Hiring manager turn off camera on interview

[Anonymous]

I think it's rude too. It's happened twice to me on the interview circuit.

First time, she was running around and busy so took the call from her phone. Fine, but it was an ad agency and her first comments were judging my clothes/hair. I couldn't see her.

Second time, the company culture was no cameras, 100% remote but candidates have to have their cameras on bc my role is client facing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a few zoom/team/google interview online, and I have come across 1-2 hiring manager turns off camera. I just looked at the black screen, and one told me that I could also turn off my camera. Well, I did not, but I perfomed badly because I felt more nervous and awkward not knowing where to look at. The job position I interview is remote working, but I thought isn't it both parties want to treat virtual interview as face to face. I got a negative first impression of the hiring manager, and I felt like wasting my time to dressup and wear makeup. Is that common for interviewer not turning on camera?

I put my camera on top of the middle of monitor, so I am centered. Where do you normally place the camera for interview?

I took an online class and we had reviews every 4 weeks with an instructor that lasted about 15-30 mins. Several of the instructors were off camera while I had to put mine on. I agree that it feels really awkward when you are the one on camera, it slightly feels like they are being voyuristic. They are seeing all of your facial expressions but you can’t see theirs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, this is rude to me. If you (the hiring manager) don’t want to be on camera, schedule a phone interview.

Agree very rude. Schedule an interview over the phone.

At my agency that isn’t an option. We have to schedule via teams. So if we are telling you that you can turn off your camera, we are saying you can treat it like a phone interview.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, this is rude to me. If you (the hiring manager) don’t want to be on camera, schedule a phone interview.

Agree very rude. Schedule an interview over the phone.

At my agency that isn’t an option. We have to schedule via teams. So if we are telling you that you can turn off your camera, we are saying you can treat it like a phone interview.

I just re-read the OP and see that they didn’t tell her to turn off her camera. That is rude and awkward. We take notes during the interview which is also why we turn them off. I did have one time we forgot to say something and felt bad.

[Anonymous]

Hiring managers who don't turn their cameras on are oblivious to the realities of the labor market. I personally wouldn't accept a job with someone who interviewed me like that. Because the fact is that the job-seeker, even if given permission to turn the camera off, will feel some pressure not to do it.

Schedule a phone call or turn your camera on. Or lose good candidates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's polite for the organizer (for any meeting) to say what the camera norms are. If you know you will be off camera, tell invitees ahead of time that you'll be off camera and they can do the same. If you expect cameras on, tell them.

I prefer cameras off, but I hate putting on makeup and office clothes for something I thought would be video and its not.

+1

[Anonymous]

I work at a large corporation where we are asked to have our cameras on during regular meetings (except if it's a large meeting, in which case only the person who is speaking has his/her camera on.) It's a great place to work and we get tons of applications.

I find it unprofessional for a hiring manager to have his/her camera off during an interview. It seems lazy and shows a lack of preparation, or like he/she is multi-tasking during the interview.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, this is rude to me. If you (the hiring manager) don’t want to be on camera, schedule a phone interview.

Agree very rude. Schedule an interview over the phone.

It's not rude, and the manager invited the applicant to turn off their camera. As others have noted, many companies have switched to video capable systems for all their telecoms.

They should have told them its going to be a phone interview before the actual interview. It's very rude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's rude too. It's happened twice to me on the interview circuit.

First time, she was running around and busy so took the call from her phone. Fine, but it was an ad agency and her first comments were judging my clothes/hair. I couldn't see her.

Second time, the company culture was no cameras, 100% remote but candidates have to have their cameras on bc my role is client facing.

Wow! These people were huge aholes.

[Anonymous]

I think it is EXTREMELY unprofessional to interview a prospective candidate with cameras off and their camera on! It makes the candidate feel uncomfortable and it's a red flag the company is not interested in hiring you. With cameras off and yours on tells you a lot about the company's morals and ethics. Would you want to work for an organization that doesn't take the time to turn on its cameras 🤔? It makes the prospective candidate feel very uncomfortable and uninterested. After all the candidate is also interviewing the company. Bottom Line: Turn on your cameras during interviews!! With the camera(s) off leaves a bad taste in the candidate's mouth after their interview. It also leaves a negative impression on the company. 😠

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it is EXTREMELY unprofessional to interview a prospective candidate with cameras off and their camera on! It makes the candidate feel uncomfortable and it's a red flag the company is not interested in hiring you. With cameras off and yours on tells you a lot about the company's morals and ethics. Would you want to work for an organization that doesn't take the time to turn on its cameras 🤔? It makes the prospective candidate feel very uncomfortable and uninterested. After all the candidate is also interviewing the company. Bottom Line: Turn on your cameras during interviews!! With the camera(s) off leaves a bad taste in the candidate's mouth after their interview. It also leaves a negative impression on the company. 😠

Camera on or off has nothing to do with "morals and ethics." A little over the top, eh

[Anonymous]

I have very occasionally had to run an interview with camera off (due to scheduling mess-ups where I had to be on my phone or bandwidth issue). I consider it unprofessional and something that I should apologize for but I’ve always worked at camera-on culture orgs. I prefer that — nothing is worse than having your own camera on while the person you talk to has theirs off though. So stressful!

[Anonymous]

There are some indications that video can introduce an element of unconscious bias in interviewing candidates. See: https://www.hbs.edu/recruiting/insights-and-advice/blog/post/actively-addressing-unconscious-bias-in-recruiting

At my federal office, off-camera interviews (conducted virtually due to ease of scheduling/IT avail) are standard. We tell applicants in advance, repeat that when starting the interview, and use the same format for all candidates. It had nothing to do with laziness, note-taking, or wearing pajamas - and it is not reflective of our workforce culture for video meetings, which is cameras on.

[Anonymous]

I am part of panel interviews. I turn on video at intros and to ask my assigned question. I don’t need to have it on for a full hour. You need to get over some of the nervousness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our panel uses the camera. However, we indicate at the very start of the interview that use of camera by the interviewee is optional because it is optional for non-management at our organization. Just interviewed about 40 people and FWIW, not a single one opted to not use the camera. We use the camera on our end because we believe the interviewees are (or should be) interviewing us as much as we are interviewing them. We make it optional for them because it is optional once they onboard and because we want all interviewees to be comfortable.

Nice sentiment but NO candidate with a good sense of etiquette - and fully understanding the power dynamics of an interview - is going to turn their camera off when yours is on.
If they do, I'd question their judgement.