If you are applying for a job abroad, then you are almost guaranteed to have a Skype interview. Here is how you can avoid unnecessary gremlins.
30 July 2015
| Last updated on 2 January 2018
If you live overseas, you know that you’re not always going to be able to interview for a position in person. More and more, employers are asking for phone interviews or video interviews. While a video interview is similar to an in person interview, there are a few things you’ll want to do to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible.
1. Test your Skype/Google Hangouts account
Make sure you can log into your Skype/google account, you’ve provided the right Skype/goggle name, your video and voice is working.
2. Make sure you have the employer’s Viber/Skype name and a back-up phone number in case you cannot connect
Get the employer’s Skype name ahead of time and make sure they are added as your contact ahead of time. Get a phone number for a back-up in case you need to call them because Skype is not working.
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3. Have an alternate internet connection you can use (A friend’s house, someone else’s phone)
It shouldn’t happen but sometimes it does. The internet goes out for some unknown reason or your connection is bad. Make sure you have an alternative, just in case.
4. Test your picture and how you look by testing with a friend or coach
Skype with someone a few days before your interview and make sure you know the best set-up for your camera. Ask the person you are Skyping with to tell you if there is anything distracting in your background or if the angle is funny. Also, check for strange sounds in the background. Never conduct a Skype interview from a coffee shop or other public location. Always be in a quiet, private room.
5. Dress as if you were going to see the person in an interview
Including your bottom half! This gets you in the “interview mindset” not the “I’m wearing my pajamas on the bottom” mindset.
6. Have pen and paper ready to jot stuff down
Typing on your computer during a Skype interview makes you look distracted. It could look like you are responding to an email. Writing with your hand on the paper looks like you are writing notes.
7. Be online 15 minute early waiting for the call
8. Double check time zone differences
People interview on Skype because they are not close enough to have an in-person interview. This often implies that the employer is in one time zone and the interviewee is in another. Triple check the time zone difference to be certain you are on at the right time.
9. Stop looking at yourself and look at the interviewer
It can be distracting if you are looking at yourself the whole time. On a Mac or PC, click your picture. That will automatically resize it to be tiny and in the bottom right corner of your screen. If all else fails, stick a post-it on top of your picture.
Focus your attention on the camera, not the screen where the person is, while you are talking. This means you are looking directly at the interviewer, not in another direction.
10. Determine if you need/want headphones or not and test them
If you don’t normally Skype, figure out if you want headphones ahead of time and then test them out.
11. First impressions are valid on Skype too - Start by smiling
Anna Sparks is a career coach who helps professionals create attention-catching resumes and prepare for successful interviews. She works with people with international experience and those who need help fitting a unique job or employment gap into their work history. She has lived and worked in six countries in the last fifteen years. Anna currently lives in Quito, Ecuador. To find out more iformation and helpful adivce from Anna click here >>
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