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"The Digital Careers Series is supported by Elance, the world\u2019s leading site for online work. Check out Startup Cloud for tips on how to build a remote team.\nAs more and more freelancers and employees work from home, there's a good chance your next hire might be located many miles away from HQ. Although this brings many benefits to both the employer and employee, one area which can be a challenge is the job interview process.\nFlying candidates out to meet you is too costly for some small companies, meaning a long-distance job interview is the only option. Interviewing is a skill in itself, and adding the element of distance can make it even more tough.\nWe've spoken to some experts in the area to bring you four tips for how to successfully interview long-distance.\n1. Practice Makes Perfect\n\nInterviewing is a skill like any other. It's one thing to pen a set of questions, but quite another to use those as a basis for a successful and informative conversation, especially when you're not in the same room as the candidate. It's well worth running through a mock interview with an existing employee to see how well the questions flow, if the order works and to adjust as is best.\nAdditionally, if you're using tech during the interview, such as a video webchat program or screen-sharing software, do at least one dry run before the actual interview to make sure you know exactly how it all works and that you are comfortable with the setup so you can concentrate on what the candidate is saying, rather than on technical issues.\nAnd, if you're going down the video webchat route, but are personally not that experienced at being on the small screen, then log some time in front of your webcam to get comfortable.\n\"Video interviews, although growing in popularity, are still not as widespread as you might think. The parties, even the recruiters, are still somewhat uncomfortable with being on camera. Although the same face is seen in real life, many people just don't like the way they look on cameras. For a recruiter to use video tools effectively they need to be comfortable with the technology and comfortable in their own skin,\" advises Michael D. Haberman, SPHR, vice president of Omega HR Solutions.\n\"Both take practice. The recruiter wants to come off as polished. You need to be aware of your mannerisms. Things which you do, such as blinking, looking away, etc., which would seem normal in a face-to-face become magnified on video. Despite the fact that you don't actually have someone physically in front of you, you must remember that you can still be seen, and some people have lapses.\"\n2. Be Clear About Objectives\n\nThere may be many stages to your long distance interview process \u2014 an initial, more informal chat to arrange a more formal, longer phone interview, a video interview, and maybe even a demonstration or skills-based session.\nIt's only fair to let your interviewee know exactly what to expect. This includes giving an estimate of how long you'd expect the session to last, what they should have on hand, any previous work examples to provide to you in advance, who will be on the call and what you're hoping to get out of that stage of the interview.\nAnd, always allow time at the end of every stage for the interviewee to ask you questions. What they ask (and how) can be as telling as some of their responses to your queries.\n3. Keep Things Professional\n\n\"Do treat a telephone interview like any other face-to-face interview. It is tempting to treat a telephone interview more casually, but set clear objectives and stick to them,\" suggests Andrew Spence, HR consultant for Glass Bead Consulting and author of the HR Transformer Blog.\nDon't forget that your candidate is also interviewing you and assessing your company's prospects. Keeping the interview process as professional as possible \u2014 despite the fact you may both be taking part from your sofa \u2014 is important.\n\"Even though the interview is being done from your home, you still have to dress business professional for the interview,\" confirms Haberman.\nIt might sound obvious, but for a phone or webchat interview ensure your cell phone is turned off, your laptop won't start bleeping calendar reminders, no-one is going to burst in on you chatting, etc. Your candidate should likewise ensure the same, making for a calm and uninterrupted session.\n4. Anticipate Awkward Silences\n\nYou might be lucky and just click with your interviewee, but chances are, even if they are a suitable candidate for the job, there will be the odd moment where you talk over each other, don't catch what the person said, misconstrue meaning, etc. In these situations you need to try and smooth things along as best you can.\n\"Do try to build rapport, but don't force it. Without being able to see the candidate's non-verbal response, you might find there are some awkward silences and interruptions, but persevere without being domineering,\" advises Spence.\nGood communication is so much more important when you're not face-to-face with someone. Ensure your interviewee clearly understands the questions you are asking. If they get stuck on something, offer to come back to that point, and if they're getting fuddled or fudging an answer, step in with a firm but friendly manner to help them out.\nIf you give your candidate every chance to do well, you will get a better sense of their suitability for the role. Everyone gets nervous and flustered about an interview, the skill is not to get them to break down \u2014 but to rise up and show you their potential.\nWhat other tips do you have for interviewing long-distance candidates? Let us know in the comments.\nSeries Supported by Elance\n\n\n\n\nThe Digital Careers Series is supported by Elance, where businesses hire and manage in the cloud for immediate access to the talent they need, when they need it. Elance offers the flexibility to staff up or down, and it\u2019s faster and less expensive than traditional staffing and outsourcing. Check out Startup Cloud to learn more.\nImages courtesy of iStockphoto, simoningate, numbeos, and Flickr, Xavi Calvo, Calsidyrose, Fotogravirus"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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