I have a Skype video interview coming up for a postdoc. Does anyone have experience of this?

I'm not sure what to wear: a suit seems OTT in my bedroom but I wouldn't want to underdress either.

I'd be grateful for any advice!

Interesting, I've never heard of this being done before. I would suggest you dress smart anyway even if it feels a bit ridiculous. You probably don't need to wear a full suit- a smart jacket and shirt/blouse (I don't know whether you're male or female) would do. You could compensate for feeling ridiculously overdressed in your bedroom by wearing bunny slippers and pajamas on the bottom half! Good luck (up)

Thanks for your reply. Yeah I'm male so really it's a choice between full suit/jacket/tie or just a shirt. Totally agree with the PJ bottom-half sentiment, lol (up)

There's not much online about this type of interview and even less about it for academia. I guess one advantage is that one could take notes/papers in to the interview =)

Any more thoughts on the dress side?

I had a skype interview for a post doc and you should treat it exactly the same as if it was in person. A good bit of advice is if the line is rather quite ensure you clarify the question as i ranted for 10 minutes with regards to a question that they didn't ask. But i still got it so didn't effect the out come.

Top half - smart casual.
Bottom half - naked.

Same way the newsreaders do it !


p.s. Can I strongly suggest that the room behind you is TIDY !

I wouldn't be able to concentrate on the interview this way

:-)

I had a skype interview for a PhD position in Germany. I was dressed very casually with a hoddy top and I got offered the postion. In my opinon for research positions especially those in the molecular field of research which is my area I think appearance counts for virtually nothing it all comes down to an ability to be able to discuss, criticially assess and be able to argue rationally any viewpoint you have on a certain topic. For a postdoc position I could only imagine that the last thing that a potential employer will think about is your appearance and be far more interested in you understanding of your research area as well as your research ideas and mechanistic research methods to test out those ideas at least in science anyway. If your postdoc isnt in science then I dont have any advice for you :)

Sorry Myostatin, couldn't disagree more. While the employer will of course be looking for research abilities, skills, knowledge etc etc, they WILL notice how you look. This all goes to professionalism. Do you want to come across as a student or come across as a professional? This is serious - you're not just bumming around campus, you want to be taken as a serious academic, and the way you look will of course count. If you show up casually, it indicates you couldn't be bothered with your appearance - and if you can't be bothered making an effort for an interview, why should an employer offer you the job?

Dress the part - jacket, good pants etc. This will also make you feel more confident and like a professional.

Good luck!