Don’t worry. You don’t need to be a broadcaster.
We’re interested in you, your story and what you’re doing. We’ll handle the interview.
A few simple things will help you sound and look your best.
1. First: Do You Have Zoom?
We normally conduct remote interviews using Zoom.
If you’ve never used Zoom before, that’s fine.
Download Zoom Workplace here:
Install the app on your computer, tablet or phone before the day of your interview. A computer or laptop is preferable when available because it’s easier to position and gives you more control over your microphone and camera.
You do not need to create your own meeting. We’ll send you a link. When it’s time, you simply click the link and follow the instructions to join.
Never used Zoom before?
Try it before interview day:
Test Zoom on your computer or device
The test lets you make sure your camera, microphone and headphones are working before you meet us. Zoom also lets you test the speaker and microphone as you enter a meeting.
2. Please Wear Headphones
This is the most important instruction on this page.
Please use headphones or earbuds during the interview.
Wired headphones or wired earbuds are our first choice. If yours have a built-in microphone, that’s often perfectly adequate.
Wireless earbuds or headphones can work if that’s what you have.
Please don’t listen to us through your computer speakers. Our voices can come out of your speakers and back into your microphone, creating echo and making the recording much harder to use.
3. Your Microphone
If you already own a good USB microphone, podcast microphone or headset, use it.
You do not need to buy a microphone for your interview.
In order of preference, we’d generally choose:
Good external microphone → wired headset/earbud microphone → device’s built-in microphone
More important than owning an expensive microphone is being somewhere quiet and keeping the microphone reasonably close to you.
For a normal spoken interview, leave Zoom’s regular noise-removal mode on. Zoom says its standard processing is intended for most speaking situations. If you’re going to sing or play an instrument, tell us beforehand because Zoom has an Original Sound for Musicians mode and we’ll want to set things up differently.
4. Choose Your Location Carefully
Before interview day, look around your home or workspace and ask:
Where will I be least likely to be interrupted?
Choose a room away from televisions, music, traffic, appliances, fans and other people having conversations.
Close the door if you can.
Let other people in the house know that you’re being interviewed.
Put your phone on silent unless you’re actually using it for the interview.
And listen to the room for a moment. A room with curtains, rugs, upholstered furniture, books and other soft surfaces will usually sound better than an empty room full of hard surfaces.
We’re much more concerned about a quiet room than an impressive-looking room.
5. Look Behind You
Before you join us, turn on your camera and look at the whole picture, not just your face.
What’s behind you?
You don’t need to create a television set. A plain wall can be perfectly good.
Or choose a simple, natural background that tells us something about you: a bookshelf, artwork, an instrument, part of your studio or workspace, for example.
Remove things that are distracting. Watch for clutter, open doors, people walking behind you, bright television screens and anything particularly personal that you don’t want appearing in the interview.
Please don’t blur the background unless you need to.
A real, uncluttered background generally feels warmer and more natural for an Airstreaming conversation.
Zoom’s Blur feature is there primarily to obscure the surroundings when privacy or distracting details are an issue. If that’s your situation, by all means use it. Otherwise, we’d rather see the real space you’re comfortable showing us.
We’d also prefer that you not use a virtual background, avatar or novelty video filter for an ordinary interview.
We want to see you.
6. Find the Light
You don’t need special lights.
A window can be one of the best lights you own.
Try sitting facing a window, or with the window slightly to one side of you.
Don’t sit with a bright window directly behind you. Your camera may make the window look wonderful and leave you looking like a silhouette.
At night, put a lamp in front of you or slightly to one side rather than relying entirely on a ceiling light.
7. Put the Camera at Eye Level
Try not to have us looking up your nose from a laptop sitting on your lap. 🙂
Put the computer on a desk or table.
If the camera is too low, put the laptop on a couple of sturdy books or a box so that the camera is approximately at eye level.
Sit far enough away that we can comfortably see your head and shoulders rather than filling the entire picture with your face.
And once you’ve got it positioned, leave the device there. Don’t hold the phone or tablet throughout the interview if you can avoid it.
8. What Should I Wear?
Mostly:
Wear something that looks like you.
You don’t need to dress formally unless that’s how you normally present yourself.
Solid colours tend to work well on camera. Very small checks, tight stripes and intricate repeating patterns can sometimes be distracting.
Think about the background too. A black shirt against a black background or a white shirt against a white wall can make you disappear into it.
If you’re an artist, musician or creator and your clothing is part of how you present yourself, that’s part of the story too.
9. Ten Minutes Before the Interview
Please be ready a little early.
Make sure:
- your device is plugged in or well charged;
- your headphones are connected;
- your microphone and camera are working;
- unnecessary programmes and browser windows are closed;
- your Internet connection is working;
- your room is quiet;
- your phone and other notifications are silenced;
- your camera is positioned;
- and you’ve got a glass of water nearby.
Then click the Zoom link we sent you.
We’ll meet you there and check the sound before the actual interview begins.
And Then Forget All of This
Once we’ve checked everything, stop thinking about microphones, cameras and Zoom.
That’s our job.
This isn’t a job interview. You don’t have to memorize anything, and we’re not looking for polished speeches.
Listen to the question. Tell us what happened. Tell us what you care about.
If you say something interesting, don’t be surprised if we forget the next prepared question and ask you about that instead.
That’s usually where the best conversations begin.
If You Remember Only Five Things…
1. Wear headphones.
2. Find the quietest room you can.
3. Put light in front of you, not behind you.
4. Look at what’s behind you before we go on air.
5. Be yourself. We’ll take care of the interview.