Remote Interviewing Tips During Corona Crisis.

​COVID-19 has caused an acute and unexpected disruption for businesses across the globe. To make things worse, no one knows how long lockdowns will last. While some companies have decided to freeze hiring until things get back to normal, others are still recruiting people. In fact, sectors like digital marketing, advertising, and technology along with the obvious ones like healthcare, pharma and biotech are all set to experience a recruitment boom.

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However, things are not going to be the same on the hiring front with work from home and social distancing being a norm. Thankfully, technology comes to our rescue with virtual recruitment processes fast becoming the next big thing in the HR landscape. Things are bound to be challenging for both candidates and recruiters with this novel concept but we have to accept and adapt because this is going to be the new normal.

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So, here are some remote interviewing tips that can help both candidates and employers in how to make this experience most effective:

Tips for candidates

• First things first, test your tech well in advance. Ensure that your internet connection and conferencing app are working fine. Limiting buffering is equally important.

• Follow the rule of dress to impress; it is as important for a virtual interview as it is for a face-to-face round.

• Dress up the surroundings as well. Find a quiet spot with an appropriate or plain background, no one needs to see private pictures or stuff piled around.

• Be sure to remove all the distractions from the interview area. Turn off the volume of the TV, switch off your smartphone and keep pets and kids out of sight.

• Be personable through the interaction. Making eye contact, smiling often and engaging with the interviewer passes a positive message.

• Be well prepared and rehearse your responses to the key questions you expect to be asked. This will limit awkward pauses that are caused by a delay between question and answer.

• Don’t forget to send a follow-up note to the interviewer as it shows genuine interest in the position

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Tips for interviewers

Like the candidate, the interviewer also needs to make sure that both the internet connection and conferencing app are in order. A dummy run to ensure that the interview starts on time is a good idea.

• Acquaint yourself with the candidate’s resume and be prepared with the right set of questions so that you don’t waste time.

• Nonverbal responses will be hard to pick up if you are doing a telephonic interview. So it would be right to have an apt strategy in place to assess the candidate properly.

• The candidate will probably be as uncomfortable as you are. Go the extra mile to make them comfortable. Show them that you value their time and efforts.

• Give them enough time with pauses to ensure that they have completed their response. You need to do this intuitively in the absence of the usual social cues.

• Be sure to reinforce your company’s mission and values so that the candidate develops trust in your recruitment process.

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Virtual interviews are going to be around for quite some time ahead and have picked up very fast because of the current scenario, so it is best to be prepared and find ways to make them more reliable. Hope these tips help you make it a success at both ends.

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