Telephone interviews are different than live interviews and require different strategies for the jobseeker to be successful. When I ask new coaching clients to assess their interview technique, they never distinguish between phone and live interviews. Many clients don’t even realize that brief phone interactions are mini-interviews. Even when a longer phone call is scheduled in advance, some of my clients refer to it as a “screen,” as if this is something different or even less than an interview.
Telephone interviews are different than live interviews and require different strategies for the jobseeker to be successful. When I ask new coaching clients to assess their interview technique, they never distinguish between phone and live interviews. Many clients don’t even realize that brief phone interactions are mini-interviews. Even when a longer phone call is scheduled in advance, some of my clients refer to it as a “screen,” as if this is something different or even less than an interview.
Make no mistake: telephone interactions are real interviews. Many times you can’t get invited for a live interview without passing muster by phone first. Here are some telephone-specific interview tips:
Stand up. You lose a lot of expressiveness on the telephone so it’s harder to come across as enthusiastic and energetic. But an interview is exactly the time when you want to demonstrate enthusiasm. Therefore you need to work that much harder to get energy into your voice. Standing up helps keep you at attention.
Suit up. Without the corporate office and direct interviewer contact, you may forget you are in a business situation and start slouching in your chair and getting too colloquial and casual with your speaking. Wear a suit to keep yourself professional.
Stock up. Prepare your resume, interview questions, pen and paper, glass of water, and anything you think you might need for the interview. You do not want the interviewer to hear the refrigerator door opening or the clinking of glasses to detract from what you are saying. Follow-up. Just as with any interview, send a prompt thank you. Since you won’t be able to trade business cards like in a live interview, make sure you save any correspondence leading up to the phone interview so you have at least the person’s name and email. If an assistant set up the interview, call the assistant to get the interviewer’s name, title, mailing address and email. Don’t forget to thank the assistant as well!
Is Your Job Search Flexible or Just Unfocused?
As a recruiter, I’ve seen lack of flexibility on the recruiting side with employers clinging to every last detail in their ideal spec while perfectly good candidates get overlooked. As a career coach, I see jobseekers prematurely dismissing possible targets waiting for that perfect job. It’s true that you want to be focused in your job search (otherwise you dilute your efforts and come across as scattered and possibly desperate).
5 Questions to Test If Your Resume Is Recruiter-Proof
After recruiting in search and in-house for over ten years, I have read thousands of resumes. Due to sheer volume of resumes received and all the other things that vie for the recruiter’s attention in the hiring process – scheduling, interviewing, networking, reference checks, client debriefs, and more – the resume review process is ruthlessly quick.
Why Conventional Wisdom On Work Flexibility Is Always Wrong
In a previous post, I wrote about why employment statistics are always wrong. In a similar way, conventional wisdom on work flexibility is always wrong. It is impossible to generalize something that is inherently case-by-individual case. Therefore, any boilerplate advice or conventional wisdom is bound to omit a key consideration, underweight or overemphasize other considerations, or take too long-term or short-term of a view.
