So how do you do that? Here are 3 technical tips from Bailo: 1. Since “any little thing that’s irritating could cost you the job,” he adds, “it’s essential to take the time to shift gears from working from home to interviewing from home.” Before the coronavirus crisis, “about one in five video interviews we conducted had some element that was annoying or distracting,” says Marc Gasperino, managing director of the digital practice at headhunters ON Partners. Even so, recruiters report that, with everyone now so much more relaxed on camera than before, most video interviewers are seeing a sharp increase in missteps. Another sat with “an open closet with a big mess of clothes and shoes spilling out of it in the background,” Bailo recalls.Īdmittedly, those are extreme examples. “These days, lots of people just aren’t bothering to put their best foot forward.” In his research, Bailo encountered one interviewee who wore a boa constrictor around his neck. His data shows that “about 85% of a successful video interview comes down to how you look, and how you set up your surroundings,” he says. “People are getting very sloppy,” observes Paul Bailo, PhD, a digital strategy expert who teaches management and innovation at Columbia University and wrote a new book called The Essential Digital Interview Handbook.

One big exception: Video job interviews, where professionalism and attention to detail are table stakes.

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