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I might be having a skype interview next week, but I live way up in the mountains and do not have high speed internet. In fact, there is essentially no high speed internet anywhere around this area.
The only place in the nearest town that has high speed internet is the Subway restaurant, but I'm obviously not going to do a skype interview from a Subway.
There's a hotel about 30 miles away that has high speed wireless internet (I would know, I've sat outside and used it before).
Do you think that would be my best bet? Driving to that hotel, renting out a room and doing the interview from a hotel room? Is that weird? Should I tell them during the interview why I'm in a hotel room?
I don't want to simply tell them that I won't be able to, because then they would probably just move on.
I think it would be a good idea to go to the hotel for the quiet and high speed internet. I've skyped with friends/family when they didn't have high speed internet, and calls would drop and voices would come and go.
You don't need to volunteer that you're in a hotel room unless they ask. I'm guessing (if it's a decent hotel) you'll be sitting at the desk in the hotel room and they don't have to see the bed unless it's super cramped. It'll probably look like you are skyping from home.
I was thinking that would look a bit unprofessional, as if I didn't even take the time to seek out a good spot to interview but was just doing it on my lunch break on the run or something.
I would do it from my car. It might seem a bit unprofessional, but given your circumstances, I think its acceptable. Depending on their hiring process, this might just be a screening before they bring you in. Nothing like spending 50-60 bucks on a room for a 20 minutes chat.
If you're that concerned, put up a white sheet behind you unless your car is very cramped, and orient the camera so you don't see much of anything behind you. You can't really make out much anyways in Skype.
If there is any sort of quiet lobby in the hotel, ask management if you can do the interview there.
You need to go to a place with the internet connection and doing a job interview from your car seems pretty shaky to me. If you tell the interviewer that you had to drive to find internet and he sees you sitting in your car, the obvious conclusion would be that you are stealing the internet connection. Not such a good thing during a job interview.
If you have to rent the room, then rent the room. You need the job, do what you have to do to get it.
I would try to go to a Starbucks or even McDonald's and sit at a table next to a wall so it can't be made out and wear a headset before doing it in a car.
I would try to go to a Starbucks or even McDonald's and sit at a table next to a wall so it can't be made out and wear a headset before doing it in a car.
In case I haven't been clear enough already, I'm not doing it in a car.
I also do not plan on doing it in a restaurant, either. There would be too much noise, too many distractions, etc.
Call the hotel and see if they have any sort of "business center" room at the hotel. Ask them if you could use it for an hour and offer them $30 for the use of it. The manager will likely just pocket the cash, but you'll likely be in an office-like environment.
If they won't do that, rent a room (hopefully with a desk) and stage it so that looks like an office, i.e. not showing the beds, mirrors, etc.
If you get the job, you'll have a cool story to tell your boss. If not, you'll have a cool story to tell future interviewers about how inventive you needed to be and that you will carry-over that kind of initiative when you start work for them. Flexibility and ingenuity. Good traits I look for when I interview people.
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