A colleague once told me she'd rehearsed answers for a full week, then completely lost her footing the moment her interview began — not because of a hard question, but because her camera angle made her look like she was staring up at the ceiling. Nobody had mentioned that on a video call, how you're seen matters almost as much as what you say. That's the strange thing about interviewing on screen: the questions haven't changed, but nearly everything around them has.

The format changes more than people expect

It's easy to assume a video interview is just an in-person one moved onto a laptop. That assumption trips up more candidates than a genuinely hard question ever does. Face to face, a firm handshake and relaxed posture do a lot of quiet work in building rapport. On a screen, none of that exists — the interviewer's whole impression comes from a small video window and whatever audio survives your connection.

Recruitment specialists at Michael Page have pointed out that even clothing behaves differently on camera. Stripes or busy patterns that look fine in person can shimmer oddly on video, and very bright colours can throw off a webcam's automatic lighting.

Setting up the physical side

Camera height matters more than people realise. Prop your device rather than holding it — a phone in selfie mode, or a laptop balanced on a lap, tends to angle upward, which reads as slightly awkward for anyone watching for half an hour. Aim the lens roughly at eye level.

Face your light source, don't sit with your back to it. A window behind you turns you into a silhouette. A plain, tidy background usually works better than a blurred filter, which can glitch if your connection dips at the wrong moment.

Run an actual test call, not just a power check. Ring a friend on the exact platform you'll be interviewed on and listen for lag between video and audio, background noise, and whether the meeting link works cleanly from your device. Ten minutes here prevents most last-minute technical panic.

The habits a screen doesn't teach you

Video calls carry a small lag even on a strong connection, which is why interviewers and candidates often talk over each other — a pause that feels natural face to face can feel like an opening on a call. Leaving a slightly longer gap before answering solves most of this.

Eye contact is trickier too. It's instinctive to watch the interviewer's face in the video window rather than the lens itself, but on their end that reads as looking slightly away. Glancing at the camera now and then, especially while making an important point, does far more for rapport than staring at the screen.

Keep a short set of notes within eyeglance range — your CV, the job description, two or three prepared examples. Nobody can see your desk on a call, but reading answers word for word is usually obvious anyway, so treat notes as a prompt, not a script.

Substance still comes first

None of the setup advice matters much if the content is thin. Before worrying about lighting, spend real time matching two or three genuine achievements to what the actual role needs, rather than generic strengths. Prepare specific answers rather than rehearsed-sounding ones — on video, there's nowhere to hide behind body language, so vague answers stand out quickly. And have two or three real questions ready about the role or team; it signals genuine interest rather than a scripted checklist.

A short list worth keeping handy

  • Camera at eye level, head and shoulders in frame
  • Light facing you, not behind you
  • A real test call on the actual platform, not just a power-on check
  • Notes within eyeglance range, not on screen
  • Phone silenced, notifications off
  • Water nearby for dry mouth under pressure

Virtual interviews aren't a lesser version of the in-person kind anymore — for most industries, they're simply the first stage, sometimes the only one, before an offer. Taking the format seriously, rather than treating it as casual because it happens from home, tends to be what separates candidates who come across as prepared from those who just show up.

If you're actively job hunting, Base Camp connects candidates with growing companies across Asia — worth a look if you're preparing for your next round.