It is pretty cheap to get a setup that outperforms built-in laptop equipment. I have one of those knock-off 1080p webcams ($30-40) and it is more than enough for zoom. My lighting is a clamp light which reflects off of the wall behind my monitor.
For sound I have a bottom-of-the-line boom microphone which was probably $10-15 new. Sound quality is merely ok, but it beats a built-in laptop mic.
Then I clean the room and run it through OBS so I can crop the video and know how it looks before I join a meeting. To me it's foolish to not put some effort into the zoom setup, given what is at stake when interviewing for a job you actually want.
I think a lot of people feel that the next step from laptop mic and speakers is a full-on pro studio setup. For <$100 and a little effort, you can do a lot and for maybe $300 you can be set--including whatever background stage management your setting allows.
A lot of the super high end stuff wouldn’t be appreciably different from a lower end podcasting setup for zoom calls. The issue is both diminishing returns, and the fact that pro gear is usually designed to meet standards and tasks that amateurs never need.
For example, a professional mic might need to record a singer or a guitar, which demands a much wider frequency response than spoken word does. My mic might be horrible for a singer, I’ve never tried, but as long as it works in the relatively narrow range where I speak it’s fine.
Lighting seems to be the thing that really matters for the camera second to placement. I just use some smart lights to toggle “meeting mode” which turns off my overhead lamp and turns on the desk lamp. It’s better than the norm, but inferior to the professional setups some people have.
I have two inexpensive desk lamps with daylight bulbs, which I normally use for hobby work, but for video meetings I point them at the white wall behind my monitor, and tweak the white balance a bit in the webcam settings.
It gives a pleasant soft lighting that doesn't blow out.
For sound I have a bottom-of-the-line boom microphone which was probably $10-15 new. Sound quality is merely ok, but it beats a built-in laptop mic.
Then I clean the room and run it through OBS so I can crop the video and know how it looks before I join a meeting. To me it's foolish to not put some effort into the zoom setup, given what is at stake when interviewing for a job you actually want.