Important Phone Interview Tips

Phone interviews are tough. The interviewer does not want to hire you. The interviewer has to interview dozens of people during the day and has a limited amount of time. They are interviewing far more people than they are going to interview in person, and they need reasons to cut that list down as much as possible before they give you the opportunity to come in to the interview.

In the last post we looked at how you can prepare for the phone interview. However, if you expect to succeed during your phone interview, you will also need to be ready for the interview itself.

How to Interview on the Phone

• Keep Answers Brief

First and foremost, remember that phone interviews have a limited window of time. In most cases the interviewer has several people they need to call during the day. They are not looking for verbose answers that will win you the position. They are looking for answers that are direct and to the point to put you into the running in the first place.

• Stand Straight

When you speak on the phone, make sure you are standing with your back straight. Our voices can give away our posture. If you are sitting and slouching, your voice will not have the presence that it would if you were standing.

• Keep Noise and Distractions Away

It is vital that your interviewer can only here you on the phone, and that you have nothing on that can lead to distractions. Turn the TV off, turn down the radio, put the dog outside and make sure that the only sound you hear is the interviewer, and the only voice they hear is you.

• Smile Throughout

Like standing, smiling also comes through during your job interview. You can hear someone smiling even if you do not realize it. If you keep a frown all throughout your interview, your voice will sound unenthusiastic and unhappy. Remember, they can’t see you, but they can get an impression of what you are like by the way you sound.

Keep Your Spirits High

Phone interviews can be exceedingly difficult with the rate that applicants are dropped before the first in person interview. If you thoroughly prepare for the job interview and do your best, chances are you will be successful. If not, note that phone interviews are still about narrowing down the candidate pool, and sometimes even if you do everything right, a grumpy interviewer can harm your chances.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Smile and Stand Straight.
• Remove Distractions.
• Supply Only Brief Answers.

How to Prepare for a Phone Interview

Phone interviews are different than in person interviews. Because you cannot impress employers with your body language or your dress, you need to make sure that you have prepared thoroughly for your phone interview in order to answer all of the interview questions they throw at you. Without preparation, your phone interview will be awkward and uncomfortable – even more so than it would be in person.

Phone Interview Preparation Tips

Preparing for your phone interview is not unlike preparing for a standard job interview. The important thing to remember is that during phone interviews, the employer is looking for reasons not to hire you while during regular job interviews the employer is looking for reasons to give you the job. This makes it especially important that you thoroughly prepare for the position.

• Research the Company and Position

First and foremost, make sure you know about the company. Phone interviews tend to be very fact based, and it is unlikely you will break into any personal conversations. That means that it is important that you respond every question, and questions about the company are some of the most important ones to answer.

• Prepare a List of Experiences and Knowledge

The more you are prepared to answer any knowledge or experience questions during the job interview, the more prepared you will be to answer any question they throw at you. This list can be used as a reference during your interview if necessary, since the interviewer will not see that you have a list on hand, though it is best if you do your best to memorize each answer.

• Practice Answering

Just as you would with regular job interviews, holding mock phone interviews is one of the best ways to practice. Remember, you do not want to depend on your list. You want to be able to speak those answers from memory.

• Prepare Your Home

Don’t forget to prepare your house or apartment before you do your interviews as well, including clearing out an area for you to stand, ensuring that your phone battery is charged and ready and making sure that you have everything you need right next to you the moment the phone call is received.

Preparing for Your Phone Job Interview

Phone interviews are one of the few types of job interviews where the interviewer is trying to find reasons not to hire you. Don’t give them any reasons by preparing better than you would even for your in person interview.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Thoroughly prepare for your phone interview.
• Research the company, prepare your home, and practice answering job interview questions.

Additional Tips

• Phone Interview Information