How To Successfully Pass A Skype Interview?

When hiring employees, the employer can use completely different forms of interview, they depend on the realities of today, on the tasks that the recruiting company sets for itself, and even on the ingenuity and progressiveness of the person organizing the hiring of personnel. One of the modern forms of interviewing has become a Skype interview.

How to pass an interview on Skype in order to definitely interest the employer and get a job? Bologny will share secrets and nuances.

Features of a Skype interview: the pros and cons of Skype interviews when applying for a job

Skype interviews, as a modern version of interviews, when hiring employees, began to be used quite recently, but its popularity is growing, one might say every month.

Currently, 10-15% of Russian companies use Skype interviews. For example, in the United States, 72% of companies use this progressive form of an interview.

Most the recruiting professionals are convinced that soon the Skype interview will become a part of the work of all companies and will become the standard form of job interviews. That is why already now we, as job seekers, should pay attention to this interview format and prepare well for it in the future.

What are the pros and cons of a Skype interview for a job seeker and employer?

Key Benefits of Online Job Interviews

• Significant time savings: even if your potential place of work is in another city, you can participate in the interview without leaving anywhere, and without even leaving your home.
• During a Skype interview, your money is also saved – no need to spend money on the road and take a vacation at your current place of work at your own expense to travel to an interview.
• The third plus of the Skype interview is closely related to the first two: between you and the employer is simply there are no territorial boundaries… You can apply for a position with a company located in another city or even in another country.
• Go to a skype interview just get access and easily prepare for it.
• When preparing for an online interview You decide on which territory you will be located – it will provide you with comfort and self-confidence.
• If during a conversation with an employer you suddenly realize that this job is not for you, Skype interviews are much easier to complete (but, of course, using the rules of business etiquette).
• It is unlikely that during an online interview, an employer will be able to apply stress interview tactics…

Disadvantages of online interviewing with a potential employer

• The quality and the very fact of conducting an online interview directly depend on the state of technical devices with you and your employer. For example, if one of the parties has problems with the Internet, the interview simply cannot take place.
• Skype interview when applying for a job will not allow you to fully assess the place of work, the situation in the company, the mood of the team and the boss, the true state of affairs in the office – what you could see during a face-to-face interview in the company.
• The home environment around you does not allow you to fully create a working mood for an interview and many things – such as the sudden arrival of guests or the doorbell ringing – can simply interfere with the interview.
• For many people communication with strangers at a distance is a serious test through a webcam.

How to successfully pass a Skype interview – tips that work

See also: Basic interview mistakes that you shouldn’t make.

As with any interview, online interviews require preparation carefully given certain rules:

1. Skype interviews must be agreed upon in advance so that you have time to prepare for it. If you are offered to talk about a vacancy immediately and without preparation, it is better to refuse this interview, in any case, it will not be in your favor.
2. After arranging an interview with the employer organize the technical fundamentals of Your upcoming interview. If you have not used Skype before, download the program to your computer and register in it, select a photo for your avatar. It is worth noting that your login should be business-like, short, serious, and adequate – names like pupsik, bunny, and wild_fuftik will not work.
3. Add the employer’s contact to your list in advance.
4. Shortly before the online interview, we recommend checking the connection quality again by calling one of your friends on Skype.
5. Choose your interview outfit carefully… Having a conversation from home does not mean that you can appear in front of the camera in a t-shirt with a frivolous pattern or an old jumper. Your composure, even in a Skype interview, on the business style of clothing and hairstyle, will be positively assessed by the employer, which will be a plus for you when hiring. See also: Dress code rules for a businesswoman.
6. When dressing for an online interview, do not forget that you may find yourself in a funny situation if the camera suddenly falls or you suddenly need to get up for the necessary documents, and you – in a strict blouse and jacket, combined with shorts or home “sweatshirts”.
7. Prepare the premises carefully for the Skype interview… The light should not be too strong because of your back, otherwise, the interlocutor will see only your dark silhouette on the screen. Make sure that the lamp on the table or the light from the window illuminates your face well.
8. There should be no flickering children in the background or pets, things casually thrown on the sofa, a table with dirty dishes, etc. It will be better if you sit against the background of one of the walls (preferably without a carpet) so that unnecessary things do not appear in the picture on the employer’s monitor.
9. All loved ones should be warned about the time of your online interview, inviting them to take a walk during this period on the street or sit in another room, closing the doors tightly.
10. Turn off the doorbell during the interview, mobile and landline phones, and turn off the radio and TV.
11. Anything you may need for an interview should be close at hand… Put all your documents, certificates, diplomas, printed resume,s and recommendations near the computer. Prepare a pen and notebook for the necessary notes during the interview.
12. If you are very worried, before the interview jot down the questions you want to ask the employer so as not to forget them. Place in front of you all the necessary information written on paper, if you do not rely on your memory: graduation dates of educational institutions, specialty, names of universities, dates of specializations, etc.
13. If during an interview on Skype the call is suddenly interrupted, then, according to the rules of business etiquette, the caller should call back.
14. Try to rehearse your speech beforehand… During a Skype interview, try to speak evenly, and correctly. Sometimes employers prefer to make a video recording of an interview via Skype so that they can then review it again with other employees of the company, so you should avoid as much as possible in your speech reservations, hesitation, slang, or colloquial words, as well as an informal style of communication.

As a rule, candidates for a job who are interested in an online interview are then invited to the traditional one, a face-to-face interview at the office of the company.

Thus, a Skype interview allows the employer to determine in advance the range of suitable candidates, and for the applicant – to take a closer look at the company.