My most embarrassing interview moment happened on Zoom. I'd spent two hours preparing my answers and zero minutes checking my setup. The interviewer spent the first five minutes trying to hear me through my laptop's terrible microphone while I sat in front of a window, completely backlit. I looked like a witness protection silhouette. Let's make sure that doesn't happen to you.

Your Camera Setup Is More Important Than You Think

Here's something most people don't realize: in a video interview, your visual presentation carries as much weight as what you say. Research from the Journal of Applied Psychology found that interviewers form impressions within the first 30 seconds of a video call, and those impressions are heavily influenced by lighting, camera angle, and background.

Camera at eye level. This is the single most impactful change you can make. If your laptop is on a desk and you're looking down at it, you appear disengaged and your chin dominates the frame. Stack some books under your laptop or get a cheap laptop stand. Your camera should be roughly at your eye line or slightly above.

Face a window, don't sit in front of one. Natural light from the front is the most flattering light you can get, and it's free. If your desk faces a wall, get a simple ring light or even a desk lamp positioned behind your monitor. The goal is even illumination on your face without harsh shadows.

Background matters but don't overthink it. A clean wall, a bookshelf, or a tidy room is fine. Virtual backgrounds can work but they sometimes glitch — your hand disappears, your hair flickers. If you use one, test it on the specific platform the interview uses. I stick with a real background because I've been burned by virtual background artifacts at the worst possible moments.

Audio Quality Will Make or Break You

Bad video is forgivable. Bad audio is not. If the interviewer can't hear you clearly, they can't evaluate your answers — and they'll get frustrated trying. I've been on the interviewer side of calls where the candidate sounded like they were talking through a tin can, and it's genuinely hard to stay engaged.

You don't need a professional microphone. A pair of wired earbuds (the ones that came with your phone) will sound dramatically better than your laptop's built-in mic. AirPods or similar wireless earbuds work too, but charge them fully beforehand. Nothing kills momentum like your earbuds dying 20 minutes into a final round.

Close your windows if you're on a busy street. Put your phone on silent. If you have roommates or family, let them know your interview time and ask them not to start the blender or vacuum. I once had a candidate whose roommate started playing guitar midway through our conversation. The candidate handled it gracefully, but it was distracting for both of us.

The Tech Check You Must Do (and When)

Do your tech check at least one hour before, not five minutes before. Here's my pre-interview checklist that I've refined after 40+ video interviews:

Test the specific platform. If they're using Microsoft Teams and you've never used it, download it and run a test call the day before. Every platform has quirks — screen sharing works differently, the mute button is in a different place, some platforms need browser permissions you haven't granted. Fumbling with technology in the first two minutes sets a terrible tone.

Check your internet. Run a speed test. If you're on Wi-Fi and it's spotty, connect via ethernet cable if possible. If your internet is unreliable, have a backup plan — like hot-spotting from your phone. I keep my phone charged with mobile data ready as a failsafe for every interview.

Restart your computer. This sounds basic but it closes background apps that hog bandwidth and memory. I once had Dropbox syncing 2GB of files during an interview, and my video kept freezing. Restarting would have caught that.

Close everything you don't need. Slack, email, browser tabs — all of it. Notification sounds are distracting, and if you're sharing your screen for a technical interview, you don't want a personal message popping up.

Video-Specific Interview Techniques

Video interviews have different communication dynamics than in-person ones, and adjusting your style makes a real difference:

Look at the camera, not the screen. This is the hardest habit to build but the most important. When you look at the screen, you appear to be looking slightly down or to the side. When you look at the camera lens, you make "eye contact" with the interviewer. I put a small sticky note arrow right next to my camera as a reminder.

Slow down slightly. Audio compression and slight delays mean that fast talkers get muddied on video calls. Speak about 10% slower than your natural pace. Pause between thoughts. This also gives you time to think and makes you sound more deliberate.

Use your hands, but keep them in frame. Gesturing makes you appear more dynamic and confident on camera, but if your hands are below the frame, the energy is lost. Position yourself so your hands are visible when you gesture naturally.

Have notes, but don't read them. One advantage of video interviews is that you can have notes nearby. I keep a few bullet points on a sticky note next to my camera — key projects I want to mention, questions I want to ask, and the interviewer's name (I've blanked on names under pressure more than once). But if you're clearly reading from a document, it's obvious and it undermines your credibility.

Prepare for the awkward pause. Video calls have a slight delay that creates awkward moments where you both start talking at the same time. When this happens, stop, smile, and say "Go ahead." Don't fight for the floor. It's a tiny thing, but interviewers notice candidates who handle the video format gracefully.

Practicing on video before the real thing helps enormously. Running through mock interviews on camera lets you see exactly how you come across — your eye contact, your posture, your lighting — and fix issues before they matter. I record myself doing practice answers and watch them back, which is cringeworthy but incredibly useful.

The bottom line: in a video interview, 50% of your impact comes from technical setup and on-camera presence, not just your answers. Spend 20 minutes getting your environment right, and you'll already be ahead of most candidates who wing it from their kitchen table with their laptop balanced on a cereal box.