Interviewing

by Ron Sheinson, April 1, 2020 More people are communicating via video imaging. As a nerdy photographer, I offer these comments on using a camera for displaying a speaker / head-plus shot. This was written after recently viewing many internet presentations, from many different sources. 1. Have the lens at face height or slightly above. Many times, the lens is significantly lower (especially when placing a smart phone or laptop close by on a desk.). The face perspective is then not so good, including a view up the presenter’s nostrils. This can best be handled by placing the phone or laptop on blocks or books; laptop screen NOT tilted upward. 2. Do not have the camera very close to the speaker. This distorts the face’s appearance. If you are using a video camera, place it further away and fill the screen by using a longer focal setting on zoom lenses. Do the same for zooming in on smart phones if you have the capability. Be aware, the closer you are to the camera, the more your motion towards and away from the camera is magnified. Minimize rocking back-and-forth as it can be disconcerting. Such motion to/from the mike also causes your voice sound level to vary. A lapel or headset mike is better, but not necessary. 3. Stability. Do have your device securely positioned. Do not use a hand-held phone or video-capable camera. Do use a tripod or accessories that allow for stable placement. 4. Background. –Do not have a distracting background. The person’s image should be what the eye is drawn to. –Do not have a background that is brighter than the person; darker is less distracting. –If you are using a busy background, move further from it. Depending on the type of camera / lens, you can have the person in focus with the background blurred. This provides separation and diminishes the attention drawn to the background. You may also be able to select a digital file photograph to be inserted as your background depending on the video program being used. Useful as your busy or messy background will not be seen. 5. Lighting. Do have light on your face, preferably from behind the camera. Fairly even (flat) lighting from larger diffuse sources is best and helps minimize wrinkles. Do not overexpose your face and do not use side lighting that overexposes one side of your face or background. “burned out” areas lose detail. For specific occasions when you want high contrast or dramatic appearances, one might want to experiment with uneven lighting. 6. Auto-exposure. Except for high-end (expensive) video cameras and video-capable still cameras under manual control, the automatic exposure system assumes the entire field of view is best imaged as intensity equals gray on average. If there are bright areas, the system will turn down sensitivity (equivalent to ‘volume’ control), resulting in your face being too dark, in extreme going to a silhouette. Watch out for bright light in the camera field of view or uneven from the side. These are general considerations, not hard rules. Specific circumstances can have different optimums, depending on what you want to emphasize. Details matter, but are not as important as content. Do not abstain from “Zooming” or creating videos. Experiment. Additional hint for head-shot photographs Stretch (sticking) your head out (forward) looks weird from the side, but from the front it helps minimize double chins. Please address comments and questions to Ron Sheinson, owner, A Sheinson Image–Simcha Photography, Silver Spring, Maryland, at ronald.sheinson@alum.mit.edu

WRITTEN BY DAVID MARWICK FOR KEMPMILLJOBASSIST ON 30 MARCH If you were laid off — that is, lost your job through no fault of your own — unfortunately you have lots of company. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 1.6 million people are laid off nationwide in a typical month — that’s more than 70,000 each business day. You may have lost your job because your company downsized to cut costs, moved jobs to Tennessee (or Mexico), or merged with another company. There are multiple possibilities. In theory, your layoff should not reflect negatively on you, and it should not hamper your ability to find another job. (If you lost your job because of unsatisfactory performance, misconduct, or interpersonal differences with your employer, that’s a different story and much harder to navigate.) In practice, however, the fact that you were laid off may raise questions in the mind of a prospective employer. In terms of interviewing for future jobs, it is critical that you know why you were laid off and the scope of the layoffs. In essence, you want to demonstrate that the layoff was not about you, but rather that you (through no fault of your own) were caught up in broader trends. The more you know about the circumstances of your layoff, the stronger the case you can make to a prospective employer. Know how many people were laid off at the same time. The more people, the better for you. The fewer people, the more a prospective employer may wonder whether the layoff was a disguised firing. Try to obtain relevant documentation, such as a company press release or newspaper article, that describes the extent of and reasons for the layoff. Know how your employer selected which people to lay off. Was a whole division or other unit disbanded because of a corporate restructuring? Was the layoff due to a lack of orders? Were the layoffs based on seniority and you were a newcomer? In a 2015 article for the Washington Post, Rita Trehan — a former senior executive and Chief Human Resources Officer with more than three decades of progressive career experience — suggests some steps you can take in an interview to minimize the fallout of being laid off: Address the issue upfront. Deal with the layoff early in the interview. It’s better to address it upfront. Focus on the positive. Explain briefly why you’re in the market for a new position without lingering on the details. Describe what you achieved in your prior role and how those capabilities relate to the job at hand. Never badmouth your former employer. Even if you harbor resentment about how the layoff was handled, resist the urge to speak negatively about your former boss or the company. You want to be seen as a positive person and a team player. *   *   * For Further Reading: “5 Ways Microsoft Employees (and You) Can Prep for Layoffs” by Caroline Ceniza-Levine (SixFigureStart.com, July 14, 2014). “How to Explain Your Layoff During an Interview” by Rita Trehan (Washington Post, Sept. 10, 2015).

WRITTEN BY DAVID MARWICK FOR KEMPMILLJOBASSIST ON 16 AUGUST 2018. Consider this common scenario: A recruiter reaches out to you about a great job. You agree you are well qualified, and you like the location, salary, and company. You submit your resume, but then hear nothing. Or you get the interview, but then hear nothing. Or you are a semifinalist, but then hear nothing. Now you’re baffled and frustrated — not only did you not get the interview or job, but you don’t know why. You contact the recruiter but get no reply. You wonder why the recruiter is so rude. All you want is a few minutes of her time to help you understand why you didn’t get further in the process and how you can be more competitive next time. Lack of feedback throughout the hiring process — the “ghosting” of the job-hunt world — has long frustrated job seekers and, recently, recruiters. (It is an issue for human resources specialists and hiring managers as well.) Remember that a recruiter normally works for the prospective employer, not for you, and usually has little or no incentive to provide feedback, much less candid feedback. Here are three possible explanations why you didn’t hear from the recruiter: No time: If you applied for a job, others did, too — perhaps another 20, 200, or even more. For a few, their resume was good enough to earn them an interview; for a very few, their interview was good enough to land them on the final list; but only one of them was offered the job. Why would a recruiter want to spend even a few minutes explaining to each of 20, 200, or more unsuccessful applicants why they didn’t get an interview, a spot on the final list, or the job? A recruiter is typically paid to whittle down a large pile of applications to a manageable number for the hiring unit to interview and make a final selection. Once she completes her work on one opening, her priority is the next opening. She is not paid to speak with unsuccessful applicants, and every minute spent with them is a minute not spent on the next opening. Lack of information: Perhaps the recruiter did not make the final decision and, therefore, cannot discuss it in-depth. Moreover, recruiting professionals caution against taking at face value any explanation offered by a recruiter; it may not be the whole truth. The risk of being sued: You didn’t get to the next step in the process because you were not as appealing as another candidate. Perhaps the other person went to a better school; had better grades, more relevant experience, or stronger references; or seemed to be a better “fit” with the company’s culture. Many things that a recruiter might tell you about why you didn’t get the job might appear to you to be based on age discrimination or some other prohibited practice, and therefore may seem potentially actionable. Why would a recruiter want to expose herself to that risk? On the other hand, there is one reason to provide feedback. If you are an excellent candidate, but not the best candidate for this job, the recruiter may want to stay in your good graces and may therefore be willing to provide feedback. Ironically, in the current hot labor market, the shoe is increasingly on the other foot, as recruiters have trouble connecting with job seekers. There are stories of excellent candidates who “ghosted” recruiters by not answering phone calls, texts, and emails. Presumably, they “disappeared” because they found an even better job or were otherwise no longer interested.

WRITTEN BY DAVID MARWICK  FOR KEMPMILLJOBASSIST ON 22 JUNE 2017. In the previous issue, we discussed phone interviews, and today we move on to Skype interviews. Skype interviews are increasingly used to vet candidates. Crystal Chen says that her company, Coursera, “uses Skype for a good 90 percent of our first-round interviews.” Perhaps this is an extreme example, but it is likely a herald of things to come. To convey the complexities, Chen says that a Skype interview is “like being on TV, except you’re filming, directing, and acting in this role.” The basic rules about preparing for an interview are the same whether it is conducted in person, by phone, or by Skype, but following the medium-specific tips below can make your Skype interview more successful. Setting Make sure that you will not be disturbed during the interview — by people or pets barging into your room, or by noise from another room. Have a neutral background that will not compete with your attire. Soft but adequate lighting is also important. Harsh lighting can make you look washed out. Equipment Have the right equipment. Chen suggests: “Don’t rely on the built-in microphone unless you want to sound like you’re in a bat cave. Get a dedicated microphone and test it out.” Michaela Gianotti adds that using a headset will help your audience “hear you more clearly and with less distracting background noises.” Similarly, make sure you have a solid internet connection, because a dropped call distracts from the interview and may reflect poorly on you. Lisa Rangel of Chameleon Resumes suggests: “Test yourself by filming yourself answering some sample questions.” It’s good to have a backup plan in case your internet connection fails you. Options include a landline, cellphone, or Google chat. Rescheduling the interview is a last resort. Attire “Avoid standing out,” advises “Ace Your Interview” author Lisa B. Marshall. “You want them to remember what you said, not what you wore.” As Rangel notes, “Prints and patterns can overpower the screen and make it hard for the interviewer to watch you.” She also suggests: “Full dress for the call.” That means dressing head to toe, not just head to waist. Wearing your comfy Hawaiian shorts with your collared shirt and suit jacket is fine — unless you need to stand up for any reason. Marshall provides extensive suggestions, especially for women, on colors, makeup, and jewelry. Body Language You want to keep your eyes on the camera, not on the view from your screen. Chen quotes a tip from Paul Bailo, author of “The Essential Digital Interview Handbook,” for helping you appear to be looking right at the interviewer: Download a photo of the hiring manager, print it, and make a hole in the photo to allow the camera lens to see through. “Now you can look at the photo, which makes it more human to conduct your digital interviews,” says Bailo. Moreover, make sure your body language expresses that you’re engaged. “As you’re communicating, lean forward,” suggests Bailo. “This will show interest and concern and will engage your audience. It will also convey eagerness and willingness to listen.” Just be careful not to overdo it. “Even more so than in an in-person interview, avoid excessive physical movements.” “Put on your best newscaster face,” says Rangel. “You have to be a little more animated and expressive than you would in person to convey your enthusiasm.” Additional Tips You should have all backup materials (job description, cover letter, resume, etc.) readily accessible on your computer, so that you don’t need to riffle through a stack of papers to find something. Also, turn off all notifications, so that you won’t be disturbed during your interview. Bottom line: Check out everything ahead of time: the background and lighting, the microphone and computer connection, your attire, and your “look” on camera.