Nailing the Virtual Interview – Your Time to Shine!

by Lauren Loeffler, SPS Commerce

Long-time partners, SPS Commerce and the Minnesota Aspirations in Computing Program, recently joined forces to deliver a free webinar – “Nailing the Virtual Interview.” In response to the pivot from in-person to virtual interviews, one of SPS’s Lead Tech Recruiters, Dave Elliston, addressed best interview practices, networking tips, and highlighted common pitfalls to avoid. In addition to Dave’s recruiting experience, he also spent several years in higher education teaching professional development courses, so his style and cadence was conversational, engaging, and easily accessible to an audience of high school and college-aged students. The audience especially appreciated Dave’s ability to weave personal experiences into the conversation.

After the main presentation, a panel of SPS employees took questions from the audience. To offer different perspectives in the interview process, the panel was composed of another recruiter, a manager from the SPS Technology team who has supervised Aspirations students in the past, and a current SPS student intern.

In short, the interview should be a conversation. Have a back and forth with your interviewer to determine whether you are the right match for each other.

Much has changed over the last two years, including the way we connect with each other. As it turns out, however, it may be comforting to learn that many of the tried-and-true practices still win out in interviews:

• Do your homework prior to interviews
• Curate stories that showcase your skills
• Practice your answers but don’t memorize
• Test your technology and be ready early; this is equivalent to a test drive to your interview location
• Be conscious of your background and lighting
• Dress appropriately, from head to toes
• Ask about the next steps and thank your interviewers

According to feedback from participants, we learned that audience members gained advice that helped them feel successful in an upcoming interview.  When asked about the value of the webinar, here’s what two participants had to say:

“I learned the proper etiquette to use when interviewing. Knowing what looks good to interviewers is super valuable knowledge that I will be able to apply in future interviews.”

“The most valuable thing I learned was probably relating to the resume. As I’ve been applying for internships, it’s always difficult to figure out what to include on my resume and what to leave out. Jennie’s example was really helpful and will definitely be something I apply in the future.”