Employers Using Skype for Interviews

If you are looking for a job right now, you may be surprised to find out that your interview could occur through video-related software such as Skype. In order to reduce costs, many employers are doing more and more through the use of video. It works out well for both parties. The prospective employee may actually be able to do their job interviews from home.

If you are going to be interviewed in this manner, be sure you are prepared. For a great article on how to prepare for your interview on Skype, check out the following by e.how.com:

Succeeding in a Skype interview takes as much preparation, if not more, than a regular interview.

Skype.com

User-Submitted Article

With companies slashing expenses in every which way these days, many are now preferring to interview job candidates online using applications such as Skype. With face to face interaction still intact, hiring managers can eliminate the costs associated with flying out candidates while maintaining the considerable benefits of having a face-to-face conversation.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

A computer equipped with a webcam, microphone, and Skype

Appropriate interview attire

As isolated room with adequate lighting, lacking any distractions

First, remember this is a REAL interview! Do not be tricked into thinking that preparation is not required since the interview will be done online. Though there are some tricks to Skype interviews listed below that are not available in an on-site interview, hiring managers will still be choosing individuals that they perceive as most qualified for the job. Thus, PREPARE for the interview in advance. Call the company or asking the hiring manager what would be the appropriate dress for the interview for you to best fit in with the company’s culture (if you do not know already).

If possible, test out your computer set-up days before the interview is set to take place. If possible, use an ethernet cable to access the web; relying on Wi-Fi during an interview is a risk that should be avoided at all costs. Also, make sure there is plenty of lighting in the room, so that the hiring manager can clearly see your face. Free the room of any unnecessary distractions (for instance, a red umbrella or green coat hanging in the background), but it is okay for there to leave non-distracting objects up (such as a clock, a table, etc.). Test the call with another friend to make sure no minor details need to be adjusted (such as the distance between you and the screen).

Try to get the computer’s webcam high enough so that it is eye-level with you. Some laptops naturally require the user to look down at the camera, and that look is typically not as flattering for an interview as the eye-level approach. This can be achieved by a variety of creative means, but if you have some sort of laptop or computer stand, that would be best.

Get there early! Log onto Skype approximately 15 minutes before the interview start time. If the hiring manager is already online, they will be impressed that you have shown up for this virtual interview early. If not, they will still notice you were already online when they got on.

Be professional, but be yourself! Don’t get nervous; demonstrating confidence can sometimes be one of the deciding factors to who the company chooses for the job. Try not to refer to notes (see tip below), however, feel free to write down anything the interviewer might say. Also, it is appropriate to look at the video feed of the interviewer while they are talking, however, it is imperative that you speak to them by looking at the webcam. This will give the impression of eye contact, which is a major selling point in any interview.

via ehow.com

Online Schools Using Skype, Tinychat, Video Conferencing, Wiki and Other Technologies

Recently one of the universities where I work sent me an email stating that they require that I have a Skype account. I was curious to see if other schools were using Skype and did a little research. I found an article which I found interesting from informationtechnologyschools.com. In the article, they mention 10 ways to use Skype in the online classroom:

Videoconferencing
Tutoring
Live Lectures
Guest Lectures
Global Projects
Student Presentations
Classroom Discussions
Announcements
Oral Examinations
Virtual Field Trips

For the complete article, click here.

I can see that Skype would be extremely useful in synchronous classrooms. Click here for another article about online learning using Skype from collegefinder.org. I like that they are finding new and unusual technology uses for the classroom. Click here for an excellent article on 100 inspiring ways to use social media in the classroom from onlineuniversities.com.

I’ve seen that some schools are using Tinychat. PBworks.com claims, “Tinychat delivers dead simple video conferences without the extraneous ad-ons and inconvenience, making video conferencing an accessible, uncomplicated experience. It works on Windows, Mac and Linux; with Firefox, IE, Safari, and Chrome; and there is a version available for iPhones. You can have up to twelve people in a room with HQ video, protected by passwords and moderators, share your desktop with them, and your conferences can be recorded and embedded on your website.” – Check out this tutorial on how to use Tinychat by clicking here.

When it comes to video conferencing, though, one of the advantages I see for online learning is that it can be completed in asynchronous format. In other words, users can log on at any time of the day and not at a specific time. As an instructor, I find this to be extremely helpful to me. I do my best thinking at around 5:00 am and I doubt my students would want to log on for a lecture at that time.

Asynchronous video is still an excellent option for online courses. It may not have the interactive abilities that programs like Skype have, but it may also avoid some of the confusion and problems that come with understanding the technology as well. There is also the blended learning option that some schools embrace. Some schools have parts of the classes offered synchronously and parts asynchronously.

There are tools for both types of learning. There are advantages and disadvantages with both. Chronical.com stated the following about synchronous online tools, “If using the “same time, different place” model of communication, some common barriers to implementation of synchronous tools are cost and bandwidth—not only cost and bandwidth on your end, as the individual teacher or the institution, but also to the students. This is especially true with conferencing systems; video/web conferencing requires equipment to deliver but also to receive. Although the benefits of real-time video conferencing are clear—it’s as near to a physical classroom environment as you can get—the software, hardware, and bandwidth necessary on both sides can be more cost-prohibitive than actually physically attending a class.”

That same article addressed asynchronous online tools, giving the following examples of technology that can be used in this asynchronous online setting:

Discussion boards: whether integrated into your online learning environment or not (such as Google Groups), well-managed discussion boards can produce incredibly rich conversations about topics at hand.
Blogs: my personal favorite, as not only are the students discussing with one another (and the instructor), but they’re learning something about writing for a wider audience whomay or may not be listening in. The open nature of blogs also allows for communication between students in other classes at other institutions who are studying the same topics. You might have to make “comments on blogs” count for a grade in order for some students to do it, but such is the nature of the beast—those students probably wouldn’t talk in class, either.
Social Networking Site: Facebook and Twitter can play important roles in your asynchronous communications strategy. Facebook pages for a class can be the destination for up-to-date information about the course, without your students having to friend you (or even one another). Twitter, and Twitter lists, can be useful sites of asynchronous discussion, although not in the threaded format that one is used to seeing in a discussion board setting.
E-mail/Listservs: Some people consider mailing lists to be quaint relics of a previous technological age, but it’s hard to argue with the fact that they still work: an e-mail based discussion list does afford one the ability to carry on threaded discussions in a private environment, yet outside the confines of a managed system (for discussion boards). In fact Google Groups (referenced above) is a threaded discussion board that can also take place via e-mail, putting a different twist on the typical concept of the listserv.

I personally often use my blog in my online classrooms. I teach many courses where students are researching specific topics such as entrepreneurship, leadership, marketing, etc. By adding links to my blog where I have written about many of these topics, it helps add content to the discussions. I have not had students create their own blog as the above author mentions, although I like the idea, but I have taught classes using a wiki.

For those of you not familiar with what a wiki is, think of Wikipedia. That is the ultimate wiki where information can be added to a site by multiple sources. When classes are taught on a wiki, it is a bit more complicated as students need to write some code-like information. It worked out well in the school where I taught it, because it was a technology-based school where students had more technology training. One advantage of a wiki is for group-based projects. In the course I taught, students were able to work together on one big project where they could all enter information onto the wiki. The problem with any group project, wiki-based or not, is that you still have those students who do not participate as much as others.

As with any technology, there will always be some obstacles to overcome. However, I embrace technology and look forward to the next new product that helps increase student involvement and retention. For more information about online learning, check out my book: The Online Student User’s Manual.