Candidate Resources

Skype Tips and Tricks

Skype Tips

Look the Part

  • Check out the company’s website and other social media to get a feel for how their employees dress and behave. Use that as preparation for your interview.
  • Dress professional. Doesn’t mean you have to wear a suit, but you should wear what you would wear during an in-person interview.
  • Do not wear colors that are distracting. Try to stray more towards cool-toned colors. They tend to look better on video.
  • Women: be careful with jewelry and makeup. Do not overdo it with a lot of jewelry and heavy makeup.
  • Body language- make sure your body language expresses that you’re engaged. Keep your eyes on the camera, not the view on the screen.

Prepare Surroundings

  • Do it in a quiet, businesslike setting. Make sure you don’t have a cluttered background that may distract your audience.
  • The interviewer could get the wrong idea of your organizational skills if you have a cluttered mess behind you.
  • Inform everyone who might be at home that you are in the meeting. Don’t want interruptions!
  • Neutral background with good lighting is preferred

Practice First

  • Conduct a practice interview with a friend and record it if you can. It will give you an idea of how you look and sound.

Stay Present

  • Have periodic clues to let the interviewer know that you are still there. Interject listening sounds while they speak. It will reassure the interviewer that you are still listening.
  • Do not mess with your computer (i.e. type, go to other browsers, etc.) while on a call.
  • Place your computer on top of books so that it is at eye level. It is a more flattering angle and will help you to not lose eye contact.
  • Eliminate distractions. Turn off notifications, silence your phone, close social media, etc.

Address All Possible Technical Issues

  • Make sure your audio and camera are working
  • Make sure you have a good internet connection
  • If you do end up having an issue, explain what is going on, politely ask to hang up and try to troubleshoot. It will demonstrate that you can handle stressful situations and problem solve.

Notes

  • If you need to have notes, you can place your resume/notes/talking points in front of you without the interviewer knowing. But be careful to not read them verbatim. Keep it in a format easy enough to read at a glance.

Usernames

  • Be sure to create a professional username. Do not make it difficult to read. Just use your name.

Headsets

  • Using a headset makes it easier for the interviewer to hear you more clearly.

ALWAYS Follow up

  • Send an email thanking the interviewer for their time. This is also another way to sell yourself for the job you want.