Online Interview Prep for Interviewers: How to Run Better Remote Interviews
There are thousands of guides that help job candidates prepare for an online interview. But if you are responsible for conducting the interview, there’s surprisingly little advice available.
That’s a problem.
According to industry surveys, 93% of employers plan to continue using online interviews in their hiring process. Yet more than 22% of interviewers say they lack the skills to interview and hire effectively—and that number grows significantly when interviews happen through a screen instead of across a table.
Running a good online interview requires preparation, structure, and the right tools. Done well, it can reveal how candidates think, communicate, and solve problems. Done poorly, it increases the risk of hiring the wrong person.
This guide will help you with five simple steps to prepare you for your online interview and sharpen your online interviewing skills.
Poorly Run Online Interviews Cost Companies
A bad hire can cost your organization far more than you might expect. The most widely cited estimate is that a single bad hire costs at least 30% of the employee’s annual salary.
But the real costs are often much higher.
Some costs are measurable:
- Recruiting expenses (advertising, screening, interviewing)
- Onboarding and training
- Lost productivity during ramp-up
- Severance and replacement hiring
- Managers’ wasted time
Other costs are harder to measure but can be even more damaging:
- Lost customers
- Damaged reputation
- Lower team morale
- Increased legal risk
Globally, the potential cost is enormous. The World Economic Forum estimates that 170 million new jobs could be created by 2030.
That’s a lot of hiring decisions—and a lot of potential damage if interviews are poorly run.
Fortunately, you can learn how to conduct an effective online interview.
At TestDome, we’ve been a fully remote company since the beginning. We’ve spent years recruiting top talent online and refining our approach to interviewing candidates through digital platforms.
Here are some lessons we’ve learned that can help you run better online interviews.
How to Get Online Interviews Right
There are many common mistakes people make when hiring remotely using an online interview. In the worst case scenario, the hire might not work out and will cost the organization money, and possibly damage your credibility.
The key to avoiding these problems is simple: Don’t prepare for the online interview the same way you prepare for in-person interviews.
Online interviews require a more specific approach.
1. Determine the Specific Skills You’re Interviewing for
When you’re conducting an online interview, preparation matters.
- Define the precise skills you want to evaluate before the interview
Instead of asking general questions, identify the specific abilities the role requires. Once you know what you’re looking for, it’s much easier to design questions and exercises that reveal those skills. (You can take a look at our library of real world, skills-based questions for some ideas.)
2. Structure your interview questions in advance
Unstructured interviews often lead to inconsistent hiring decisions. So, create a clear interview structure that includes:
- Opening questions and role specific questions or exercises.
Structured online interviews help ensure that every candidate is evaluated fairly and consistently.
3. Test your technology before the interview
Nothing disrupts an online interview faster than technical issues. Before the interview, make sure to:
- Check your microphone and camera, confirm screen sharing works, and prepare documents and questions in advance.
Technical preparation allows both you and the candidate to focus on the conversation rather than troubleshooting.
4. Adapt to the Difference Between Online and In-Person Interviews
Online interviews introduce dynamics that don’t exist in traditional interviews. Communication cues like body language are harder to read. To compensate:
- Ask more follow-up questions and encourage candidates to elaborate more than you would during an in-person interview.
This helps make up for missing cues to see how candidates communicate and reason through problems.
5. Use the Right Tools
The platform you use for an online interview matters.
It’s tempting to simply send a video meeting invite and run the interview through a free, general video tool. But those tools are designed primarily for meetings—not hiring. That free tool can cost you a lot.
Instead, you can use a platform designed specifically for online interviewing that supports the entire evaluation process.
It should include tools such as:
- Whiteboard canvases for problem solving
- Candidate grading and evaluation reports
- Collaboration and sharing with your colleagues
- Reusable templates with questions and exercises
- Candidate anonymization
- Privacy and personal data protection
Most importantly, the platform should be simple and intuitive for both interviewers and candidates. It shouldn’t get in the way of the interview.
TestDome’s online interview platform does all this and more extremely well.
But whatever platform you choose, make sure it’s built specifically for online interviews.
Final Thought on Running Better Online Interviews
Hiring is evolving rapidly.
AI tools can now help candidates generate polished resumes, tailor cover letters, and prepare interview answers. That makes it more important than ever to see real skills in action.
But that doesn’t require in-person meetings.
If you prepare thoughtfully and use the right tools, online interviews become a quick and effective way to identify strong candidates, make better hiring decisions, and build stronger teams.
