Video Interview Tips: 12 Mistakes That Make You Look Unprepared (And How to Fix Them)

You prepared your answers. You know the company. You wore a proper shirt. And then: bad lighting makes you look tired, your background is distracting, and you keep looking at your face on screen instead of the camera. The interviewer spends the next hour subtly uncomfortable and can't tell you why.

Video interviews fail for different reasons than in-person ones. The content of your answers matters just as much — but there is a whole layer of technical and environmental preparation that most people skip.

The 12 Mistakes and How to Fix Each One

1. Looking at the screen instead of the camera

When you look at the interviewer's face on screen, your eyes appear to be looking down or to the side. Look at the camera lens — the small dot at the top of your screen. Put a small sticker or piece of tape just below the camera lens as a reminder. This creates true eye contact.

2. Bad lighting

The most common: light source behind you (window) that turns you into a silhouette. Light should be in front of you, facing your face. Natural window light from the front is ideal. If your room is dark, a simple ring light (under £30) transforms how you look.

3. Camera below eye level

Laptop on a desk = camera looking up your nose. Raise your laptop with books or a stand so the camera is at eye level or very slightly above. It looks dramatically more professional and confident.

4. Messy or distracting background

A blank wall, a tidy bookshelf, or a simple professional background. Not your unmade bed, a pile of laundry, or a busy kitchen. Virtual backgrounds often look fake and glitchy — a real, tidy background is better.

5. Not testing your audio beforehand

Bad audio is worse than bad video. Test your microphone the day before. External USB microphones and earbuds with built-in mics are significantly better than laptop mics, which pick up room noise and keyboard sounds.

6. Not having a backup plan

The platform crashes. Your WiFi drops. Have the interviewer's phone number ready before the call. If you can join via your phone as a backup, know how to do that. It takes five minutes of preparation and removes a potentially catastrophic scenario.

7. Notification sounds and pop-ups

Close every app that might ping. Put your phone face down and on silent. Turn on Do Not Disturb. Close Slack, email, everything. Notifications mid-answer are jarring and signal low preparation.

8. Wearing a professional top and pyjama bottoms

You might need to stand up to get something, adjust your laptop, or the camera angle might reveal more than you planned. Dress fully. It also affects how you feel — psychology research consistently shows that dressing professionally improves cognitive performance and confidence.

9. Having notes too close to the camera

Notes are fine — but if you're clearly reading from them, you look unprepared. If you use notes, put them directly behind or beside your screen so your eye movement is minimal. Avoid holding them in front of you.

10. Not leaving buffer time at the start

Join 5 minutes early. Not one minute — five. Platform updates, audio settings, unexpected technical hiccups happen. Being in the waiting room at 09:55 for a 10:00 interview signals punctuality and composure.

11. Forgetting to smile

Screens compress warmth. The neutral face you normally carry looks flat, uninterested, even unfriendly on camera. You need to be slightly more expressive on video than you would be in person — not artificially, but consciously. Nod, smile, lean in.

12. Not following up

A brief thank-you email within 24 hours is still uncommon enough to stand out. Keep it short: thank them for their time, reference one specific thing from the conversation, and reaffirm your interest. Two minutes of effort, meaningful impression.