{"id":15127,"date":"2013-04-03T16:00:51","date_gmt":"2013-04-03T20:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=15127"},"modified":"2013-05-27T13:17:00","modified_gmt":"2013-05-27T17:17:00","slug":"skype-your-way-to-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=15127","title":{"rendered":"Skype Your Way to Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Christina Wilson, Head Editor, INALJ Alberta<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Skype Your Way to Success<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Me\"<\/a>As a hiring manager, \u00a0working in a public library I found Skype to be an effective tool<\/strong> when faced with the prospect of interviewing candidates from across this vast land.\u00a0 Although our city had an airport, service was \u201cregional\u201d and the next largest centre was two hours away.\u00a0 With a limited travel budget for recruitment and a regional, although full, videoconferencing system, Skype became our ticket to interviews with candidates in other provinces.\u00a0 Cost effective, widely used and easy to set up, it\u2019s now a common tool for conducting interviews in every sector and also accommodates team-based interviewing. \u00a0\u00a0Prepare yourself now for a Skype, or other video-based interview, by heeding these tips and achieve success by stage managing yourself and your close-up.<\/p>\n

For the purposes of this post, I will assume that Skype is your application, but these tips will work for any video interview.\u00a0<\/strong> Whatever the software, download it well in advance of the interview, to allow time to set up, get comfortable and to practise with friends and colleagues. \u00a0\u00a0Use the tips below as a guideline for your practice sessions.\u00a0 Create a professional username and add this to your email signature, resume and other job related online accounts, such as ZoomInfo, LinkedIin, etc.\u00a0\u00a0 The day of the interview, conduct a quick test, to ensure that all systems are functioning effectively, including your connectivity. \u00a0\u00a0Have a telephone handy, though, in the event the call cuts out and you must continue with voice only.<\/p>\n

Put yourself in the best light, literally.<\/strong>\u00a0 Make sure it\u2019s sufficient so that you\u2019re not in shadow but not too bright so that your screen (and you) appear harsh or too washed out.\u00a0 This is a good area for feedback from friends and colleagues.<\/p>\n

Dress for success, after all this is a job interview<\/strong>.\u00a0 Sit up straight and remember that you are establishing eye contact with the camera, by looking directly into the web cam.\u00a0 This is NOT natural for most of us, so practise with a friend beforehand and get their feedback when you stray or shift away.\u00a0 You may need to practise focussing on the webcam.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be tempted to open up any other applications on your computer, give the interviewers your full attention as if you and they were sitting in the same room.<\/p>\n

Remember to smile and look friendly. \u00a0<\/strong>Consider wearing brighter makeup and colours than usual to overcome the effects of lighting, especially if you are appearing pale and washed out. \u00a0In this day and age of job descriptions that trumpet \u201cpassionate about libraries\/community engagement, etc. etc.\u201d you need to appear vibrant, even on camera. Certain colours, such as shades of blue, work well on video whereas reds, bright yellows and even white may be too bright. \u00a0Keep small, busy patterns to a minimum, as you want your clothing to be \u201ceasy on the eye\u201d and not distracting. Similarly, keep your background simple and not distracting so that your viewers are focussed on you and your answers. \u00a0Use your background to reinforce your covering letter and resume description of yourself.\u00a0 For example, an uncluttered background with a shelf of books indicates to viewers that you are organized, tidy and love reading literature, graphic novels and\/or business books.<\/p>\n

Similarly, consider background noise.\u00a0<\/strong> Try to ensure that your Skype interview is taking place in a quiet space.\u00a0 If you do not have access to your own office, consider booking your local public library\u2019s meeting room.\u00a0 In all cases, ensure a good connection in advance.\u00a0 Just prior to the interview, mute your email alerts, phones (cell and land) dog and kids.\u00a0 The latter can be achieved by scheduling the interview with your family, shutting your office door and hanging a \u201cQuiet please — Meeting in Progress\u201d sign to remind everyone.\u00a0 \u00a0Speak loudly and clearly. Video calls often contain a delay, due to the graphics, so a clear speaking voice is very important.\u00a0 In addition, allow a slight pause after the interviewers speak to avoid speaking over them.<\/p>\n

One of the great things about a Skype interview is that it allows you to have your interview cheat sheet in front of you, but \u201coff camera\u201d<\/strong> and so not visible to the interviewers.\u00a0\u00a0 Keep a few notes in front of you and be prepared to write down topics that arise during the interview so that you can weave them into replies to later questions.\u00a0 You can do this seamlessly, off camera, thereby minimizing awkward pauses to the flow of the interview.\u00a0\u00a0 Prepare \u201cstage directions\u201d for yourself to encourage positive behaviours<\/strong> (\u201cSmile\u201d, \u201cLook at the camera\u201d) \u00a0and discourage your own nervous behaviours.\u00a0\u00a0 Again, this is where your practice sessions become invaluable.<\/p>\n

While Skype\u2019s website provides many tips for successful video presentations, some of the best guides are available, where else, in video format on Youtube http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SYo585k1boc<\/a>) and imbedded in interviewing techniques search results.\u00a0 There are numerous text based articles online and one of the most thorough comes from Georgia Tech.\u00a0 It is online and located at:\u00a0 http:\/\/www.career.gatech.edu\/plugins\/content\/index.php?id=95<\/a>.\u00a0 Check them out, and get ready for your close up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Christina Wilson, Head Editor, INALJ Alberta Skype Your Way to Success As a hiring manager, \u00a0working in a public library I found Skype to be an effective tool when faced with the prospect of interviewing candidates from across this vast land.\u00a0 Although our city had an airport, service was \u201cregional\u201d and the next largest…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[69,3592,3974,3666,3975,216,1944],"class_list":["post-15127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-christina-wilson","tag-inalj-alberta","tag-interviewing","tag-interviews","tag-skype"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-3VZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15127\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}