How to ace your interview on Skype

Your polished resume and stellar portfolio have landed you a Skype video interview with your potential boss. With the right preparation, you can make great impression over Skype video. And if you’re a developer, Skype Interviews has you covered. You can even add a Contact me button to your email signature, which allows potential employers to call you directly from email.

Set yourself up to make a great first impression

Ahead of your Skype video interview, you will want to prep your surroundings, make sure your Skype profile represents your professional personality, and get Skype ready for the video call.

Check your background surroundings—Look at your surroundings and make sure your background isn’t a distraction—check for wall clutter or bright lights behind you. For the best video quality, use a light-colored background. Also, make sure your space will be quiet during the call.

Create a professional Skype profile—Take a look at your Skype profile and make sure your user name matches the name on your resume (or a shortened nickname) and consider uploading a profile picture. Use the Mood feature to convey your professional status, such as current job title.

Get ready for the call—Make sure to close any programs not needed for the interview. Open applications, including a web browser, can eat up bandwidth and reduce the quality of the video call. Have links to your resume and portfolio ready to drop into the Skype chat window. Right before your video call begins, set your status to Do not disturb, so you don’t get any IMs or calls.

Test your technical settings

You need to make sure your Skype settings will allow you to receive the video call from the interviewer as well as check that your audio and video are working properly. You can do these tasks from the Skype Options window by selecting Tools > Options.

Check your Skype privacy settings—Since it is likely that the person interviewing you isn’t one of your current contacts, you need to make sure you can receive their call and IMs. In the Options window, click Privacy and under Privacy settings, select the anyone radio button for all options:

Check your audio and video settings—Next, you will want to ensure your audio and video are working properly. To check your audio, in the Options window, click General and then Audio settings. Click Make free test call to verify that you can hear the caller and the caller can hear you. During your test call, confirm that you have a strong internet connection. If Skype detects a weak connection, it will reduce the quality of the video call to try to stop the call from dropping altogether.

Next, click Video settings and confirm you can see the video stream. Note you can click Webcam settings and make refinements, such as adjusting the brightness, to fit your background environment. Visit Skype support to learn more.

Technical interviews for developers—we’ve got you covered

Last summer, Skype introduced Skype Interviews, which supports a video call with an integrated code editor.

Software engineers can compile and run code right from a Skype video call during a coding interview. Skype Interviews is easy to set up—no download required. Read “Skype Interviews connects software engineers with mentors—regardless of distance” to learn more.

Pro tip—add a Contact me button to your email signature

Take your email signature to the next level with the Contact me button—a link or image that when clicked calls you on Skype. Start by visiting Skype contact me button to get a Skype icon image and copy/paste it into a document. Or you can type text, such as Call me on Skype. Next, select the Skype image or text, right-click, and select Link. Where you would enter a web address, enter skype: followed by your Skype name (e.g., skype:Julie.Robbins). Just add the link or image to your email signature, and when the recipient clicks it, a call will be placed to your Skype.

More tips to ace your interview

We have put together an infographic with more tips to ace your interview. You can download it to your desktop to keep as a handy reference.

To learn more about Skype video calling, read “How to have a great Skype call” and “Call quality guide for Windows desktop.” Let us know what you think by clicking your profile picture and selecting Help and feedback. And as always, please join us in the Skype Community.

The post How to ace your interview on Skype appeared first on Skype Blogs.

blogs.skype.com/tips/2018/04/03/how-to-ace-your-interview-on-skype/

Lawyer Gets Prison in First Sentence Handed Down in Mueller Probe

The first sentence has been handed down in the Mueller probe. Attorney Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch national, was sentence to 30 days in prison and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine for lying to the FBI following a guilty plea.

Tribune Media reports:

Van der Zwaan pleaded guilty in February to lying about his conversations with Rick Gates, who was Donald Trump’s deputy campaign manager in 2016, and an unnamed person who prosecutors say has ties to Russian intelligence.

Appearing in federal court Tuesday, Van der Zwaan told the judge, “What I did was wrong. I apologize to the court for my conduct.”

The special counsel’s office did not take a position on whether Van der Zwaan should face time behind bars, but suggested he should face a clear penalty.

Bloomberg reported:

Alex Van Der Zwaan was charged Feb. 16 in federal court in Washington with lying to investigators about conversations related to a report he helped prepare on the trial of a Ukrainian politician, Yulia Tymoshenko. Van Der Zwaan was charged with a criminal information, which typically precedes a guilty plea.

Van Der Zwaan, identified on his LinkedIn page as an associate in the London office of Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom, was questioned regarding the firm’s work in 2012 on behalf of the Ukraine Ministry of Justice. He allegedly lied to investigators about his last communications with Richard Gates, who was indicted in October with ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort over their consulting work in Ukraine.

 The lawyer also allegedly lied about his talks with someone else, referred to by the government as “Person A.” Van Der Zwaan deleted and failed to produce emails sought by the special counsel and a law firm, prosecutors said.

The post Lawyer Gets Prison in First Sentence Handed Down in Mueller Probe appeared first on Towleroad.

Lawyer Gets Prison in First Sentence Handed Down in Mueller Probe

WeChat Go: The One Travel Tool To Rule Them All

WeChat is more than just a chat app. Now, WeChat can help you on your travels around Europe! WeChat and the Netherlands Royal Communications Group (KPN) launched WeChat Go “Europe Experience” Mini Program in late March.

This Mini Program follows the cooperation between WeChat Go and KPN in July 2017 where a KPN WeChat Go SIM card was launched offering coverage in over 32 European territories. The WeChat Go “Europe Experience” Mini Program has launched for six of the most popular travel destinations in its first phase: Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Rome, London and Barcelona. It’s a one-stop platform for tourists to obtain detailed information about these six cities, including tourist attractions, culinary delights, and shopping.

Not only does it offer details such as opening hours and location descriptions, the Mini Program also allows users to purchase tickets for popular places and receive promotional discount vouchers for local vendors.

These are among the latest steps that WeChat has taken to establish a comprehensive travel experience for Chinese outbound tourists. Following in the footsteps of its collaboration with KPN, WeChat is also now looking to upgrading users’ experiences in United States and Southeast Asia and open more opportunities with overseas business partners.

With all of these new features constantly being rolled out, it is clear that WeChat is increasingly becoming more than just an app. It’s a lifestyle.

blog.wechat.com/2018/04/03/wechat-go-the-one-travel-tool-to-rule-them-all/

75 Photos of Mostly Bearded, All Beautiful Men by Dan Ostergren

www.advocate.com/photography/2018/4/03/75-photos-mostly-bearded-all-beautiful-men-dan-ostergren

Congresswoman to Step Down After Abusive Behavior by Staffer Revealed

U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty kept her chief of staff on after he was accused of harassing and threatening another employee.

www.advocate.com/politicians/2018/4/02/congresswoman-step-down-after-abusive-behavior-staffer-revealed

HERE’S WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW REGARDING OUR HIV STATUS DATA AND…

HERE’S WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW REGARDING OUR HIV STATUS DATA AND PRIVACY POLICY  

As a company that serves the LGBTQ community, we understand the sensitivities around HIV status disclosure. Our goal is and always has been to support the health and safety of our users worldwide.

Recently, Grindr’s industry standard use of third party partners including Apptimize and Localytics, two highly-regarded software vendors, to test and validate the way we roll out our platform has drawn concern over the way we share user data.

In an effort to clear any misinformation we feel it necessary to state:

1. Grindr has never, nor will we ever sell personally identifiable user information – especially information regarding HIV status or last test date – to third parties or advertisers.  
2. As an industry standard practice, Grindr does work with highly-regarded vendors to test and optimize how we roll out our platform. These vendors are under strict contractual terms that provide for the highest level of confidentiality, data security, and user privacy.
3. When working with these platforms we restrict information shared except as necessary or appropriate. Sometimes this data may include location data or data from HIV status fields as these are features within Grindr, however, this information is always transmitted securely with encryption, and there are data retention policies in place to further protect our users’ privacy from disclosure.
4. It’s important to remember that Grindr is a public forum. We give users the option to post information about themselves including HIV status and last test date, and we make it clear in our privacy policy that if you choose to include this information in your profile, the information will also become public. As a result, you should carefully consider what information to include in your profile.

As an industry leader and champion for the LGBTQ community, Grindr, recognizes that a person’s HIV status can be highly stigmatized but after consulting several international health organizations and our Grindr For Equality team, Grindr determined with community feedback it would be beneficial for the health and well-being of our community to give users the option to publish, at their discretion, the user’s HIV Status and their Last Tested Date. It is up to each user to determine what, if anything, to share about themselves in their profile.

The inclusion of HIV status information within our platform is always regarded carefully with our users’ privacy in mind, but like any other mobile app company, we too must operate with industry standard practices to help make sure Grindr continues to improve for our community.  We assure everyone that we are always examining our processes around privacy, security and data sharing with third parties, and always looking for additional measures that go above and beyond industry best practices to help maintain our users’ right to privacy.

– Scott Chen, CTO of Grindr

Despite His History Trump Declares April Sexual Harassment Awareness Month

Donald Trump admitted to grabbing women without consent and refuses to believe accusers, but he unironically issued a Sexual Harassment Awareness Month proclamation anyway. 

www.advocate.com/politics/2018/4/02/despite-his-history-trump-declares-april-sexual-harassment-awareness-month

HIV Data Protection and Breach at Competitor

Hornet is a gay social network that was created to better the lives of our community. Our company values guided us as we built a product for our LGBTQ community that can improve lives and keep people protected. It should be a fundamental expectation that a company built to serve LGBTQ people would aim to advance our safety and security, not to simply profit off of us or our data.

We go above and beyond what is expected of a traditional company because we are part of the LGBTQ community. We understand the challenge of cultivating a sexuality and gender identity. We have lived through 37 years of the HIV epidemic. People living with HIV have a fundamental right to privacy and that does not end when they use an online platform. One of our guiding principles is finding innovative ways to use technology to combat stigma and discrimination not use technology and data to do harm to people living with HIV.

Hornet values, unequivocally, the trust that our users place in our platform. We never share the sensitive information that our users disclose in their profiles, nor do we use any other identifying information about our users. We invented the Know Your Status (KYS) feature in 2011 to allow users to openly communicate about HIV status and stimulate a conversation around sexual health. This program, participated in by millions of users, is essential to reducing stigma and providing critical prevention and treatment information.  

“Building a product for the gay community, should mean working to improve the lives of our community members and keeping our community protected. It should be a fundamental expectation that a company built to serve LGBTQ people would aim to advance our safety and security, not to simply profit off of us,” said Hornet co-founder and president, Sean Howell.  

The recent accusations leveled against a gay hook-up app are all the more interesting now that the company in question is no longer owned by members of the LGBTQ community, rather it is now owned and largely operated by KunLun based in China, an ostensibly heterosexual gaming company. That feels far removed from the specific needs of our community.

“As someone who has living with HIV for over 20 years I know how critical privacy is and I am appalled that any company would violate this basic trust, particularly a company that claims to serve the LGBTQ community.  My experience with HIV informs all the work I do at Hornet and the needs of people living with HIV are always front of mind.” Alex Garner, Senior Health Innovation Strategist, Hornet.

We respect the privacy and security of ours users and are committed to creating a space for people of all HIV statuses. The online space we create is a community. It is not a resource for third party profiteering. We cultivate an dynamic online community that is supportive and affirming so that people can grow and thrive. Our users put their trust in us, not just around building good technology, but also around doing the right thing and living by a set of values that reflect the community.

love.hornet.com/blog/2018/4/2/hiv-data-protection-and-breach-at-competitor

GLAAD fact checks inaccurate claims surrounding president Trump’s transgender military ban

www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-fact-checks-inaccurate-claims-surrounding-president-trumps-transgender-military-ban

Mattie More: Hey Sexy’s!

I would love to introduce myself to you all! I’m a sissy girl in training slowly working toward a possible transition. In the meantime I still enjoy the masculine and feminine sides of sexuality. I’m extremely kinky so don’t hesitate to run all your wildest dreams by me. I’m smart, sweet and sassy just like any sissy girl should be. I’m a switch but my submissive side comes out more during sex. I love to play music and write. I love the running, hiking and the beach. As I said there will be more but i just wanted to give you all an introduction. I hope to be seeing a lot of you all very soon because you’ll be seeing a lot of me! 😉

Visit Mattie More’s Chat Room

www.flirt4free.com/models/bios/mattie_more/about.php?mp_code=f48t&service=guys