Skyping in Spain!

Have you carried out a Skype interview yet???   

…It will only be a matter of time.

 Confidence is continuing to return to the construction industry and employers are having to adapt in order to achieve recruitment goals. Those that adapt successfully are those who appreciate that the traditional recruitment strategies and processes are no longer the only means of recruiting the right people for your business…and to get to the right people first, you should use all methods of communication!

An increasingly used interview method is Skype, it is a live call where you can see each other in live time. As the demand for staff increases and the skill shortage in the UK becomes more and more visible, Skype is a great way of reaching out to new talent and is the next best thing to be sitting in a room with someone!

We have helped clients conduct Skype interviews and found that those who have embraced this method succeed in filling their recruitment needs quickly. Recently we have helped a client find the right candidate by setting up a Skype interview with a candidate who was returning from New Zealand saving valuable time.

I am based in Spain sourcing candidates for the Scottish construction industry and Skype is something I now use everyday. I have experienced companies being wary of recruiting from abroad because they can’t interview the candidate in person… “I can’t look them in the eye”… well on Skype you can do just that!

If Scotland is lacking in candidates but Spain has plenty, then Skype is the perfect solution to conduct an initial assessment. Exploring this interview method rather than avoiding considering people from Europe at all or sticking to carrying out the interview over a telephone call is a more efficient way for both parties as you can see how the person presents themselves, how well they communicate and generally get more of an understanding of who you are potentially employing.

Clients can use my expertise to conduct interviews over Skype or indeed on other methods of video interviewing, technology is improving all the time and I can advise of all the options! You can read more on my role on our website or my LinkedIn page  

To get you started here are some tips I have put together from my experience of Skype interviews:

Tips for Skype Interviews:

• Preparation is key – don’t treat a Skype interview any less important than a face-to-face interview. A good recruiter will have provided you with their appraisal of the candidate so review that ensure you have an interview plan. Is it a Q&A, are you using a competency based model, how are you scoring candidates etc?

• Internet Connection – there is nothing worse than when you are in the middle of listening to a good answer to a question and suddenly your call freezes or cuts off, do all you can to avoid this, practice calls with colleagues for example.  

• Appearance – remember your potential employee can see you and you are representing your company and it’s image over a Skype call just as you would in a face to face interview.  

• Location / Background – choose a quiet location and prepare your surroundings, avoid having a busy background that could cause noise or distract the candidate you are interviewing.  

• Practice – believe me, the first time you Skype will feel strange, better to practice first.  

• Smile – don’t forget to smile on camera, it’s instinct to smile when you meet someone in person but sometimes over Skype when you are focusing on what you look like or you are keeping an eye on the internet connection that you forget that the other person can see you. A call over Skype might be new to both interviewer and interviewee so relax and a way to help the conversation is to smile.

• CV or Notes on the Screen – unlike in a face to face interview you can have notes up on the screen while talking on Skype, the interviewer can have the candidates CV on screen to make it easy to work through it or their interview questions to help the structure of the call.