A video interview is still an interview, but it adds a layer of things that can go wrong: a frozen camera, a noisy room, a dead laptop battery or a bad network at the worst moment. The good news is that almost all of it can be sorted out the day before. Once your setup is fixed, practise in exactly the same place so that on the day nothing feels new.
Choose your spot
Pick one place you can use for the practice sessions and the real interview.
- A quiet room with a door you can close. Tell family members or flatmates the time of the interview. A note on the door helps.
- A plain background. A wall, a curtain or a tidy bookshelf works. Avoid a bed, laundry, or people walking behind you. If your space is shared, most video-call apps offer background blur — test it beforehand, because blur can make hand movements look strange.
- Away from the street and the kitchen. Pressure cookers, traffic horns and construction noise are hard to control, so move as far from them as you can.
Get the camera right
- Lens at eye level. Put your laptop on a stack of books or a box so the camera is level with your eyes. Looking down into a laptop camera is unflattering and makes eye contact harder.
- Head and shoulders in frame, with a little space above your head. Sit about an arm’s length from the screen.
- Look at the lens when you speak. This is the habit that takes the most practice. It feels unnatural because you cannot see the interviewer’s face while doing it. A small sticker or arrow next to the camera can remind you.
- Phone users: use a stand, never hold the phone. Landscape orientation usually looks more professional, but follow any instruction the employer gives.
Light your face, not your back
The single biggest improvement for most home setups is light. Sit facing a window or a lamp, not with the window behind you — a bright background turns you into a silhouette. If the light is harsh, a thin curtain softens it. In the evening, a desk lamp placed behind your screen and pointing at your face (or bounced off a wall) works well.
Sound matters more than video
Interviewers will forgive a slightly grainy picture; they struggle with an echo or a dropout.
- Use wired earphones or a headset with a microphone if you have one. They reduce echo and keep the interviewer’s voice out of your microphone.
- Soft furnishings absorb echo. Curtains, a bed or a sofa nearby help more than an empty room with tiled floors.
- Mute notifications on your laptop and phone. Put the phone on silent and face down.
Plan for the network and power
In many cities, the network and the electricity are the two things most likely to fail.
- Test your speed at the same time of day as the interview. Evenings are often slower.
- Keep a backup. If your Wi‑Fi drops, a mobile hotspot can save the call. Check you have data left on the day.
- Charge everything. Plug the laptop in, and keep the phone charged in case you need to rejoin from it. If your area has power cuts, find out whether your Wi‑Fi router is on the inverter or UPS.
- Save the interviewer’s contact details — email or phone — so you can tell them quickly if you get disconnected. A short message like “My connection dropped, I am rejoining now” is completely normal.
Test the actual platform
Employers use different tools: Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Zoom, Webex or a dedicated assessment platform. Each needs permissions for camera and microphone, and some need an app installed.
- Open the meeting link a day early if it is already shared, or do a test call with a friend.
- Check that the camera and microphone work in that app, not just in another one.
- Join five to ten minutes before the start time.
What to wear
Dress as you would for an in-person interview for that role, at least from the waist up — and preferably entirely, so you are not caught out if you need to stand. Solid colours look better on camera than fine stripes or small checks, which can shimmer.
On the day
- Close every other tab and app, especially anything that might play a sound.
- Keep a glass of water, a pen and a printed copy of your resume nearby. It is fine to glance at notes, but do not read from them.
- Have your answers to “Tell me about yourself” and “Why this role?” fresh in your mind — those usually come first.
If something goes wrong
Glitches happen to interviewers too. Stay calm and say what is happening: “Sorry, I missed the last part of your question — could you repeat it?” is a perfectly good sentence. If the video freezes for long, turn off your camera to save bandwidth and continue with audio, then offer to turn it back on.
Practise in the same setup
Once your space is ready, run a full practice session there. In the practice room, the device check shows your camera framing and a live microphone level, and the interviewer asks your questions aloud so you can rehearse with the same light, sound and seating you will use on the day. Watch one recording back and check three things: is your face well lit, can you hear yourself clearly, and are you looking at the lens?