If you’re a college student whose starting to thinking about employment options, you need to be aware that this digital age has brought about changes to the hiring process.

Specifically, more and more companies are opting to use video interviews to candidates, so it makes sense for you not only to know what this entails, but also to know how to prepare so that you make a good first impression and increase your odds of getting a job offer.

A survey of 500 human resources managers shows that many of them use employee monitoring software for interviews very often. So that you’re prepared for the evolution of the job search process, this article will focus on what you need to know to get ahead in the digital age.

Reputation Matters

One thing to keep in mind is that you won’t even make it to the video interview stage if your online persona turns off HR managers and recruiters. Want proof? Consider the following:

• 75% of recruiters say they will conduct online research on applicants; and 
• 70% of recruiters have rejected candidates based on what they discovered.

How do you remedy this? It’s simple, really. First, clean up your social media accounts so that there’s nothing there to make you look bad. Second, ensure that you differentiate between public and personal social media accounts. Keep your personal accounts private by restricting who has access to them, and ensure that your professional ones are indeed professional. For this, you can create a LinkedIn account to highlight your education, work experience, scholarships, and awards.

Rehearse

Before you actually rehearse the video interview, you need to conduct some research to find out what sort of questions interviewees typically ask job candidates — so that you can come up with the answers. As well, you should read up on issues impacting the companies you’re interviewing with in order to demonstrate that you really do know your stuff.

Next, you should conduct a practice interview with a friend. While doing so, be sure to pay attention to things like grammar, confidence, and word section since those three things make up 45% of what determines someone’s first impression of another person.

Don’t forget to check your technology, namely your Internet connection, video quality, and audio quality. If any of these things fail during the video interview, you won’t make a good impression.

Interview

During the interview, remember that appearances matter. So keep your hair neat and ensure that it doesn’t hide your face, maintain good posture, make eye contact with the interviewer, keep notes close by but not where the interviewer can see them, and be sure to exude confidence.

Yes, your next interview may very well be a video interview. As a result, it makes sense to know what to expect so that you can perform to impress your would-be employer.