For several painstaking minutes, I watched as he played along to the soundtrack in his head, or possibly his earbuds and neglected to even acknowledge my presence. He was really going at it, and I wasn’t sure if I should interrupt his solo or just wait it out. Incident: As I entered the Zoom room, I found the gentlemen (for me, it’s always been a man on this one…sorry guys) playing the air guitar. If you find yourself in a situation where you feel you need to turn off audio or video, consider rescheduling or delaying the meeting until you can make yourself fully present and available in the meeting. Video conferencing allows us to fully interact remotely choosing to turn off one of those options is akin to turning around in your desk chair and facing the wall. If you are meeting with a client, coworker, interviewee or other colleague on Zoom and are not able to have both your audio AND video engaged, then you are not prepared for the meeting. Meeting on a level playing field is not only polite, but also displays a high level of professionalism. It was clear she hadn’t even heard what I’d said and was wasting my time. After each of my answers, she allowed a long pause before she would ask the next question, never commenting on my answer or even on my questions. As we moved through the interview, I stared uncomfortably into a screen with my picture next to a black box and tried to give thoughtful answers, knowing that my interviewer likely wasn’t paying attention. As soon as my interviewer entered the room, she turned her camera OFF. However, the exchange became awkward and uncomfortable with one click. I had already completed a telephone interview, and this was a crucial next step in the interview process for me. In fact, during this particular interview, that’s exactly what I did. Incident: As an interviewee on a Zoom call, I know the importance of arriving on time, wearing professional clothing, sitting up straight, looking into the camera and answering questions clearly. While counterintuitive, it’s important to behave in a way that is conducive to being a guest in someone else’s home, or at the very least in the conference room at the office. While it was clear that these men had a history that I was not privy too, they had forgotten that they were not only comfortably positioned in their own offices, but they were IN MINE as well.Īs our comfort level grows with using technology from our homes, it’s easy to forget that the other people in attendance are in their homes also. I worried that the sound of their yelling would carry out of my office and into my home, scaring my children and frankly I was a little scared myself. I had never met these gentlemen before and was shocked by their angry and unrelenting interaction with each other. I sat dumbfounded as I presented a clear idea and then listened to them fight and argue about which of my ideas they believed to be best. As I sat poised in my office with a notebook page filled with ideas and shared my thoughts, I quickly realized that they were not in the mood to deal with each other. Incident: I was meeting with two businessmen on a Zoom call to collaborate about how my services could benefit them. Remember, you’re in someone else’s home/office too We’ve all heard the unfortunate, and sometimes hilarious stories of faux pas during meetings, but now it’s time to address the unprofessional behavior that has become acceptable. While the benefits of seeing each other face to face from the comfort of our homes are seemingly endless, many have missed the memo on maintaining their professionalism while video conferencing. With the advent of more advanced technology and the ability to work from anywhere in the world, platforms such as Zoom and Skype have become commonplace for job interviews, collaborations, therapy sessions and even healthcare appointments.
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