Times have changed. The Skype call has been used to keep in touch with friends and relatives abroad, keep the flame of long distance love burning and if you’re Victoria Beckham, to keep your glutes toned with your personal trainer. However, Skype is also becoming a driving force in industry – especially recruitment. The Skype interview is a great option for initial interviews; it’s basically the telephone interview, where you may like the look of a CV and want to assess if it’s worth your time meeting the applicant, except you can put a name to a face right away. But it’s Skypes time and money saving capabilities that bring it to the forefront of recruitment; and when, according to an article by the BBC’s Hannah Briggs (click here for the article), in 2012 employers in the UK spent an average of 10 working days interviewing, 16% of the working week travelling to meet candidates and £3,286 reimbursing candidates’ travel expenses –its no wonder Skype is here to stay!
So, I’ve put together a little advice for anyone facing a Skype interview, or even for those of you that have already had one – perhaps it didn’t go as smoothly as you would have liked?
Still no Joggers!
Even though you aren’t meeting face-to-face, it’s still very important to put the same amount of effort into a Skype interview as you would a standard interview. Dress in an appropriate manner. It’s easy to think since you’re seated you can wear your PJ’s or less… however, certain issues may arise that need you to, well, rise – such as your webcam falls, you may need to make other readjustments to your equipment or you simply forget and stand up to grab something! Don’t take the risk. Also refrain from wearing white, as the colour will wash you out on camera. And lastly, it’s worth noting that the way you dress influences your mentality, so dressing down may have a negative impact on your interview performance -and when interviewing you want to be on top form!
Tidy house, tidy mind!
If you’re Skyping from home, then it’s probably best to do it in the tidiest room you can find. Otherwise, tidy the room you intend to Skype in; and if you’re a messy student, or still in messy student mode – like myself – at least have a quick scan of what’s in view and move those mould covered cups, dirty plates and piles of washing. It’s best to think minimalist, the old adage ‘less is more’ tends to apply. We want you and your skills to be the centre of attention, not the clutter in your room.
Practice makes perfect!
If you’re new to Skype and haven’t used it before, have a dummy run and test everything with a friend. The last thing you want is a blind panic a few seconds before connecting. Your concentration will certainly be waning when you’ve been on your hands and knees fiddling with cables or franticly searching the house for a wire that works. And should you catch sight of yourself once connected to find that your once beautiful hair is now a shocking mess and your lipstick is now half way down your face, I don’t think your pride or concentration will be intact.
The best way to approach a Skype interview is to bare the above points in mind, but don’t neglect the normal prep you would do for a face-to-face interview;be sure to research the company in as much detail as possible and be yourself!
If you want to know more about general interview prep check out our blog on ‘Interview Hints, Tips and Techniques’
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