the kind of thing that adds awkward.
posted by 4rtemis at 5:52 PM on August 2, 2020
Are you absolutely certain this is a real local employer? I’m concerned because 15-minute Google Meet/Google Hangout interviews are a tactic often used by scammers — the kind who will “hire” you right away, send you a “check” and tell you to cash it immediately and use it to order a laptop from their “supplier”. The job is fake, the check is fake, and so is the supplier, but the money taken out of your account is unfortunately real.
Maybe this is legit. But if they ask you to cash a check and send any of the money anywhere else (including ordering supplies or gift cards), absolutely do not do it.
posted by snowmentality at 8:36 PM on August 2, 2020
Maybe this is legit. But if they ask you to cash a check and send any of the money anywhere else (including ordering supplies or gift cards), absolutely do not do it.
posted by snowmentality at 8:36 PM on August 2, 2020
Response by poster: Thanks. That's all very good advice. I will probably put my laptop up at eye level. I don't have a web cam at hand I can use on short notice. Since the interview is in the morning, I will have muted south light coming in behind the laptop for illumination. That's a good tip about the headphones or headset. I have a USB headset with mic. I will be sure and use it.
Guess I'll need to rope in a friend for a Google Meet session to get in some practice.
posted by diode at 8:40 PM on August 2, 2020
Guess I'll need to rope in a friend for a Google Meet session to get in some practice.
posted by diode at 8:40 PM on August 2, 2020
Response by poster: Yes, absolutely sure beyond a shadow of a doubt this is a legitimate employer.
posted by diode at 8:41 PM on August 2, 2020
posted by diode at 8:41 PM on August 2, 2020
Best answer: All great advice in this thread.
One more minor bit of tech advice: do whatever you can to have a reliable Internet connection. If your laptop can have a wired connection, that's one less thing that can fail. Also, have Google Meet setup on your phone so you can use that as a fallback (try this out with a friend first as well). If either party is having bandwidth issues see if you both can turn off the video portion. Audio is much less demanding.
I've done a bunch of these phone screens from the hiring manager side since the pandemic began. For myself, I know that everyone is stuck at home and doing the best they can given their living situation, available hardware and internet connection so I'm pretty forgiving on those fronts, but if your job will require working from home during the pandemic then this interview could be seen by your prospective employer as a test of how well you'll be able to do that.
Aside from that, I know it's a stressful situation to be interviewed. It's actually stressful to do the interviewing as well. I think of it a bit like speed dating: you're spending 15 minutes with someone to try and decide if you should potentially spend years of your lives together. Anyways, from the employer's point of view, they have more work than people and they need help. They're trying to find evidence that you're right person for the job. I know (all too well) how hard it is, but try to be relaxed, confident and positive. Don't rant about things that things that sucked about previous positions. Acknowledge that they could have been better, there were challenges, etc. but don't dwell on it. Besides trying to verify that you have the required skills and abilities, the interviewer is probably also assessing what impact your personality will have on the team. People that are positive and reasonably excited about the position are preferred.
Lastly, be honest. If you don't know X say so, but have a plan ready for how you could come up to speed on it quickly (if that's possible). And hopefully it's something that you've wanted to get a chance to work with and you can say so.
This advice is all from my experiences in silicon valley tech companies for whatever that's worth. Other industries, locations and cultures probably work differently.
posted by DrumsIntheDeep at 11:29 PM on August 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
One more minor bit of tech advice: do whatever you can to have a reliable Internet connection. If your laptop can have a wired connection, that's one less thing that can fail. Also, have Google Meet setup on your phone so you can use that as a fallback (try this out with a friend first as well). If either party is having bandwidth issues see if you both can turn off the video portion. Audio is much less demanding.
I've done a bunch of these phone screens from the hiring manager side since the pandemic began. For myself, I know that everyone is stuck at home and doing the best they can given their living situation, available hardware and internet connection so I'm pretty forgiving on those fronts, but if your job will require working from home during the pandemic then this interview could be seen by your prospective employer as a test of how well you'll be able to do that.
Aside from that, I know it's a stressful situation to be interviewed. It's actually stressful to do the interviewing as well. I think of it a bit like speed dating: you're spending 15 minutes with someone to try and decide if you should potentially spend years of your lives together. Anyways, from the employer's point of view, they have more work than people and they need help. They're trying to find evidence that you're right person for the job. I know (all too well) how hard it is, but try to be relaxed, confident and positive. Don't rant about things that things that sucked about previous positions. Acknowledge that they could have been better, there were challenges, etc. but don't dwell on it. Besides trying to verify that you have the required skills and abilities, the interviewer is probably also assessing what impact your personality will have on the team. People that are positive and reasonably excited about the position are preferred.
Lastly, be honest. If you don't know X say so, but have a plan ready for how you could come up to speed on it quickly (if that's possible). And hopefully it's something that you've wanted to get a chance to work with and you can say so.
This advice is all from my experiences in silicon valley tech companies for whatever that's worth. Other industries, locations and cultures probably work differently.
posted by DrumsIntheDeep at 11:29 PM on August 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Unplug the refrigerator and air conditioner. They make deep noises that mics pick up. (set an alarm on your phone in case you forget to plug it back in)
posted by sexyrobot at 12:22 AM on August 3, 2020
posted by sexyrobot at 12:22 AM on August 3, 2020
One thing to think about on your run-through: how you're going to stay cool. If you have central air, no problem, but I've found that AC units and fans sometimes create white noise or interference. For 15 minutes you can probably just turn everything off and not worry about shvitzing too bad, but consider maybe putting a desk fan under the desk to blow air on bare feet, which should cool you off a bit without affecting the laptop mic.
posted by babelfish at 10:48 AM on August 3, 2020
posted by babelfish at 10:48 AM on August 3, 2020
Response by poster: I guess I'm wondering how if an iPad would be a better device to do the meet? It doesn't have a USB port so that kind of leaves out using a headset.
posted by diode at 6:31 PM on August 3, 2020
posted by diode at 6:31 PM on August 3, 2020
Based on events afflicting a meeting participant (who was not me) earlier today: Don't use Windows. If you opt to ignore this advice: Check for updates well before your meeting. If there are some and you decide to roll the dice and apply them, re-run your test meeting after. Regardless of whether you decide to apply pending updates or not: pause updates for a period that spans your meeting plus an ample safety period before and after.
posted by sourcequench at 5:08 PM on August 4, 2020
posted by sourcequench at 5:08 PM on August 4, 2020
Response by poster: So, meeting post mortem. I ended up using an iPad, up on a box, tilted a bit and to the right so the camera faces me. When I tested it against my Dell XPS the iPad video was much crisper. I practiced with another Mefite the day before which confirmed my setup worked and removed any anxiety about audio and sound. Technically the meet went well. Interview wise I ended up thinking maybe I didn't really need or want that particular job but that's another type of discussion. Thanks for the useful input.
posted by diode at 7:09 PM on August 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by diode at 7:09 PM on August 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Ideally, your camera would be slightly above your eye-line. Nobody wants to be looking up your nose. If you can get your hands on one, an external webcam might be a good idea.
Most webcams (built in or external) have auto-gain and auto-white-balance. That's OK, but it means you don't want a strong light source directly behind you. Don't film yourself sitting in front of a window with the sun streaming in.
If you can manage it, call from a quiet environment. If not, consider using a noise-cancelling headset, and mute yourself when you're not talking. (In fact, "mute yourself when you're not talking" is almost always a good idea. Just remember to un-mute when needed.)
Do a dry run with a friend beforehand. (Google Meet is free and it's not hard to set up a meeting for a test.)
You don't need a green-screen, but try to make sure the background isn't embarrassing or distracting. (There's a time for kids and cats on camera, but an interview isn't it.)
Conduct yourself as you would for an in-person interview, as much as possible under the circumstances. Dress "professionally" (whatever that means for the particular company with which you're interviewing). Silence your phone. Don't eat on camera.
posted by sourcequench at 12:43 PM on August 2, 2020 [1 favorite]