Prepare Perfectly to Be the Real You on Screen

For jobs in telehealth, your performance in a virtual interview is critical. Perhaps more so than virtual interviews for any other job. Your role in telehealth will be online, monitoring and caring for patients virtually. Therefore, your interviewer will be watching closely to see how you perform during the interview.

Knowing how high the stakes are, you’re bound to be nervous. And that just makes you more anxious. If you monitored your own vital signs during a virtual interview for telehealth jobs, you’d probably note the high blood pressure and fast heartbeat.

So, how do you stay calm and present the real you? In a word, preparation. If you prepare well, you’ll interview even better. Here’s a step-by-step guide to be fantastic virtually.

Step #1: Test Your Tech

The last thing you want is for your screen to go blank mid-interview. Or to have problems with your audio settings. As soon as you know what tech the interviewer will be using, make sure that you have the app on your laptop or desktop PC.

With the app downloaded, get used to using it. Chat to a friend over the system. Adjust your video and audio so that you appear central on the screen and can be heard clearly. An extra tip here is that it is worth spending a few extra dollars to buy a high-quality webcam and microphone.

Step #2:  Make Sure Your Room Is Prepared for an Interview

The interviewer wants to see you as your patients will. Remove clutter, photos, and other wall hangings that present a less than professional image. Ensure your lighting is adequate, with lighting from the front (you do not want to be a silhouette on the interviewer’s screen).

Step #3: Prepare Your Questions and Answers

Just as you would for an in-person interview, prepare answers to questions that you are likely to be asked. You’ll need to demonstrate your experience and skillsets, and how they relate to work in telemedicine.

Don’t forget to do your research. Find out about the company you are interviewing with, and prepare some questions to ask the interviewer – questions that show your enthusiasm and desire to work in telehealth and for this employer.

Step #4: Dress Appropriately

You’re a professional, applying for a professional role. Dress as if you are interviewing in person. There’s no mystery here – first impressions do count, even on screen.

Step #5: Remove Distractions

Though you are interviewing from home, there are no excuses for disruptions and distractions:

• Make sure that those living with you know that you are busy and not to be disturbed
• If you have children, ensure that they are being cared for while you are busy
• Turn your phone off
• Ignore the door!

Step #6: Answer Each Question Purposefully

As a healthcare professional your job is to make decisions based on all the facts available. When you care for patients in-person, you have the benefit of physicality. Body language can tell you a lot about a person’s condition.

With virtual consultations, you are at a disadvantage. There is no body language to measure. Demonstrate to the interviewer that you are willing to take your time, and drill down to the details before committing yourself. Make certain that you understand the question asked before giving your answer. Just as there are no prizes for rushed and wrong diagnoses, there are no prizes for rushed and wrong interview answers.

Step #7: Follow Up

At the end of the interview, thank the interviewer for their time. Then, within 24 hours, send an email thanking them once more and to ask any questions that you may want answered or to rectify an answer you wish you had given differently. Whatever you do, keep the message short and to the point.

And finally…

These seven steps above should ensure that you can be who the interviewer really wants to see: yourself.

Be authentic and engaging. The preparation that you have done should have given you the confidence to be relaxed (not overly relaxed, though) and let your personality shine through. Smile. Be friendly. Show that you listen and that you can develop a connection with the person on the screen. And ace the virtual interview.

To join the tens of thousands who have already made the transition to a new job in telehealth successfully, start by reviewing the job vacancies in the telehealth sector.