Remote Interview Checklist: Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams

Most first-round interviews, and many full loops, now happen over video. That adds a layer of things that can go wrong before you've said a word: a mic that's too quiet, a screen share that shows the wrong window, a laptop that decides to update.

Use this checklist to remove those risks so the interview is about you, not your setup.

The day before

• Install and update the meeting app (Zoom, Microsoft Teams) or test Google Meet in the browser you'll use. Sign in if the company uses a specific account.
• Do a test call. Zoom has a test meeting, and Meet and Teams let you preview your camera and microphone before joining. Better still, call a friend and ask how you sound.
• Check the invite. Confirm the time zone, the link, and whether there's a coding or whiteboard tool (CoderPad, HackerRank, a shared doc, Excalidraw). Open it once to make sure it loads.
• Restart your computer and install pending OS updates now, not five minutes before the call.
• Charge everything: laptop, headphones, phone (for a backup hotspot).

Audio: the thing that matters most

Interviewers will forgive a grainy camera. They won't enjoy 45 minutes of echo.

• Use headphones with a microphone. They stop the interviewer's voice from echoing back through your mic.
• Pick the right input and output in the meeting app's settings. Laptops often default to the wrong device when headphones connect.
• Choose a quiet room with soft surfaces. Curtains, carpet and a sofa absorb echo.
• Turn off notifications: enable Do Not Disturb, quit Slack and email, and silence your phone.

Camera and lighting

• Put the camera at eye level. A stack of books under your laptop works.
• Face a window or lamp so light falls on your face. Light from behind turns you into a silhouette.
• Keep the background simple, or use the app's blur.
• Look at the camera when you make a key point, and at the screen when you listen.

Screen sharing

Coding and design rounds usually involve sharing your screen, and this is where most mishaps happen.

• Share a single window, not your whole screen, when you can. It reduces the chance of showing notifications or private tabs.
• Close everything you don't need before the call: personal email, chats, unrelated browser tabs.
• Increase the font size in your editor or browser. A 14 px font on your screen can be unreadable on theirs; zoom to 125–150%.
• On macOS, the first time you share in a given app, you'll need to grant Screen Recording permission in System Settings, and then restart the app. Do this the day before.
• Ask, "Can you see my editor?" after you start sharing.

Your workspace

• Keep water, a pen and paper (for quick diagrams or notes the interviewer can't see) and the job description nearby.
• Have your prepared notes open in the way you're most comfortable reviewing them before the call: your STAR stories, the questions you want to ask, and the key numbers from your projects.
• Use a chair that keeps you upright. Posture comes through on camera and in your voice.

Coding interviews over video

• Talk through your thinking, even more than in person. The interviewer can't see you thinking, only your silence.
• Ask whether you can run code. Some environments allow it; some expect you to trace through by hand.
• Use your normal shortcuts carefully. In browser-based editors, some shortcuts are captured by the browser instead.
• Write a test case in a comment before you start, then walk through it at the end.

For the problem-solving itself, see our guide to coding interview patterns.

When something goes wrong

Things break. How you handle it is part of the impression you make.

• Audio cuts out: say so calmly and offer to rejoin. "I think I lost audio. I'll rejoin in 30 seconds."
• Internet drops: rejoin the same link, and send a short message to the recruiter or interviewer if you can't. Have your phone hotspot ready.
• Screen share fails: offer to paste your code into the chat or a shared doc while you fix it.
• The interviewer can't hear you: check whether you're muted in the app and at the system level, then switch to your laptop's built-in microphone as a fallback.

Five minutes before

• Meeting link open, camera and mic previewed
• Headphones connected and selected
• Notifications off, unneeded apps closed
• Coding tool or shared doc open and loaded
• Water, pen and paper within reach
• Your notes reviewed: your introduction, your top stories, your questions for them

Then take a breath. A calm start matters more than a perfect setup.