Phone and Video Interview Tips (2026): How to Prepare and Stand Out

To do well in a phone or video interview, test your connection and device beforehand, choose a quiet place with good light, keep notes nearby but do not read from them, and give shorter, clearer answers than you would in person. Treat it as seriously as a face-to-face interview.

Many Kenyan employers now hold first-round interviews by phone, Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, especially for screening.

Before the interview

Check the basics

• Confirm the time, platform and link. Check whether the time is in East Africa Time if the employer is abroad.
• Install and test the app the day before. Update it if needed.
• Buy enough data bundles, and have a backup: a second phone, a hotspot or a nearby place with reliable Wi-Fi.
• Charge your device fully and keep the charger connected if possible.
• Share a reliable phone number in case the call drops.

Set up your space

• Quiet room, door closed. Tell people at home not to interrupt.
• Light in front of you, not behind. A window facing you works well.
• Camera at eye level. Prop the phone or laptop on books.
• Plain background, or a tidy one. Use the platform's background blur if your room is busy.
• Earphones with a microphone usually sound clearer than a phone speaker.

Prepare your notes

Keep a single page with: the job's key requirements, three or four STAR stories, questions you want to ask, and your CV. Glance at it; do not read from it.

During a phone interview

• Stand or sit upright. It helps your voice sound confident.
• Smile when you greet them. People can hear it.
• Pause before answering to avoid talking over the interviewer.
• Keep answers to about a minute, then stop. Silence is harder to read on the phone, so do not fill it with rambling.
• Confirm next steps before you hang up.

During a video interview

• Join two to five minutes early, with your camera and microphone tested.
• Look at the camera, not the screen, when making key points.
• Mute when not speaking if there is background noise, and remember to unmute.
• Dress fully as you would for an in-person interview.
• If the connection drops, rejoin quickly or call the number provided, and calmly pick up where you left off.

Example: handling a dropped call (fictional)

Sorry, my connection dropped for a moment. I was explaining how I reduced the month-end close from ten to six days. The main step was standardising our reconciliation templates.

Keep answers shorter and clearer

Without full body language, long answers are harder to follow. Use the STAR method but trim the situation part. Signpost your answer:

There are two reasons. First... Second...

Prepare your one-minute tell me about yourself answer especially well: it sets the tone in the first minutes.

Recorded video interviews

Some employers send one-way recorded questions. You usually get a short time to read each question, then record your answer.

• Practise recording yourself on your phone first.
• Check whether you can re-record; many systems allow only one take.
• Keep each answer within the time limit and look into the camera.

A checklist for the hour before

• Device charged and connected to power
• Bundles or Wi-Fi checked with a quick test call
• Link, meeting ID and passcode open in one tab
• Camera, microphone and earphones tested
• Notes page, CV and a glass of water within reach
• Notifications silenced on your phone and laptop
• People at home told you need quiet for the next hour

Common mistakes

• Testing the link at the last minute.
• Running out of bundles mid-interview.
• Reading from a script. Interviewers notice eyes moving across a screen.
• Background noise from TV, matatus or people.
• Forgetting to ask questions at the end. See our list of questions to ask the interviewer.

After the call

Send a short thank-you email within a day. Note the questions you were asked to prepare for the next round. When you unlock an application on KaziMatch, you also get interview preparation built around that job. Start with a free fit check.