A good resume may no longer be sufficient to get you in the door. Gradually companies or their recruitment agencies want you to go through a telephone interview first.
BEFORE THE PHONE INTERVIEW
There are primarily two kinds of phone interviews; scheduled and unscheduled. Regularly the first contact for a scheduled one is via email, however hypothetically your phone may ring at any time. Thus, make sure you answer it yourself. If you are not reachable, have a professional voicemail message.
Unscheduled calls never work in your favour; therefore, it is vital to be prepared.
Do your homework.
Carefully research the company and the interviewer, just as if you were getting ready to meet them in person. However, expect some distinction on the question, “What do you know about us?” If you are not able to identify the company’s main facts, strategies and markets, the interview may be over within minutes. What is pleasant about a phone interview is that you can have a ‘cheat sheet’ in front of you.
Be ensure to prepare questions. These may make or break your interview. Design them with two goals in your mind: To give you the information you need to regulate if you want to go further and to demonstrate you are perfect for the job.
Create a comfortable environment.
If you don’t have a lot of experience with phone interviews, you might find them more stressful than that of live ones. So ensure that you feel at ease. Shut out distractions and reject background noise (for example, noises of young children or pets). Print out your resume and highlight key sections that you wish to highlight during the phone interview. If you will be talking on a landline, ensure your mobile is turned off. If you plan to do the interview on a mobile, make sure it is fully charged.
DURING and AFTER THE PHONE INTERVIEW
Listen first. Generally, the interviewer will set the stage. He or she will talk about expectations, why the person before you left, what it takes to be successful in this company and what the major challenges will be. Take notes so you can respond to all these points when it is your turn to talk.
The element of a positive interview is discovering things that you have in mutual. Look for ways to make these connections – for example, by saying, “Sounds familiar: We had a similar situation at company ABC. Here is what I did. And these were the results.”
Then talk. When we are in front of someone, we can show and accept visual signals. On the phone, we must make a good impression solely with our voices. Posture is also important and may have an impact on your voice. Stand or ensure you sit up very straight during the conversation.
Smile as you speak. If you don’t believe the difference this makes, test it by leaving yourself two identical voice messages; one with and one without smiling. During the phone interview, a good time to smile is when you talk about the work you’ve done, ask questions or express your interest in the company.
Once you have followed these suggestions, move on to other things. And remember, somewhere out there is a job for you. You just have to find it.
