What's the hardest thing you've had to do remotely?

[petra]

What was the most difficult task you've accomplished via Zoom, Skype, or a similar platfom?

Comments

[petra]

I have a Zoom job interview tomorrow that sounds like no fun whatsoever, so I am looking for other people's tales of fortitude.

[desireearmfeldt]

Not about zoom but about job hunting: I forced myself to send out two job apps last night, even if they were kind of half-(hearted)(assed).

Good luck on the interview! Knock 'em dead!

[petra]

Good luck with the job applications, and thank you!

[via_ostiense]

I've interviewed people over Zoom, so let me know if you want any tips.

[petra]

I would be grateful for some tips!

[via_ostiense]

Hey, sorry I didn't see this earlier, but I hope your interview goes/went well! The things I've noticed are:

* making eye contact / fostering connection - look at your web camera so that it looks like you're making eye contact with the interviewer. It's fine if you look away while you're thinking about your response to a question, but look back at the web camera before you start talking. With Zoom, you can move the window around on your screen, so ideally, move the window as close to your web camera pickup as possible, so you can look at the web cam and the interviewer at the same time.

* it takes more energy/animation/volume to connect across videoconferencing than in person, so bring a titch more expressiveness and project more than you normally would. It's easy for the other person to turn down the volume if you're too loud; if you're too soft, it's hard to turn up the volume enough to compensate.

* if you ever get comments that you talk quickly, make a deliberate effort to slow down. Most people talk too quickly during interviews (due to nervousness), and in videoconferencing, the audio can come across choppy if you're talking quickly. Slowing down also makes it less of an issue if the videoconference freezes.

* background & lighting: Avoid backlighting, because it makes it hard to see you. If you can be front-lit, that's good. Have as plain a background as possible (blank wall for preference). Wear simple clothing (no busy prints) that contrasts with your background. E.g. if you have a white wall, wear a colored jacket/shirt; a light-colored outfit will blend into the wall.

* camera angle/frame: the ideal picture is if it looks like you're sitting across a table from the viewer. This means you should be visible from waist or mid-chest up, all the way to the top of your head. There should be a little empty space in the frame between your head and the top of the Zoom window, but not a lot. This makes the interview look closer to what it would be like in person, and also prevents distracting framing (e.g. when all you can see is the person's head, and it's (a) gigantic and fills up the entire screen; or (b) tiny and floating at the bottom of the window). Angle the camera so it's as straight-on as possible, and not looking up your nose.

[petra]

Thank you, I took your advice into account. May I link to this comment from my journal so other people dealing with interviews can find it more readily?

[via_ostiense]

Of course! I hope the interview went well!

[petra]

I hope so too. It's really hard to read the room on a Zoom call. Thanks again!

[caiusmajor]

I've done a lot of Zoom / Skype job interviews and usually if anything they go better than the in-person ones. I hope yours goes well too!

[petra]

Thanks!

[caiusmajor]

Proctoring exams, definitely.

[petra]

I can't think how that's done effectively remotely, without going tiny boxes panopticon. Ugh.

[caiusmajor]

It is both uncomfortably intrusive and not very effective. I do not recommend.

[petra]

I'll keep that in mind.

[fred_mouse]

Had to change my work password - a thing that used to only be possible when logged in to the intranet, but which could not be done when logged in via VPN. Fortunately, my line manager is a *star* and had the solution days before anyone else thought to publicise it.

Ditto booking leave, actually - needed to be done through a completely different system!

[petra]

I'm glad it worked out!