How You Can Deal With Your Phone Job Interviews

By Simon Natta • August 31st, 2009

In some cases, Telephone interviews are a way for employers to “pre-screen” possible job candidates before they are granted an in-person interview. In other cases, employers will conduct the full interview over the phone. What this means is that you need to be prepared to not only compete with a live interview scenario, but also be prepared to interview well over the Phone as well. I just wanted to share with you some ideas as to how you could ensure that your Phone interview has a successful outcome.

Phone|Phone} Interview Hints:

1. Use a land line.You don’t want to risk having problems with cell phone service. It is irritating for employers to conduct interviews if the call breaks up frequently or is dropped completely. If you don’t have a land line at home, just make sure you are in an area with as much cell phone service as possible interview, you need to use your voice as well as you can, and you don’t need the quality of the Phone line to get in the way}. You have to take control of as many of the variables as you can, to ensure a smooth interview.
2. Collect your things to be close at hand. Better than that, lay it all straight out in front of you. This includes your curriculum vitae, written notes about your career objective (even if it is not embedded in your original cover letter it is a good idea to have this out depending on the questions he will ask you), a pen and pad of paper for note-taking and anything else you think may be helpful during your interview. Because you won’t have to look good entering into an office, you can have anything out in front of you to aid with your success.
3. Try to ensure that there will be a minimum of possible distractions during yoru Phone interview. Ideally, you will have none, but in reality – there are the kids, your partner and other day to day events that could disrupt the flow of the Phone interview. Try to predict and prepare for them as best you can.
4. Speak slowly and clearly. When you speak to people face-to-face, you are able to understand what they are saying more clearly because you can see their mouth move. So in a way, you are reading their lips! Neither you nor your potential employer will be able to do this over the phone of course, so speak clearly and a little bit more slowly than you would if you were talking to this person in person. If you can’t hear him, drop hints that he is not speaking clearly or loud enough by politely asking him to repeat himself. If this makes you uncomfortable at all you can always blame it on your phone: “I’m really sorry, it is hard to hear you, the volume on my phone just won’t go up!”
5. Remember – you can’t be seen. That means that anything you say cannot be interpreted by your body language. Beware of jokes or sarcastic remarks that would have been harmless had he seen your facial expression. Maintain your professionalism; stay on target with the interview topics and focus on the key information about you that will get you hired.
6. No eating, drinking or chewing gum! This is self-explanatory. But, we humans are creatures of habit and might pop a potato chip in our mouths at just the wrong moment. However, when I say no eating or drinking I mean during the phone interview. You should eat beforehand to get your brain going so you can focus.
7. Make sure that you have prepared the questions that you want to ask in advance. By asking pertinent questions, you may be able to steal a lead on the competitors by positively imprinting your candidacy on the minds of the interviewer. Some instances are:

“What does a typical day look like for an employee with this job?”

“What are some skills I would need to develop in order to excel in the position I’m applying for?”

“What software/equipment would I be using?”

Caution – don’t ask about earnings or benefits until the employer has subject}.

Fortunately, it can be less intimidating interviewing over the phone with these Phone interview Hints and you may even feel more confident that you’ll do well. Great! As long as you are fully prepared and take the necessary precautions, there is no reason why you shouldn’t have a successful phone interview.

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