5 ms·

Here’s my anecdote: I have been interviewing before the pandemic for what seemed like 5 years. Rejection after rejection, I really didn’t know how I could impro

Here’s my anecdote: I have been interviewing before the pandemic for what seemed like 5 years. Rejection after rejection, I really didn’t know how I could improve- my nerves would always take over and sabotage my ability to answer even the most basic of questions. During my latest bout of interviews, I noticed I was getting a huge % converted to final rounds, and landed 3 offers. I ultimately attributed my better than normal performance in interviews to 2 things: 1. I had to gain the biggest advantage possible among other candidates, so I set up studio lights + dslr as a webcam. 2. I’ve always treated it as a rule to look the interviewer in the eye. So, I didn’t look at my screen during the interviews, but rather directly at my camera lens. I absolutely HATE looking people in the eye when speaking and I think removing this pressure to do so helped immensely.

pbhjpbhj 5y ago
>2. I’ve always treated it as a rule to look the interviewer in the eye.// Eye-contact is extremely nuanced. The difference between 'gives and maintains eye-contact', which is usually a sub-conscious positive in conversations, and 'is freaking me out with the staring' is tiny in person. Over webcam it's quite different, you can stare down the camera but you're not looking anyone in the eye. This leads me to wonder if those with ASD have more success in interviews if the interviewer is appraised of their ASD ahead of time, or if they keep it private (I'd assume the former). Also, eye-tracking comparisons between in-person and video chat might be interesting.
- ghaff 5y ago
  I've been shooting a fair bit of video on the computer for various purposes since the pandemic. My first couple of takes were total trash. My eyes were all over the place. (I'd worked on this a bit previously with other video but the computer screen and any notes in particular really draw your eyes away from the webcam.) So I've basically trailed myself to focus on my external webcam with maybe a glance down now and then to notes located at the top of the screen.

pbhjpbhj 5y ago

>2. I’ve always treated it as a rule to look the interviewer in the eye.// Eye-contact is extremely nuanced. The difference between 'gives and maintains eye-contact', which is usually a sub-conscious positive in conversations, and 'is freaking me out with the staring' is tiny in person. Over webcam it's quite different, you can stare down the camera but you're not looking anyone in the eye. This leads me to wonder if those with ASD have more success in interviews if the interviewer is appraised of their ASD ahead of time, or if they keep it private (I'd assume the former). Also, eye-tracking comparisons between in-person and video chat might be interesting.

ghaff 5y ago
I've been shooting a fair bit of video on the computer for various purposes since the pandemic. My first couple of takes were total trash. My eyes were all over the place. (I'd worked on this a bit previously with other video but the computer screen and any notes in particular really draw your eyes away from the webcam.) So I've basically trailed myself to focus on my external webcam with maybe a glance down now and then to notes located at the top of the screen.