Summary: <br> <br> Tips for Interviewing on Skype<br> <br> // <br> <br> Video Transcript for "Five tips to Prepare you for a Skype Interview"<br> Brian Clapp, Director of Content, WorkinSports.com:<br> More and more sports businesses are conducting job interviews on Skype. It makes a lot of sense if you think about it.<br> <br> <br> <br> You see, most sports businesses recruit nationally and internationally to find the best employees, but if every time they have a job opening they have to fly in 10 people, put them all up in hotels, feed them and then send them on a flight home...only to find out they weren't a match for the company, it’s not a very cost effective manner of going about the job interview process.<br> <br> But Skype is. Skype interviews cost nothing, all you need is an internet connection.<br> <br> The problem is most people Ive talked to that have had Skype interviews say they bombed, they went really poorly, and it was because of some really simple things that could be fixed easily…so let’s talk about those things and how you can be more prepared if someone ever says to you 'hey let’s do this job interview on Skype'.<br> Tip #1:<br> From a technical standpoint you don’t want to rely on your wireless network, you want to connect directly into your modem. The reason is, wireless networks can be inconsistent, the last thing you want is to have your Skype conversation dropping out while you are having a serious conversation.<br> Tip #2<br> Close out everything on your computer - don’t have outlook open, don’t have the internet open, don’t have notepad open. Only have Skype open so that the processor in your computer can focus on running Skype to the best of its ability.<br> Tip #3:<br> You want to make sure you’re audio quality is really high, most of the microphones that are built into laptops are not good, so consider buying a USB microphone that plugs right into your laptop. It costs about $100 and it works really well, I’ve never had any complaints about my audio quality. And that is really important in a Skype interview, you want to make sure they can hear exactly what you are saying.<br> Tip #4:<br> Let’s think about the overall look of your Skype interview set. You don’t want to have an open window or a lot of light coming from behind you because it will make your face look very dark, like you are in witness protection – definitely don’t want that. Light should come from behind the webcam and coming straight to your face.<br> Tip #5:<br> Think about where you look, this is the hardest part, your tendency is to look down at the screen where you see the other person, it feels like eye contact but it isn’t. The problem is look at where I am looking now, you are seeing into my forehead, but if I make eye contact with the webcam, not the picture down below, then it appears we are having an interactive conversation, which is much more comfortable.<br> <br> Someone can tell if you are looking over here, to check yourself out, or looking down which looks like you are not connecting with the person you are interviewing with. That’s an important part of any interview, you want to build camaraderie where you feel like you are interacting well, but if you are looking all over the place and not making eye contact there won’t be a connection.<br> <br> Those are a few simple tips to make sure your Skype interview goes really well, and I’m sure you’ll stand out against the other interview subjects that didn’t listen to this video.
