Best Ways to Rock Your Skype College Interviews

Best Ways to Rock Your Skype College Interviews

Skype interviews are becoming increasingly common as colleges aim to meet students where they are, no matter what region they live in.Large numbers of hopeful applicants simply cannot afford to fly to a college to interview with admissions officers in-person; other students do not have time during senior year to drive all over town to meet with alumni representatives for each college on their list.Online interviews serve as an equalizer in the admissions process, lowering the bar for interested students to meet face-to-face with the people reading their applications and making decisions that may significantly impact their educational path. Moreover, being able to interview in the comfort of your own house gives you a “homecourt advantage.”If you have a Skype college interview lined up, apply these tips to make a stellar impression.

Dress for Success

Theoretically you could wear sweatpants and no one would ever know. But even if you can get away with it, this is not the time to experiment with whether you can do interviews in your favorite SpongeBob pajama pants.In fact, even if your interviewer cannot see your whole outfit, how you dress could influence your performance. Research has found that wearing formal clothing is positively correlated with abstract cognitive processing. Take no chances and dress as you would for an in-person interview. You could still be comfortable in the clothing you wear—such as choosing slacks and a dress shirt over a full suit—but make sure you look and feel professional.

Find a Clean, Neutral Background

Another thing that should look professional is your interview environment. Imagine how distracting it would be for your interviewer to have to stare at piles of clutter atop your desk or that life-sized poster of The Rock on your wall.  Be sure to create a distraction-free, neutral environment so you can be the focus of the interview. If you have a home office in your house, that would be an ideal space for a Skype video call.Your room or the living room could work as long as you prepare the environment to allow your words to be the star. Try to face your camera toward an empty wall or a bookcase—things that are not very distracting.Remember to let your family know when your interview is scheduled to minimize background noise and untimely knocks on your door. (If you have a noisy pet, keep it occupied elsewhere).

Mic Check, Camera Check, Internet Check—Just Check Everything

The last thing you want is to be in the middle of telling your thrilling story about when you fell in love with X college, only to see your screen freeze and a notice pop up that says, “Poor Connection.”It’s okay! Connectivity issues happen. Maybe it’s raining heavily on the day of your interview or your region simply has spotty internet. In any case, come up with a backup plan in advance.Test out whether internet tethered from your phone is strong enough for a Skype video call, or let your interviewer know that connectivity issues are common where you live and suggest switching to a phone call if it becomes an issue. Besides testing the internet, also run a practice video call with a friend or sibling to try out the mic and camera. And if Skype or any other applications need to be updated, do that at least three days in advance of the actual interview in case something goes awry.

Look at the Camera!

Students usually look at their screen rather than the camera during Skype calls because people intuitively direct their attention to faces in conversations.However, to your interviewer, you may look as if you’re gazing downward. Looking at the camera best simulates making eye contact.One great way to address this issue is to move your Skype window as close to the camera as possible. You may even minimize the window so that it does not cover the whole screen to better direct where you are looking. To practice, you could record yourself answering interview questions while trying to focus your gaze on the camera.

Smile 

Smiles can go a long way in forging relationships. Since your interviewer cannot easily read your body language through Skype, your facial expressions matter all the more in conveying friendliness, warmth, and sociability. So, open the conversation with a wide grin and maintain an engaged expression throughout the interview.However, people can usually detect fake smiles on an unconscious level, so don’t force yourself. Instead, you could get yourself in a good mood by watching funny videos beforehand.The key is to be truly engaged in the conversation. And it shouldn’t be hard since you are the subject! Listen actively to your interviewer and respond with positivity. If you do, you’ll naturally find yourself smiling.

Use Your Hands

Talking with your hands can be an effective way to show engagement through body language. An analysis of the most popular TED Talks found that speakers used on average 465 hand gestures, almost double the average number of gestures used by speakers of the least popular talks.The power of using your hands is two-fold. Gesturing helps the speaker better articulate their ideas and the listener follow along with greater ease. Curious about how you can practice? Science of People, an organization that researches interpersonal communication, published this article on “20 Hand Gestures You Should Be Using.”But don’t overdo the hand gestures. Avoid flailing wildly or coming off as disingenuous. Practice your answers in the mirror or with a friend first and pay special attention to whether or not your hand gestures amplify or detract from your comments.

Prepare Strong Answers to Common Questions

Now to the meat of your interview: how you should answer questions.Many of your interviews will likely cover topics such as your academic interests, personality or character traits, extracurriculars, and why you want to attend the college. Our e-book has some great questions that you can practice with.When you practice, do not focus on the type of questions as much as your answers. Many questions probe at the same thing—whether you are a good fit for a school, what you are like, your interests—so prepare stories to illustrate these things.Usually once you get to a topic that your interviewer is interested in learning more about, he or she will ask you follow-up questions about it. Coming up with strong, interesting stories can steer the conversation in your favor.

Practice Makes Perfect

The effort you put into perfecting your Skype interview will show. As you apply these tips, you will build your interviewing muscles and set yourself up to have great conversations with alumni and admissions officers at your colleges of interest.Schedule your interview with enough time in advance to allow for solid research and a few practice runs. It may be helpful to schedule a mock interview with an admissions expert or your college counselor.The expert admissions consultants at Wise World Prep have helped hundreds of students maximize their potential of being admitted to their top choice colleges and universities. Over 20 years, we have successfully guided students through each stage of the application process – from choosing competitive high school courses to building an appropriate college list to drafting winning essays to writing persuasive update and appeals letters. We would be happy to answer your questions and partner with you to create a successful admissions roadmap.Ready to get started? Schedule a complimentary 20-minute conversation today!Want to stay informed? Subscribe to our newsletter.See what others are saying about us