Skype Interview Tips: How to Prepare for a Skype Interview

During the hectic phase of job hunting, it can be difficult to juggle all interview ap­point­ments. More and more employers are utilizing a multi-stage selection process, where the can­di­dates may have to travel to in­ter­views several times. In other cases, a pre-selection is performed using an as­sess­ment center before the actual in­ter­views take place. From the per­spec­tive of companies, this is un­der­stand­able. After all, they want to find and secure the best workers for them­selves. But this can be difficult for ap­pli­cants, es­pe­cial­ly when the potential employers are located in different cities or even abroad.

For this reason, many employers now offer the option of a Skype interview for the first round of the process. Both sides benefit from the time and cost savings. However, this type of interview also comes with its own dangers – from technical issues through to un­pro­fes­sion­al pre­sen­ta­tion. This is par­tic­u­lar­ly the case as can­di­dates may have only pre­vi­ous­ly used Skype for relaxed personal con­ver­sa­tions. Nonethe­less, by con­sid­er­ing a few things be­fore­hand and preparing ef­fec­tive­ly, a Skype interview can be just as promising as a con­ven­tion­al interview.

When it comes to Skype in­ter­views, there are two main sources of mistakes. The first relates to the technical re­quire­ments. Nothing is more dis­rup­tive than often having to wait and repeat questions due to an unstable internet con­nec­tion or poor audio quality. This not only breaks the flow of con­ver­sa­tion, it also makes it harder to focus on the content.

The second danger concerns the general setting. In the familiar sur­round­ings of your own home, it can be all too easy to present yourself in a less favorable light than you would usually in an interview. This can include an un­suit­able back­ground as well as the choice of clothing and seating position.

To help you avoid these beginner’s mistakes, we have put together a number of Skype interview tips that you can use to prepare ef­fec­tive­ly.

During a Skype interview, an in­ter­view­er will already judge your per­son­al­i­ty based on your account name. For this reason, you should never use a private Skype account with a nickname from your childhood or a personal snapshot as your profile picture. This gives the im­pres­sion that you aren’t taking the interview seriously and can’t present yourself pro­fes­sion­al­ly.

Instead, it’s a good idea to create a second account with your full name and a neutral ap­pli­ca­tion photo, which you use ex­clu­sive­ly for pro­fes­sion­al contacts. This also has the advantage that you won’t receive any messages or calls from friends during the interview.

A few hours – or ideally a few days – before an important Skype interview, you should test all the features and make sure you have the current version installed. There is hardly anything more frus­trat­ing than having to install big updates when starting the program shortly before an interview.

If every­thing works as it should on your computer, you could Skype with a friend and check that the image and audio quality are also good for your con­ver­sa­tion partner.

It’s essential that you choose somewhere with a stable internet con­nec­tion. Tell your family or roommates about the interview and ask them not to download or stream anything during this time.

During your Skype interview, all other programs should be closed that could otherwise distract you or make the con­nec­tion slower. It’s important that you direct your undivided attention to your con­ver­sa­tion partner. It also appears highly un­pro­fes­sion­al when email no­ti­fi­ca­tion sounds and messenger services can be heard in the back­ground during an interview, or if your eyes dart around the screen to read the message previews.

A headset sig­nif­i­cant­ly improves audio quality. Sitting around a meter away from the screen provides a good camera angle, for instance. At this distance, however, many mi­cro­phones built into laptops already struggle to deliver good quality. A headset not only allows you to ensure that your interview partner hears you clearly, but also that no one else can listen into the con­ver­sa­tion.

For your Skype interview, choose a quiet place where there are no loud back­ground noises or dis­rup­tions caused by people moving in the picture. Try to use a camera angle in which the back­ground is as neutral as possible. Whether con­scious­ly or sub­con­scious­ly, your in­ter­locu­tor will associate all the objects on screen with you, even if the visible doll col­lec­tion belongs to your sister or the soccer scarf is your roommate’s.

Also take some time to check the lighting. The light source should not be located behind you. This will have a glaring effect and make your facial features difficult to see. Strong lighting from the side should likewise be avoided, as this can cause excessive shadows on your face. A soft, warm light at an angle from the front is best.

Match your ap­pear­ance to the job you’re applying for. If that’s a man­age­ment position at a bank, formal business attire is un­doubt­ed­ly ap­pro­pri­ate – even if it seems strange to wear these clothes in shared ac­com­mo­da­tion, for example. For jobs in a creative or social field, the ap­pro­pri­ate clothing may be more informal – but they should still convey a serious and pro­fes­sion­al im­pres­sion. In a nutshell, dress in the same manner as you would if the interview were being held at the company’s premises rather than via Skype.

You should prepare as thor­ough­ly for a Skype interview as you would for a normal interview. The process is identical. Inform yourself about the company as well as your in­ter­view­er and prepare for questions you’re likely to be asked to check your soft skills, such as com­mu­ni­ca­tion, com­mit­ment and or­ga­ni­za­tion abilities.

Go over the job de­scrip­tion again in detail as well as the re­quire­ments profile. This way, you’ll be able to emphasize the skills – in this case, your hard skills – during the interview and present yourself as the ideal candidate for the position.

With a Skype interview, you have the big advantage that you can have notes and prompts at hand without your interview partner seeing them. Write down short key words that are important to you and any questions you wish to ask your future employer.

You can also print out your resume or CV and place it in front of you, in case the in­ter­view­er has questions about certain positions you’ve held pre­vi­ous­ly.

Eye contact is one of the most important aspects in personal in­ter­views, and Skype is no exception here. Always keep in mind that you should look directly into the camera (and not at the screen!) when you want to look at the in­ter­view­er. However, just like with meetings in person, long and un­in­ter­rupt­ed periods of eye contact could be perceived as un­com­fort­able staring. At the same time, if you appear to be focused on something else, you may appear dis­in­ter­est­ed.

It’s best to test eye contact in a Skype con­ver­sa­tion with a friend. They will be able to give you honest feedback about whether you convey interest and en­gage­ment in the con­ver­sa­tion.

Choose seating in which you can sit upright and your upper body, arms, and hands are visible. This enables you to use your body language to emphasize important points, and the in­ter­view­er will get a better im­pres­sion of your per­son­al­i­ty.

You should def­i­nite­ly avoid sitting on a com­fort­able sofa or on your favorite bean bag. A cozy at­mos­phere can quickly result in leaning back relaxed. This will un­doubt­ed­ly send the wrong message in an interview and give a dis­in­ter­est­ed or arrogant im­pres­sion.

Always maintain a pro­fes­sion­al and polite distance – without being too aloof – in all phases of a Skype interview. Politely greet your interview partner, ask in­ter­est­ed questions, and thank them for their time and the interview at the end.

You should ab­solute­ly avoid any in­ap­pro­pri­ate gestures. A prime example of this would be to wave at the camera when greeting or saying goodbye. This could happen out of awk­ward­ness, since you’re unable to shake the in­ter­view­er’s hand as normal. A slight nod of the head and a friendly smile are better.

However, if you do find yourself making one of these gestures, it can have an amiable and disarming effect if you briefly address it and apologize for the un­fa­mil­iar situation.

Here’s an overview of all the tips above. The table can easily be used as a checklist before your next Skype interview.

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