{"id":66783,"date":"2014-04-01T11:30:48","date_gmt":"2014-04-01T16:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=66783"},"modified":"2014-03-31T16:15:53","modified_gmt":"2014-03-31T21:15:53","slug":"virtual-connections-mastering-the-skype-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=66783","title":{"rendered":"Virtual Connections: Mastering the Skype Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Rossy Mendez, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Puerto Rico<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Virtual Connections: Mastering the Skype Interview<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Rossy_Mendez\"<\/a>When I found out my interview was going to be a video chat on Skype I was both horrified and\u00a0relieved. Knowing my tendency to have clammy hands and a voice that changes pitch five times\u00a0in the course of a minute, I was happy I had a chance to shine without the pressure of being\u00a0there in person. A part of me, however, was also terrified. This was a very prestigious institution\u00a0and the competition was fierce. I thought of all the things that could go wrong and the anxiety\u00a0it would cause. After all I have had my share of embarrassing interview moments, like the time\u00a0I spilled a bottle of water on myself when I tried to take a quick gulp or the time a button on my\u00a0shirt snapped right before I met the interviewer. Oddly enough in both occasions I was granted\u00a0the position. I think part of my success was the ability to think quickly on my feet and stay calm.\u00a0But still the thought of a virtual meeting was frightening.<\/p>\n

Prior to the interview everyone told me that a Skype interview is just like any other interview.\u00a0I feel strongly this is not the case. A Skype interview in a sense more challenging that an\u00a0interview in person. First of all, there is an infinite amount of things that could go wrong while\u00a0you are having your interview; technology could fail you and obnoxious background noise can\u00a0cause you to be distracted or even worse, embarrassed. Then there are the little things such\u00a0as having a firm handshake or talking to the receptionist before you meet your interviewer.\u00a0The good news is that there are ways you can ace the Skype interview and make it work for\u00a0you. I was able to let go of my fears and handle a successful interview. As a matter of fact, the\u00a0next day I was offered the position. Here are some tips that might help you on your virtual\u00a0adventure.<\/p>\n

1. Test the equipment-<\/strong> It is crucial that you test your camera, microphone, speakers and\u00a0internet connection before the interview. Use the test call feature on Skype or call\u00a0a friend and ask whether he or she can see and hear you clearly. I tested everything\u00a0and set up the area the night before and still encountered some technical difficulties.\u00a0Fortunately, I was able to resolve the issue before the call was made. Do have a backup\u00a0plan whether it includes having an extra microphone or keeping your phone handy. I\u00a0also made sure that the camera showed my face and some of my torso to avoid the\u00a0floating head syndrome.<\/p>\n

2. Dress for Success-<\/strong> It is important that you dress the part from head to toe because you\u00a0want to give a good impression and if you have to stand up for whatever reason you do\u00a0not want to inadvertently reveal that you are, in fact, wearing Powerpuff Girls pajama\u00a0pants. Make sure the colors you wear fit the background and cover up your arms and\u00a0cleavage. For most libraries and archives, you do not have to look like you are going to\u00a0a corporate meeting; therefore, you can keep it interesting with a nice colorful necklace\u00a0or a pretty scarf.<\/p>\n

3. Monitor your surroundings-<\/strong> If your apartment tends to be loud go somewhere that\u00a0you are not likely to be interrupted. Do not Skype in your bedroom even if that if that\u00a0is the location of your desk. I heard from a recruiter that this reflected negatively on\u00a0a potential candidate. Set the camera against a solid background and make sure they\u00a0are no distractions behind you. Because I have colorful walls I ended up settling for the\u00a0beige wall in my kitchen.<\/p>\n

4. Have an appropriate Skype name\/picture-<\/strong> this is something I read recently and I am\u00a0happy to report I thought about it before my interview. Similar to your email address\u00a0your Skype name could send the wrong message. I normally use a funny informal name\u00a0for my calls; therefore, I used my Facebook account which has my full name.<\/p>\n

5. Do your homework-<\/strong> This can definitely make or break any type of interview. You\u00a0should be prepared for difficult questions and have done some research on the\u00a0company. During my interview I was asked how I had prepared for the interview. I\u00a0responded that I had tested my equipment, made sample calls and read their website,\u00a0blogs and even the finding aids. I threw in a couple of examples with my answer. I also\u00a0asked challenging questions that were not easily answered by their website.<\/p>\n

6. Show attentiveness-<\/strong> A couple of friends suggested I looked at the camera and not\u00a0the screen which was a very helpful tip. Other things I did were shut off my instant\u00a0messaging, close browsers and place my phone on vibrate to avoid all interruptions.<\/p>\n

7. Smile\/Laugh-<\/strong> I sincerely believe that this is what has granted me the job in many\u00a0occasions. In fact, my previous employers have told me that one of the reasons they\u00a0hired me was because of my cheerful attitude. Demonstrate that you are a person that\u00a0is fun to work with and that you can see the lighter side of things. I try to convey this in\u00a0my cover letters as well.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is to be prepared. Treat the interview as if you were going through it\u00a0in person by doing your homework and following up with a thank you email\/letter just\u00a0like you would in person. Do not forget that you should also be using this opportunity\u00a0to find out more details about the position and the institution. Lastly, if something goes\u00a0wrong stay calm, do your best to remedy the situation and move on. If the interviewer\u00a0does not handle this correctly you should wonder if that is the kind of place you want to\u00a0work for anyway. Every interview is an opportunity to get an insider\u2019s view. Even if the\u00a0meeting does not land you the job it could connect you to someone that can help you\u00a0later on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Rossy Mendez, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Puerto Rico Virtual Connections: Mastering the Skype Interview When I found out my interview was going to be a video chat on Skype I was both horrified and\u00a0relieved. Knowing my tendency to have clammy hands and a voice that changes pitch five times\u00a0in the course of a minute, I was…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":56978,"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":[69,5965,3592,3674,4514,5915,1944,4701,111],"class_list":["post-66783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-being-interviewed","tag-blog","tag-inalj-puerto-rico","tag-interview-tips","tag-rossy-mendez","tag-skype","tag-skype-interview","tag-tips"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Rossy_Mendez.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-hn9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66783","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\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=66783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/56978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=66783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=66783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=66783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}