What are the worst Zoom/Teams backgrounds you've seen on a work meeting or interview

[Anonymous]

The fake hospital room background is the worst

[Anonymous]

1. Filthy-looking bedroom with unmade bed, stacks of clothing and piles of boxes
2. Black-painted, sexy bedroom that looked like a dominatrix's lair

[Anonymous]

Once a woman had this marble background that I SWEAR was so obviously a vagina. Like it HAD to be intentional it was so obvious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never accept a job that required a zoom interview. If you don’t have time to meet me why should I work for you?

Stupid take. I just interviewed for and was offered two high-level jobs at two different orgs and both were entirely over zoom.

[Anonymous]

My coworker had a video loop running as his background. So during a meeting you basically watched a pug ride a little fire truck, jump up onto an open dishwasher door and lick the plates, run around with a hat on, etc etc

He became my boss and I left shortly thereafter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't use a background, I just sit with my back to a blank wall. But I don't think a tidy made bed is unprofessional.

The worst is when somebody is backlit by a very bright window.

+1

This thread is talking about entry level employees who probably aren’t making enough to be living in a home with spare office. They may have a small place with roommates. And this area is expensive so even people father along in their careers who aren’t super high earners may be doubling a bedroom and office space. I think so long as the space is tidy and not cluttered with overly personal belongings it’s fine to have a bed.

My DH’s office doubles as our guest room. We have a Murphy bed that looks like a cabinet when closed, but it was expensive and we own our home so it made sense to invest in it. For a rental we would have just had a normal bed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm fine with blurring, but the fake backgrounds are very distracting.

+1.

I’ve also started to see a large usage of avatars, primarily with IT or business services people. They’ve got no idea how unprofessional that comes off. It’s the equivalent of that lawyer with a cat face.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My coworker had a video loop running as his background. So during a meeting you basically watched a pug ride a little fire truck, jump up onto an open dishwasher door and lick the plates, run around with a hat on, etc etc

He became my boss and I left shortly thereafter.

This is hilarious!

[Anonymous]

Teacher here so I've seem dorm rooms which are fine, but it's not great when students are IN bed laying down.

I think virtual backgrounds are fine. It's good to style your hair and wear earrings that don't get cut off constantly, but I don't read anything into them besides trying to be respectful by controlling your environment.

[Anonymous]

I've seen lots of bedrooms. Even if they're neat, I find them distracting. I look at the walls, the comforter, the paint colors, etc. I think a blurred background is better. This is with recorded interviews. I'm less distracted if the interview is live.

I've seen living rooms, kitchens, people in cars.

One problem I've noticed with recording is that people forget they're talking to someone in video interviews and get a bit monotone. If they act like they're talking to someone, it works better. Standing up helps as people tend to slouch or lean forward. Also, lighting makes a difference.

One of the most distracting was someone recording in her house while a kitten kept mewling in the background. It sounded desperate and scared! She should have stopped and started over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never accept a job that required a zoom interview. If you don’t have time to meet me why should I work for you?

Zoom interviews are the best thing in the whole world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My coworker had a video loop running as his background. So during a meeting you basically watched a pug ride a little fire truck, jump up onto an open dishwasher door and lick the plates, run around with a hat on, etc etc

He became my boss and I left shortly thereafter.

This is amazing. I would surely get a headache and go crazy looking at it. But I so love the concept!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never accept a job that required a zoom interview. If you don’t have time to meet me why should I work for you?

Lol.

Ok. Go back to the 20th century.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've seen lots of bedrooms. Even if they're neat, I find them distracting. I look at the walls, the comforter, the paint colors, etc. I think a blurred background is better. This is with recorded interviews. I'm less distracted if the interview is live.

I've seen living rooms, kitchens, people in cars.

One problem I've noticed with recording is that people forget they're talking to someone in video interviews and get a bit monotone. If they act like they're talking to someone, it works better. Standing up helps as people tend to slouch or lean forward. Also, lighting makes a difference.

One of the most distracting was someone recording in her house while a kitten kept mewling in the background. It sounded desperate and scared! She should have stopped and started over.

Sounds like a personal problem?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't use a background, I just sit with my back to a blank wall. But I don't think a tidy made bed is unprofessional.

The worst is when somebody is backlit by a very bright window.

That’s me in my actual open space office. Oh well, if I have a super important virtual meeting, I’ll find a different spot, but otherwise everyone knows that I have a gorgeous view.