3 Tips For Telephone Interviews
Telephone interviews are increasingly becoming popular among employers looking to weed out the unsuitable candidates at pre hire stage. With tough economic times you will do yourself a favor by following afore mentioned tips for telephone interviews.
3 Tips For Telephone Interviews:
1. Be prepared:
There are basically two kinds of telephone interviews: one, where you’ve been given the day and the time for the telephone interview or you might have fixed this with the employer and second where the employer can call you at any time according to his convenience. In case you’ve fixed the timing of your interview, it would be best to be available near you phone at the fixed time. In case you don’t get any call from the employer for an hour after the fixed time then you can call the company to reschedule your phone interview. It would be best not to enquire as to why the employer failed to call you but rather you can simply tell him that you were expecting his call for the phone interview. In case you’re required to face an unexpected interview then make sure you carry your cell phone at all times. Also leave a professional message on your answering machine in case you are not nearby to attend the call. Leaving a trendy or colored message with loud music might be cool thing with your friends but your employer will surely view it as a signboard of an undisciplined person.
Also keep a copy of submitted resume nearby so that you can get a rough reference of expected questions from the employer. This takes us to the next tips for telephone interviews
2. Make a list of expected questions:
A telephone interview is just like a face to face interview and you must prepare it with same sincerity. While it’s unlikely that you would secure a job based solely on a phone interview, the interviewer is still interested in gauging whether you’re right for the job and vice-versa. You must make a list of expected questions before you come across the real phone interview. You can easily get a list of such questions by conducting an online research. After compiling this list of expected questions, its time to search for genuine answers to the same. A word of caution here, don’t just remember the “ideal answers” which you might get from any of the 1000 websites but rather add your own unique twist by looking at your own situation. The interviewer is usually a person who has extensive experience in conducting different kinds of interviews and you can bet your last dollar that he can make out in a second whether you really mean what you’re saying or is it just a verbatim of some online resource. You can also get your friend to act as an employer and ask you the questions on this list. Such a mock interview will help you immensely when it comes to facing the real thing.
3. Feel confident and relax:
I know, this is easily said than done. However, there is no need for you to feel anxious before the interview. Just remember that the interviewer will only ask you basic questions related to your personality and former or present workplaces, in case you have any. Relax your tense muscles and focus on the call while talking. A good tip for strengthening your focus would be to close your eyes while talking and listen to him with utmost attention. In case you missed out on anything he said then a polite”can you say that again please” will be all that is required.
While talking about your former or present workplaces, try using numbers and facts to be more effective in small sentences. You can use the same strategy while supporting your resume. Never mention your salary expectations voluntarily in a phone interview. Even if asked, then you might state that it’s not possible for you to provide a salary figure without a face to face interview since you can’t gauge the responsibilities of this job without talking to a hiring manager in person. Such an answer will highlight your seriousness in securing this job.
