Skype Interviews - any tips?

[Anonymous]

I'm having my first skype interview next week. Do you guys have any tips?

[Anonymous]

Practice with a friend?
Make sure you have a good camera angle and don't have anything weird or distracting in the background.

[Anonymous]

Obviously look well dressed, with your hair out of the way. Center yourself in the camera. I raised my camera up so that it didn't offer a view of my chin (or forehead).

Test the video connection before hand, making sure no one else is using the wireless at home, just to be safe.

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys - good call on the camera height. I realized my laptop and ipad would not give a good angle so bought a webcam that i can mount on a mini tripod on my desk so i get the height just so.

[Anonymous]

If you are doing this from home and have a dog, know that UPS will come to your door (or a cat will walk by the window, or trash pick up will occur, etc.) during the interview and your dog will go nuts, even if your dog usually sleeps all day and never barks at anything. So, you need to do whatever works for your dog that will prevent interruption (crate in the bathroom, doggy day care, whatever).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are doing this from home and have a dog, know that UPS will come to your door (or a cat will walk by the window, or trash pick up will occur, etc.) during the interview and your dog will go nuts, even if your dog usually sleeps all day and never barks at anything. So, you need to do whatever works for your dog that will prevent interruption (crate in the bathroom, doggy day care, whatever).

+1

Also, don't just dress nicely from the waist up. Dress your whole self. (My DH found this out the hard way when he had to shoo our cat off of the table during a Skype interview, and he was wearing running shorts. Everyone had a good laugh about it, and he actually got the job, but he was super-embarrassed.)

[Anonymous]

someone else told me to put googly eyes near the camera so i would be looking them in the eye (and not at myself in the video, which is tempting)

[Anonymous]

1. Don't have crap in the background.

2. Try to limit extraneous noises to the extent possible.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:someone else told me to put googly eyes near the camera so i would be looking them in the eye (and not at myself in the video, which is tempting)

That's clever.

(This reply posted in memory of Harambe.)

[Anonymous]

Definitely raise the computer up! Set up and test out how you look an hour before the interview. Adjust as necessary and work from that position to get comfortable.

[Anonymous]

Also, don't be too close to the computer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks guys - good call on the camera height. I realized my laptop and ipad would not give a good angle so bought a webcam that i can mount on a mini tripod on my desk so i get the height just so.

Can you post a link?
I'm about to do the same thing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks guys - good call on the camera height. I realized my laptop and ipad would not give a good angle so bought a webcam that i can mount on a mini tripod on my desk so i get the height just so.

Can you post a link?
I'm about to do the same thing!

This is the set up i'm running with.

https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Widescreen-Calling-Recording-Desktop/dp/B006JH8T3S/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1473279007&sr=1-1&keywords=webcam

https://www.amazon.com/Medium-Camera-Tripod-Logitech-C615-Silver/dp/B01DBM07MY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1473279055&sr=8-4&keywords=webcam+tripod

[Anonymous]

As someone mentioned, definitely try to look at the camera and not at the screen. That way, it will look like you're talking to the interviewer and not looking above him/her.

[Anonymous]

All extremely good advice on this thread.

If you have a dog, do everything possible to relocate it for the duration of your interview. Seriously - this can be make or break.

I would absolutely agree that a plain wall behind you is a good idea buuuuut I think "something" behind you can create some light conversational interest. When I was doing a pitch over skype recently, which admittedly is different from a job interview, I decided to position a painting my tween daughter had made in the background. It provided a little visual interest (so it didn't look like I was in a plain cell) and gave me something to talk about that was personal and interesting.