Companies conduct phone interviews for a number of reasons, generally: They’re a cheaper and more practical way to interview out-of-town candidates or remote workers, and they serve as an initial screening to weed out potential interviewees who aren’t a good enough potential fit to bring in for an in-person interview. That doesn’t mean you can afford to treat the phone interview as anything less than a real interview: you won’t get the job from just how well you do on the phone interview, but you definitely won’t get the job if you blow it. So don’t sleep in and skip breakfast just because you can do this one in your pajamas. Here are some more tips for getting past the hurdle of the phone interview.
1. Figure out who you’ll be talking to– Your contact will let you know who will be conducting the interview, which gives you time to figure out who they are and what their role in the company is. They’re probably not going to be anyone you’ll be working with directly, as it’s more likely you will be speaking to a hiring manager. But go to LinkedIn and get what information you can. Remember, that’s a real human being on the other end of the line, and they’ll glad to hear you did your homework.
2. Scour the original job posting for talking points– Chances are the original job posting contains all the information you’re liable to get at this point about the job you’re shooting for, so scour the posting for whatever information you can to arm yourself for the interview. And plan out illustrations of a few job tasks you’ve had in the past that correlate to the new tasks you would be responsible for in the new position.
3. Keep your resume in clear view– You’re human, and they know you’re nervous, but you want to try to keep the stumbling and bumbling to a minimum while you’re being interviewed. So take your resume and prop it up in front of you so you can see it and easily access it: it’s the same document the interviewer will be referencing, so you want to make sure you’re always on the same page.
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4. Find a quiet spot– Since the form of communication is so impersonal, you want to make sure you don’t handicap yourself by taking the call in a noisy room and further distancing yourself from the other person. So find a quiet room in a different part of your home from the dog, cat, children, television, etc.
5. Find a land line– While you’re looking for that quiet spot, see if you can find a land line, too. Dinosaurs they may be, but with a land line you don’t run the risk of a bad connection or a dropped call. You don’t want to lose your momentum thanks to a technical hiccup.
6. Identify yourself professionally – You probably won’t recognize the number when the interview call comes in, so you’ll want to make sure you answer all the calls you get around your scheduled interview time as professionally as possibly: Say hello and state your full name when you pick up the phone.
7. Stand up and smile– The interviewer can’t see you, of course, but experts say standing up is the best way to project the kind of strong, clear voice you want to project for a job interview. So don’t slouch! Same goes for smiling, which also adds a pleasing, confident sound to your voice.
8. Don’t cut the interviewer off– A phone interview can be a very frustrating experience due to the limited method of communication. You can’t make your eyes big or raise your hand or shake your head to help get across what you want, but make sure that you don’t attempt to make up for that by becoming overly eager and cutting your interviewer off. It’s their show, and you’re probably not the only interview call they’ve got scheduled today. So let them set the pace and keep it.
9. Write a thank you follow up e-mail – You want to keep yourself on the interviewer’s mind, so make sure you send a follow up e-mail thanking them for taking the time and – while you’re at it – inquire about coming in for a follow-up interview in person. In fact, every time you make the acquaintaince of a new person on your job search, get into the habit of sending them a quick “thank you” e-mail.
