Do you have a video interview at Amazon coming up?

Video interviews, also called remote interviews, have been gaining traction with companies over the last few years, and Amazon is no exception to that. With the arrival of coronavirus, most Amazon interviews are now completely online via their video conferencing app, Amazon Chime.

Here's what to expect and what you need to know to succeed in remote interviews. I think it’s safe to say that, even after the COVID-19 crisis has passed, video-based or remote interviewing is here to stay.

How to have a successful video interview with Amazon on Chime

I’ve had Chime for awhile now because I work with so many Amazon candidates and many of them have been asked to use Chime for their interviews and want to test it out with me. I already use Zoom, FaceTime, Hangouts, Skype, Teams, and probably more, and Chime is just an alternative to those other applications. Each app brings its own set of quirks, and since Chime is less common than those others, you should set aside some time to learn the software in advance of your remote interviews.

1. Practice with Chime

To be honest, I’ve had some problems with Chime. I suck at technology and normally I wouldn’t dream of giving any tips in that area, but a lot of candidates are testing out Chime for the first time and my clients ask about it.

Installing Chime is easy. You’ll just need to download it from the AWS site. Something that confused me is that there are different tiers, Basic and Pro. When you install and activate Chime on your computer, you enter into a 30-day trial period of the Pro version. After 30 days, the Chime app is downgraded to the Basic version. You’ll find a complete list of the differences between Basic and Pro on the pricing page. The most important difference between the two for me was that, with Basic, you can’t schedule video meetings in advance. This missing feature probably won’t be an issue for you if you’re just using Chime for your interview, but I thought I would mention it. If you want to use Pro features beyond the trial period, you’ll have to use an AWS account, and it’s quite a confusing process.

Once you’ve got Chime running, try to practice using it with a friend or family member in advance of your remote interview. Be sure to practice on the same computer that you’ll be using during your interview. Depending on your operating system, you may need to grant permission to Chime to use your camera, microphone, and so on. Granting permission can lead to dialog boxes and playing around in system settings – things you definitely don’t want to be doing during the interview itself. Also, take the opportunity to test and double check that Chime is using the camera, speakers, and microphone that work best for your set up.

Note: You may be tempted to turn off your camera and interview via audio only. While you can do that, I don’t recommend it. Having the camera on and facing your interviewer is a sign of respect and confidence. Don’t hide from the camera!

Also, good connectivity is key. If you can, it’s really best to access the internet via an ethernet cable instead of wifi. If you don’t have an ethernet cable, try to sit in close proximity to your wifi router, and ask your family or roommates to chill with the Netflix streaming while you’re interviewing.

2. Sit in a quiet place

You really need a quiet space. Taking the video interview in a crowded coffeeshop (not that there are any crowded coffeeshops during the coronavirus crisis) is a really bad idea. Your interviewer won’t be able to hear you, and it could make for a frustrating experience for all parties involved.

Turn off the TV. Turn off your phone. If you have your phone set to ring on your computer, turn that off as well. Put all pets and children out of the room. If there is loud traffic noise outside of your house go somewhere else or sit away from the window.

Don't make unnecessary noise that the microphone may pick up on or amplify. This includes typing. Use a pen and paper for notes.

You may consider muting your microphone when you’re not talking, especially if there is background noise that you can’t control. Just remember to unmute yourself when you start talking.

3. Look your interviewer in the eyes

Once you’re familiar with Chime, you’ve got your computer set up, and you’ve found a quiet place to take the interview, you’re ready for action. So how about the interview itself? My first piece of advice is to look in the camera, and not at the video of your interviewer on the screen. By looking at the camera, you’re looking in your interviewer “in the eye” (but virtually).

If you’re not quite sure how to do that, let me give you an example that might help. On the top of my monitor there are two little circles – one lights up in red when the camera is on, and the one to the left of the light is the actual camera. I need to look at the camera or else it seems like I'm not making eye contact with the person on the other side.

Your computer setup may be different than mine, so, as I said above test it beforehand. Many of my clients never look into my eyes because they look at my face on the screen instead of at the camera. This is okay in a class with your teacher but it is NOT okay in an interview. Put a post it note with an arrow by the camera to remind you.

4. Cheat

Here is the positive side of video interviewing – you can use a cheatsheet and no one will never know. My clients frequently ask me if it’s okay to take notes into their onsite interviews, and I say yes it is okay as long as it’s one small sheet of paper and you don’t look at it constantly and I’m going to give the same advice for remote interviewing.

Tape some notes to the side of your monitor or put some in front of you and glance down at them if you get stuck. Just don’t overuse them - don’t constantly turn over sheets of paper or stare away from the camera for too long while reading your notes.

The video interview doesn’t mean you can read your answers word for word, because it will be obvious if you do that. But it’s a chance to have a small cheatsheet visible in case you need quick reminders. Why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of that?

5. Show a clean background

The problem with a remote interview is that you have to worry about how you look but also how your office looks, which is one extra thing to worry about. You know how you pick out your interview outfit the night before and make sure it’s clean and ironed? Now you need to plan your office setting just as carefully.

Look at the space behind you. What do you see? The interviewer should see a clean, neat space.

You may think that I am old-fashioned or boring or too focused on appearances and that since you’re good at your job you don’t need to worry about these things. The truth is we all judge people by their outward appearance in the first second we see them, and this includes during a video interview.

With these five steps out of the way, you can focus on what really matters – proving to your interviewer how great you’d be at the job. Good luck with your video-based interview!