Jobhop Jobhop's blog : Have you been invited to an interview on a Google+ hangout yet?
More & more companies are using Google+ hangouts to conduct interviews.
I come across candidates asking for advice about these on reddit so I knew a post was required to help anybody else who has never done an interview on a Google+ hangout before.
What is a Google+ hangout?
Basically it’s a free video chat which can be conducted one to one or with up to ten people on the same chat. An interviewer will most likely use it one to one but sometimes they may invite a group of applicants at once onto the call, that’s more likely to happen if they do an initial show case of the company. A hangout can be done via desktop, laptop & mobile devices.
If you haven’t got a Google+ account then that would be your first step, if a company wants to hold their initial interviews this way, you don’t want to throw a spanner in the works by not having an account. Go & set up an account on Google+
Once you have a Google+ account you can get the hangouts app for your mobile, this is always advisable as you never know when you could be invited to join an interview.
Having an interview via Google+ hangout can be equally as good for you as it is the employer, just take these few things into consideration:
- No travel required
- Can be done whilst you’re mobile
- Get a feel for the employer before committing to a face to face interview
- Less pressure on you as you’re in your chosen environment, not theirs
- Demonstrate your good online communication skills
- Demonstrate your understanding of technology
- You’re able to have your notes at hand, out of the interviewers sight
- You can have their website up whilst you ask them questions
What should you do if you’re invited to an interview on a Google+ Hangout?
Once you’ve accepted the invite then just like you would for any other interview you must research the company, and the job role you’ve applied for or they’ve sourced you for.
Go into the Google+ Hangout by yourself ( you can do this ) and get familiar with the whole layout. You will see that once you’re in the hang out you have the facility to screen share, so organise any documents you’d like to share. There’s a tool box which will give the ability to add your web site details underneath your video on the call, this would be good to use if you have a blog or website you’d like them know about.
There’s a chat box which is good to use during conversation.. For example if you’d like the interviewer to view a pin board you’d created about the tourism industry then you could just type the Pinterest link into the chatbox for them ( By the way it could be a pin board about anything, tourism just came into my head first)
Once familiar with the layout then have a few practise runs so you don’t stumble on the day, the last thing you want to do is hold everything up.
When you do get an invite make sure you have good internet connection, always remember if you’re mobile on the actual day head to somewhere where you know you’ll get good connection at the time of the interview.
A few Do’s to remember
- Make sure you’re dressed appropriately for an interview, if you happen to be at home it doesn’t mean you can show up in your pyjamas.
- Clear your desk top from any distractions Do Not start reading your Twitter messages half way through the interview.
- Tell your family that you’re on an interview, you do not want sisters,brothers, Mums, Dads, partners or dogs walking in and disturbing the interview.
- If your chair swivels put it on lock as you swivelling in your chair constantly can be very distracting for the interviewer.
- Remove gum from your mouth.
- And never answer your phone whilst being on an interview, you wouldn’t do it normally face to face so don’t do it virtually either!
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Julie Bishop Jobhop.co.uk
Picture Credit Josephine Dorado
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