Learn how to ace your Zoom interview with expert tips on what to wear, grooming, and creating the perfect environment for a professional virtual interview.
Introduction: Preparing for Your Virtual Interview
I hope this can be helpful to you all in this article. We’re going to talk about virtual interviews and what you should wear for your next Zoom interview.
What is Zoom?
Last year, the pandemic flipped work life upside down and changed everything, from how people commute into the office, how they communicate with different teams, how they conduct work in general, to even how people interview for jobs. Pre-pandemic, interviews were all about inviting candidates into the office to meet them in person and to introduce them to other members of the team. While there were virtual interviews, they were really only used for prospective candidates who lived in a different time zone or those who had a legitimate reason why they couldn’t travel to the office.
Now it’s a completely different ball game. With people working remotely and with legitimate concerns about social distancing, travel quarantine, and lockdowns, companies had no choice but to shift and adapt their hiring and interviewing process to fully embrace virtual interviews. One year later, it seems like most employers and employees have made the change without too much of a problem.
Virtual Interviews: The New Normal
Before we talk about what you should wear for a virtual interview, I just want to clarify what I mean when I say virtual interview. I’m referring to an interview that is typically conducted through a video conferencing platform. While there are many companies to choose from, like Skype, Microsoft Teams, and GoToMeeting, the most common by far is Zoom. Founded in 2011, the company particularly did really well, and in 2021, when the pandemic was at its peak, its revenue soared 369 percent to 882.5 million, up from 188.3 million a year ago, and ended with an adjusted profit of nearly one billion dollars for that year.
Zoom Features and Access
If the company you’re interviewing at uses Zoom for a virtual interview, as a candidate, you can expect to typically receive a link or access information with directions on how you would access the virtual call with the interviewer. Other features that Zoom allows in the calls are text-based chats, screen sharing, and even video recording.
Overcoming Virtual Interview Anxiety
If this is your first virtual interview, don’t fret or worry. While it may be a bit weird in the beginning and a little difficult to have small chat and even rely on your in-person presence and over personality to help with your first impression, I would recommend you relax, take a deep breath, and treat this like you would any other interview you’ve done in the past. While most of us are enjoying working from home and making the most of casual and loungewear, and think you can get away with wearing sweats or shorts on a virtual interview, I would recommend you make an effort. First impressions are important here, as you only have a small amount of time to make a good first impression, and you really don’t want your outfit to sabotage yourself.
The Importance of Professional Attire
Not only that, but studies also show that wearing full professional attire can impact you on a personal level and help you feel more confident. So, make sure you put on those pants. It might not make the most sense to wear a full suit, depending on the industry, but the main point is to put on a great outfit that would help you come off as professional, polished, and confident, and complement your great work experience, skills, and personality. After all, it is well known that our lasting first impression is created in little under 30 seconds, so you might as well put your best foot forward.
Adapting Interview Attire to the Virtual Setting
Okay, so while I did say earlier to treat this like any other interview you did before, I also admit that while most of the rules on how you should dress for an in-person interview would still apply here, things are different, most notably in how you communicate with your interviewer and how you would be visually judged by only what the interviewer sees. So without further ado, here are some of my recommendations on what to wear for a Zoom or virtual interview.
Research the Company’s Dress Code
Before we continue, I do want to state that since all of my background is mainly in the technology industry, some of the advice may not be relevant to your specific industry. So if that’s the case, please treat my recommendations as more of a general rule of thumb rather than a strict rule. Getting familiar with the company dress code will definitely help you prepare for the interview. Just like it’ll be weird and inappropriate to wear a casual outfit at a bank interview, it’d also be equally weird to wear a full suit to a tech startup interview.
Gathering Insights on Company Culture
Dig around their website, social media, news articles, and blogs to get additional insight about the company. If you know the industry, also check out regular meetups, events, and online forums where you can read up on what others have done. If all else fails, you can always reach out to the company’s recruiter and ask. If you have a video interview confirmed, that means the company is already interested in chatting with you, so if you search far and wide and have no idea what to wear, I’m sure they won’t mind you asking. If anything, they’ll see you as caring enough and being detail-oriented.
Opting for Neutral and Conservative Outfits
Always play it safe and opt for neutral and more conservative outfits. Even if the company has a 100% casual dress code, I would opt for business casual just to be safe. My rule of thumb is, whatever the dress code is, go one or two notches more conservative just to play it safe, as the last thing you want to do is to come off over- or under-dressed. For most tech companies, a nice button-down or polo shirt paired with a nice pair of slacks or khakis is great. Ditch the sneakers and flip-flops at home and choose a nice pair of dress shoes or casual dress shoes, like loafers. If it’s cold or if you want to spice it up, feel free to put on a nice sweater or a blazer on top. Anything else beyond that, you’d be risking overdoing it, so tread carefully.
Dressing Based on Seniority
I do want to note that how you dress can also change based on the seniority of your position. If you are a senior manager, director, or VP, wearing a sharp sweater or a blazer could be appropriate. If you’re applying for an entry-level or mid-level position at a tech company, a nice-fitting blazer could work well if you want, but it’s not 100% necessary if you have a clean top and a nice pair of slacks.
Dressing from Head to Toe
Dress head to toe. I know, I know—it’s super tempting to just dress your top half and leave the bottom half in plush and soft athletic or loungewear, or downright sweats. But I must urge you to make the effort and dress up the whole body. Studies do show that your outfit will influence your mood, productivity, confidence, posture, and even abstract thinking. It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not, but if interviewing and getting a new job is hard enough on its own, and if this could help, why wouldn’t you do it?
The Psychological Impact of Dressing Well
An interview is a serious experience, so another way to look at it is to add dressing up as part of the experience. Of course, don’t go overboard and put on a top hat, monocle, and cape, but going with the motion will help you get in the right mindset. An interview is usually only an hour or a couple of hours max, so suck it up, dress up, and get in the zone.
Avoiding Bright Patterns and Dark Colors
Avoid bright patterns and dark colors. What you wear should look presentable and clean and not make a statement in the wrong way. Avoid super bright colors or busy patterns as that could just end up distracting the interviewer. As webcams or computer cameras are not the best, try to avoid white, bright, and neon red or orange to minimize exposure or color bleeding issues. And if the pattern on your shirt is too intense or bold, the video can possibly distort it even more. So, make sure you tone it down. If you’re opting for a pattern, go for a subtle one.
Choosing the Right Colors
The same thing also goes for super dark clothing, like black, for instance, because the appearance of creases or folds on black clothing is hard for the camera to pick up. Your shirt, sweater, or top might just look like a shapeless mask. Stick with muted and neutral colors with minimal patterns. Gray, brown, blue, and any other neutral tone can work just fine.
Keeping Accessories Minimal
Easy on the accessories: While I’m all about embracing your personal style, make sure you just don’t overdo it with your accessories as well. Keep your rings, bracelets, and necklaces minimal or hidden, as they could be pretty distracting and loud as they can jingle against each other. As unfair as it is to say this, if you have any visible piercings or tattoos, no matter how great they are, I would still recommend you cover them, if possible, as I would hate for you to be judged negatively based on them.
Avoiding Overdressing
Pocket squares and scarves may be fine for other industries, but for tech, you’d be coming off as a bit too formal and overdressing. Finally, do not wear any hats or outerwear jackets on, and leave the headphones and any other electronic accessories off.
The Importance of Grooming
As a last point, I want to share a couple more points that could help you ace your virtual interview. Most of them are obvious, but I would rather go over some of them again to really make sure you don’t leave any stones unturned. While the outfit is important, make sure you are on top of
your grooming as well. You don’t need a fresh haircut, but make sure your face is neat, your facial hair is trimmed or shaved, and there’s no food or stain on your face.
Preparing the Environment
Clean up your background. What I mean by that is, while your outfit is important, so is your background, so please make sure it’s tidy and looks presentable and there aren’t any piles of dirty laundry on your bed, food wrappers, or family members roaming in the background. If you’re having a hard time finding the right location, I would suggest using a blank wall as your background and possibly a chair, bed, or shelf if you want to add some depth.
Minimizing Distractions
Limit distractions. If your place tends to be noisy, use headphones or noise-canceling earbuds to minimize any unnecessary sounds. Let your family members know that you will be interviewing so they can keep the volume down or move out of earshot. If you have any pets, make sure they are well-fed and out of the room so they won’t make too much noise. If you’re interviewing with an animal-centric company, I’m sure a cute pet appearance could get a chuckle, but it could also distract from the conversation.
Conclusion: Embrace the Opportunity
I know that these are some common-sense tips, but you’d be surprised to know how many people fail on these points. At the end of the day, an interview is a serious experience, but make sure you also enjoy yourself as it’s a great opportunity for you to share your experiences, skills, and personality and to learn about your future employer and to make sure this company is the right fit for you.
