Skype interview advice
Skype interview advice
Any advice for Skype interviews? I have one scheduled and it will be a new experience for me. I'm more nervous about this than the upcoming job fair....
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wrldtrvlr123
- Posts: 1173
- Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
- Location: Japan
Re: Skype interview advice
[quote="doubtful"]Any advice for Skype interviews? I have one scheduled and it will be a new experience for me. I'm more nervous about this than the upcoming job fair....[/quote]
Skype interviews are actually quite easy, in my experience. It's basically the same as a face to face as far as questions, putting your best foot forward etc.
I find myself a little less nervous on Skype for some reason. Prepare the same way. Dress like you are going to a face to face. If you are not comfortable wearing a suit sitting in your living room, then just something classy and professional.
Try and play around with the webcam before hand. Set up so that there is a neutral background behind you and you are not over or underlit.
Everyone expects some technical problems and you may have to give up the video feed at some point. Make sure you each have phone numbers if Skype is having issues.
Have water and pencil/paper near by. Then just try and win them over with your personality and expertise. All of that can still come through in a Skype interview.
Good luck!
Skype interviews are actually quite easy, in my experience. It's basically the same as a face to face as far as questions, putting your best foot forward etc.
I find myself a little less nervous on Skype for some reason. Prepare the same way. Dress like you are going to a face to face. If you are not comfortable wearing a suit sitting in your living room, then just something classy and professional.
Try and play around with the webcam before hand. Set up so that there is a neutral background behind you and you are not over or underlit.
Everyone expects some technical problems and you may have to give up the video feed at some point. Make sure you each have phone numbers if Skype is having issues.
Have water and pencil/paper near by. Then just try and win them over with your personality and expertise. All of that can still come through in a Skype interview.
Good luck!
Skype Interviw
I have one scheduled as well. Wonder if it is the same school. I also am nervous. The principal was very reassuring, but still, will I blow it? Also I really don't want to have to make any decisions before the fair. I am going into it committed to doing my best. If it becomes a learning excersize, so be it.
Thanks, all!
@wiseteach-good luck to you! Let us know how it goes. FWIW, I would
cancel going to the fair if this school offered me a position, with no hesitation. I already have a good idea of what would be offered, and it is doable. I'd be out the airfare, but it was less than $200, and I'd save on the hotel costs.
@wiseteach-good luck to you! Let us know how it goes. FWIW, I would
cancel going to the fair if this school offered me a position, with no hesitation. I already have a good idea of what would be offered, and it is doable. I'd be out the airfare, but it was less than $200, and I'd save on the hotel costs.
Skype interviews can be great. The only difficulty I have found can be avoiding cutting one another off. I've also had a couple where the school has not put on their camera in an attempt to improve the quality of the call. This does make it hard to read the interviewer though.
Most heads should be rather aware of the difficulties associated with Skype and there should be no problem whatsoever.
Will the school your interviewing with be at the fair?
Most heads should be rather aware of the difficulties associated with Skype and there should be no problem whatsoever.
Will the school your interviewing with be at the fair?
Skype
My biggest issues have been technical and not the interview itself. For instance at home you get to control the room temperature, dont have to find parking, or wait in a waiting room. The one drawback is that because of time differences your interview may be in the middle of the night or the wee hours of the morning.
Try and dress as you would for a real interview, you can skip the jacket but a shirt and tie at the least.
Again technical issues are the hardest, try to prepare a space with a wall thats over head lit, not floor lamps. You want the light coming down. Also use old fashioned light bulbs, florescence flicker on a computer screen. Make sure you have a good stable internet connection, and steady the device, holding an iPad or iPhone (smart phone and tablet) makes for jerky blurry video. Use the lowest resolution and smallest video window you can. This can increase frame rate and audio (makes it smoother). despite how fast YOUR internet access is, many countries are a bit behind, and may only have 1.5MB DSL. Anything you can do to make the video audio easier on network traffic will be helpful. Lastly, you will improve the quality of the call if you use a headset, internal mics and speakers can have feedback and noise.
Its not uncommon to loose a call at some point, at the start of the interview ask the recruiter how they would like to handle a disconnected call? One suggestion is to do a mock interview with a friend just so you can work out the technical stuff.
Try and dress as you would for a real interview, you can skip the jacket but a shirt and tie at the least.
Again technical issues are the hardest, try to prepare a space with a wall thats over head lit, not floor lamps. You want the light coming down. Also use old fashioned light bulbs, florescence flicker on a computer screen. Make sure you have a good stable internet connection, and steady the device, holding an iPad or iPhone (smart phone and tablet) makes for jerky blurry video. Use the lowest resolution and smallest video window you can. This can increase frame rate and audio (makes it smoother). despite how fast YOUR internet access is, many countries are a bit behind, and may only have 1.5MB DSL. Anything you can do to make the video audio easier on network traffic will be helpful. Lastly, you will improve the quality of the call if you use a headset, internal mics and speakers can have feedback and noise.
Its not uncommon to loose a call at some point, at the start of the interview ask the recruiter how they would like to handle a disconnected call? One suggestion is to do a mock interview with a friend just so you can work out the technical stuff.
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dreamgiver
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2011 11:00 am
You all will do fine! I've recently done several Skype interviews and they went well. The nice thing about interviewing over the computer is you can put a few notes up on the computer screen beside the video. That was really helpful for a couple questions. Here's a good article with skype interview tips.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162- ... ncol;lst;2
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162- ... ncol;lst;2
[quote="dreamgiver"]You all will do fine! I've recently done several Skype interviews and they went well. The nice thing about interviewing over the computer is you can put a few notes up on the computer screen beside the video. That was really helpful for a couple questions. Here's a good article with skype interview tips.
----://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-4754144 ... ncol;lst;2[/quote]
Thanks for the link! Of course, when it came to the pet line, I am left with 2 options.
1) Hope the cat doesn't hop into view
2) Put her in the bedroom where she might whine the whole time - and my apartment is not that big.
----://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-4754144 ... ncol;lst;2[/quote]
Thanks for the link! Of course, when it came to the pet line, I am left with 2 options.
1) Hope the cat doesn't hop into view
2) Put her in the bedroom where she might whine the whole time - and my apartment is not that big.
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dreamgiver
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2011 11:00 am
I survived! Nobody got hurt, not even the cats.
Tip: There's no such thing as over-preparing, and that includes being prepared for the interview to go in a direction you had not anticipated....You can turn almost any question into an opportunity to market yourself if you practice. It's worth the effort.
Tip: Look at the camera, and try not to be distracted by the video of the person talking. The impulse is to look at their video feed, but then they will think you aren't giving them eye contact. That is more difficult than it sounded like it would be. That was the most challenging thing about the interview (because I prepared extensively and knew what I wanted my overall message to be). If I have another Skype interview, I will put a post-it on my screen with an arrow pointing to the camera. :)
Tip: Put something soft on your desk or table so the buttons on your jacket don't make distracting noises. I wish I had thought of that before the interview. Hopefully, I was the only one distracted by it....
I won't be nearly as nervous for any future interviews now that I have this one under my belt. It has been a while (4 years) since I've had an interview, so it was nice to get the first one out of the way. If nothing else, it was good practice.
Tip: There's no such thing as over-preparing, and that includes being prepared for the interview to go in a direction you had not anticipated....You can turn almost any question into an opportunity to market yourself if you practice. It's worth the effort.
Tip: Look at the camera, and try not to be distracted by the video of the person talking. The impulse is to look at their video feed, but then they will think you aren't giving them eye contact. That is more difficult than it sounded like it would be. That was the most challenging thing about the interview (because I prepared extensively and knew what I wanted my overall message to be). If I have another Skype interview, I will put a post-it on my screen with an arrow pointing to the camera. :)
Tip: Put something soft on your desk or table so the buttons on your jacket don't make distracting noises. I wish I had thought of that before the interview. Hopefully, I was the only one distracted by it....
I won't be nearly as nervous for any future interviews now that I have this one under my belt. It has been a while (4 years) since I've had an interview, so it was nice to get the first one out of the way. If nothing else, it was good practice.