Professional Video and Phone Presence
They can see more than you think.
Why this matters
A significant portion of first-round internship interviews happen by video call. A surprising number of candidates treat them as less important than in-person meetings. They're not. What you communicate before you say your first word — through your environment, your framing, and your preparation — establishes a tone that's difficult to reverse once set.
Your setup
| Element | What to do |
|---|---|
| Camera position | Eye level, approximately arm's length away. Not looking up at you from a laptop on a desk. Not cutting off the top of your head. |
| Lighting | From in front of you, not behind. A window behind you creates a silhouette. A lamp or natural light from the front makes you legible. |
| Background | Clean, intentional, and free of anything you wouldn't want a prospective employer interpreting. A blank wall is fine. A thoughtful personal or design-related detail is welcome if it's tasteful. A pile of laundry is not a design detail. |
| Sound | Quiet space. Headphones with a microphone are better than a built-in laptop mic in most environments. |
Before the call
Test everything the night before — camera, microphone, internet connection, and the platform being used. Join a few minutes early. Being in the virtual waiting room when the interviewer opens it signals professionalism. Scrambling to join two minutes late after a failed software update signals the opposite.
Have your portfolio open and navigable before the call starts. Know which projects you plan to discuss and where to find them quickly.
During the call
Eye contact in a video call means looking at the camera, not at the person on your screen. It's counterintuitive and awkward until you practice it. Practice it.
Pace and clarity. Speak at a speed that accounts for the slight audio delay of most video platforms. Pause more than you think you need to.
Technical problems. If a connection issue arises, acknowledge it briefly and move on. Don't let a dropped frame become the subject of the interview. Most interviewers have dealt with the same issues.
Phone calls
Find a quiet space with reliable signal before you dial. Stand up — it changes your posture, your breathing, and your vocal energy in ways that are audible on the other end. Know what you want to communicate before the call starts. Have any relevant notes in front of you.
- Test your setup the day before
- Join the call a few minutes early
- Have your portfolio open and ready
- Look at the camera, not the screen
- Stand up for phone calls
- Testing your setup five minutes before
- Joining the call two minutes late
- Scrambling to find your portfolio during the call
- Looking at your own face on the screen
- Taking a phone call in a noisy environment
Simple diagram illustrating correct vs. incorrect video call setup: camera angle (eye level vs. looking up), lighting direction (front-lit vs. backlit silhouette), background composition. Clean, instructional.