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I applied to a company not far away online a week ago. The manager emails me that they want to set up a video interview via Skype or facetime. How would you go about that? I always have the dogs barking at my place and no privacy.
Also I've always done job interviews in person and doing it on video just reeks of creepiness to me.
Anyone done this before? How have you done it? What's it like?
Lots of companies do this now and I don't see how it's creepy? It's a good way to meet candidates somewhat face to face without having them drive/fly in. You can tell a lot from a candidate just by watching them speak as opposed to hearing them speak (phone interview).
Go to a friends / family members house or rent a hotel with good WiFi. You do not want dogs barking in the background or anything really being heard in the background.
This is becoming the norm. I've done several Skype interviews. You need a Skype account (free), a computer with a built in camera and a solid wifi connection. There's not anything creepy about it IMO. You're basically just showing up on a screen vs. in person. You definitely need a private location and should treat this interview as you would any other.
Lots of companies do this now and I don't see how it's creepy? It's a good way to meet candidates somewhat face to face without having them drive/fly in. You can tell a lot from a candidate just by watching them speak as opposed to hearing them speak (phone interview).
Go to a friends / family members house or rent a hotel with good WiFi. You do not want dogs barking in the background or anything really being heard in the background.
That's an excellent suggestion, rent a hotel room to do this and put up the Do Not Disturb sign on the door.
You might also contact the local public libraries and ask if you can borrow a conference room to do your Skype video interview. They should have WiFi or better an ethernet port in the conference room and you could plug in your laptop into it. They might even have equipment for you to use there. I would of course, go there ahead of time and test it all out. Same for the hotel, check out their connections and such.
But you are right to be aware of dogs barking and other noise distractions in the background, because you want it to come across as professional.
I participated in a Skype interview back in 2013 as we looked for a candidate to fill the vacant role of developer in our department.
We made the connection and instantly saw the candidate had made no effort to dress to impress. Big x-mark there. Then the candidate made the mistake of interviewing from what appeared to be his bedroom adorned by what appeared to be a centerfold from an adult magazine on the far back wall. Another x on this guy's checklist.
What almost made myself, the HR generalist and hiring manager almost fall over laughing was when someone, his girlfriend, we don't know who exactly, walked into the room in the background wearing only a towel and went "oh, s**t!"
The look on the candidate's face was priceless. Needless to say, we went with someone else.
I completely agree with checking out the local library. Many libraries have small study rooms you can reserve (it may be difficult to get one at the last moment, though). Otherwise, hotel, friend's house, anywhere you can expect quiet is a good bet.
I've interviewed people on skype before. I agree with being careful who is around, dressing to impress, and thinking about what is behind you in view of the camera. I have seen all sorts of strange (and sometimes completely inappropriate) wall "art" pop up in Skype interviews, random people popping in and out of he picture (one woman's husband thought it would be funny to pop in to tell a joke or something- weird!) and people wearing what looked like PJs.
Ha- I just noticed hillcountrywinefan's had similar experiences
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