Have you ever sent your resume in to a job posting and then heard back that the recruiter wants to FaceTime you? What is that about? Is there anything suspicious about this?
Should you be concerned about a recruiter asking you to jump on FaceTime and talk to them?
Well, most of the time, no, it’s not a warning sign that anything is suspicious. However, sometimes you should be careful when a recruiter asks to take things off line.
This is especially true if you’re dealing with an overseas recruiter. Outsourced recruiters often don’t work on real jobs and are instead more interested in scraping your resume or even taking personal information for identity theft.
However, if you’re working with a regional recruiter or a corporate recruiter, then odds are that they are working in a legitimate and professional capacity.
But, why would the want to FaceTime you anyway? Well, for a number of reasons. Some good, some questionable.
Isn’t My Resume Enough?
No, sadly, your resume isn’t enough to get you the job. Most employers and all recruiters know that a resume is just a document. And most of the time that document is highly suspect. People can write anything they want on a document. That doesn’t mean that it’s true.
The problem with believing something that is on a resume is that when it comes time to test it out, most people are found to be lacking in the skill department or else they’ve claimed to handle responsibilities that in truth they have never handled.
A resume can be hard to gauge, but if you speak with someone you can get a much better feel for the type of work they are capable of.
That’s why no one is hired sight unseen. An interviewer will want to talk to you about your experience. While many people can effectively lie on a resume, not that many can lie when talking in real time.
And that’s why your resume isn’t enough. Everyone knows that a resume is almost always going to include skills and responsibilities that have been fabricated.
Why Do Recruiters Insist on Video Calls?
Recruiters insist on video calls because they want to interview you and talk to you face to face. The recruiter wants the ability to talk to you and determine if you’re someone who actually can answer questions about the job that you claim to have worked and the skills that you claim to know.
The truth is that there are many people who simply lie on their resume. Recruiters know this. Employers know this. And so they require a face to face interview to talk to you and determine if you are a in possession of any of the skills you claim.
Recruiters insist on video calls because they do not want to waste their time sending out resumes for people who are not useful candidates. If you can’t explain what exactly your last job was in detail, then you’re going to tell the recruiter
FaceTime when Face to Face Won’t Do
Most of the time recruiters would prefer to have an in person meeting, but with the fact that most companies are operating at remote or hybrid work from home situations, that can’t always be accommodated.
FaceTime has become a defacto mode to interview people because many offices are no longer in person. Recruiters do not want to simply speak to someone over the phone and then send their resume over to a company. That can lead to disastrous results.
It’s always important to get a look at the person as well as talk to them. Besides not being articulate or just faking their resume, many people simply do not know how to dress in a professional manner or speak in a professional manner.
Some people show up to an interview wearing jeans and t-shirts. Other people show up to an interview wearing sneakers or not in a suit.
There are a lot of small things that you will notice when you do a face to face interview that you miss when you are simply doing an over the phone interview.
It’s one of the reasons why video interviews such as Zoom interviews have become so popular.
Remote Work Doesn’t Mean Off-Camera
Here’s the important thing to keep in mind when you are doing a FaceTime interview with a recruiter, a FaceTime interview is still a professional interview. This means that you need to spend time making sure your background is clean, that you dress professionally, and that you don’t behave in a way that will make them second guess you.
Remote work isn’t “off camera” and this is why so many recruiters insist on people doing an on camera interview with them before they send off your resume to a company for an interview.
They don’t want to risk sending the resume of someone who is unprofessional to a company that they work with and who they have a good relationship with.
So, in order to prevent any embarrassment, the recruiter will request an on camera interview. While that might be a FaceTime video, it might also be a Skype interview or a Zoom interview.
Be prepared to interview on camera even if the job is remote or hybrid because employers will want to make sure that you are someone they would want to hire.
How To Prepare for a FaceTime Interview
You should prepare for a FaceTime interview in the same way that you’d prepare for any other type of interview. First, do some research on the company and make sure that you have read and understood the job description.
The next thing you need to do is to spend some time and understand the culture of the job and the company. It’s important to interview in a right frame of mind with the right approach.
If the company is cool and laid back, then that’s what you should be during the interview. If the company is very straightlaced and rigid, then obviously it would be better to show up with suite on and in a more professional manner.
You should always treat a video interview such as a FaceTime interview as a serious event. I have an entire article which covers how you can impress on a Zoom interview, which offers some good tips on how make a good impression during a Zoom interview.
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