Skype type interviews

ddraver

Hi Guys

A few of you may remember i ve got a phone interview with Dutch oil consultancy company. They now want to do it over skype. I ve managed to blag the webcam and mic off of a mate but does anyone have any tips for good skype ettiquette, and particularly for phone interviews...?

I'm either behind the time or so terribly alone that I ve never used skype or had a webcam conversation, even at work... I mean does "eye contact" translate to looking down the lens or do i watch the people on the screen???

Any tips very welcome!

Ben6899

Just don't get your c0ck out and you'll breeze it.

skyd0g

It may be a good idea to find a friend who is similarly equipped with webcam & mic to have a practice with. Check that the lighting, framing & sound is okay (and don't forget to check the background also). There may be a small 'lag' (delay) with these conversations, so make sure the other person has finished their sentence before you reply.
...and good luck!

notsoblue

Ben6899 wrote:

Just don't get your c0ck out and you'll breeze it.

+1 This is VERY important.

term1te

My experience of Skye is that most people's faces are heavily shadowed. I guess most people have the light behind them rather than behind the computer screen. So think about putting a light behind the camera rather than you, then they can see your face better, which is probably what they want. Also, make sure there is nothing in the background you wouldn't want them to see.

Ollieda

Try and posistion it so that the background is a plain wall (preferbaly white) so that attention is always drawn to you, mix that with the lighting suggestion above and it should look good.

Unless you have a good internet connection and webcam don't make any big movements as it will most likely get a bit laggy and won't look very nice.

as for what skyd0g said about lag its a good point! watch one of the live reporters doing their stuff on BBC and see how confusing and messed up the lag can be if you don't wait for people to fully finish, also remember if they take a long time to speak after you it may be that they are still hearing you but lagged so don't cut in if you think they are being tatically silent, they can hear the end of your sentance quite a few seconds after you say it!

dmch2

It's hard to see if people are listening or waiting to say something because the lag and picture quality make reading body langauge difficult. So try to make sure you don't go on and on just to fill the apparent silence.