Hidey ho, jobseekers! I’ve been on the prowl for “the perfect job” for the last few years, and I’ve been subjected to dozens of interviews. Phone interviews, that is. Phone interviews make sense from the hiring manager’s perspective, because they can be setup quickly, there’s no need for the candidate to travel to their office, they’re safer (no letting the crazies in the front door, thank you) and because the phone removes the interviewee’s physical presence, the interviewer can get a more accurate assessment of the interviewee’s personality.
Please learn from my mistakes with this list of hints and tips I have compiled.
Research
You found the job listing on Careerbuilder, or Indeed, or Sologig. You filled out the online application, you attached your resume and a cover letter, and now you’re waiting for HR to select or reject you. Now is the time to do some online stalkery of your intended employer. Visit these websites and search for the company:
- LinkedIn, to see if you know anyone who works there.
- Glassdoor, to learn what current and former employees have to say about the company.
- Youtube, to discover if the company has produced any videos about their products, or their collaborations with other companies.
- Facebook, to read any wall posts the company has produced.
- Finally google “company name litigation” or “company name lawsuit” to see if they have done anything naughty. You don’t want to hitch your wagon to a company that might get sued to oblivion.
One more tip – try to find any online communities or forums the company has setup and read through some of the posts there, so you can get an idea of what challenges they face from their customers.
If the job requires specific skills, be sure you are up to date on whatever skills are required. LinkedIn is a great resource to find communities of practitioners. You should also find and join other online communities for your profession. You don’t have to be the number one commenter there, but you should participate and read your community boards regularly, not only for job leads but also to stay aware of what’s going on in your profession.
Physical preparation
You got a call from HR. You were selected for an interview! Awesome! Schedule the interview for a Monday morning or Friday afternoon, as those are the best times to influence decision makers. Now it’s time to get your interview space ready.
I recommend taking the call in front of your computer. I don’t care if you have to take your laptop into a closet, just have your computer handy in case you need to google something during the interview. Also, I like to have several documents open before the interview starts: My resume, a list of accomplishments, a list of questions to ask the interviewer, and my notes from the research I did earlier.
Get a sturdy chair that doesn’t squeak when you move around and set it in front of a table in your interview space. If you don’t have a lamp nearby, find one and bring it in, because you want your space to be well-lit and cheery. Clear all clutter off of your table. No pens, pencils, cat-toys, nothing that can clatter or distract. Grab a water bottle or bottle of soda (if you’re so inclined). Do not make coffee or tea and do not pour a glass of any beverage, because you don’t want to knock it over mid-sentence and be distracted cleaning it up while you’re supposed to be telling someone how fabulous you are.
I suggest you invest in a phone that has a mute button, so you can cough (or type furiously) during the interview without the interviewer hearing you. Also, use a landline or a softphone (like Magicjack or Ooma) rather than a cellphone to receive the interviewer’s call. It would be horrible if the closest cell tower decided to flake out while you’re mid-interview, disconnecting the call or making you sound like a drowning Woody Woodpecker.
It goes without saying, but I’mma say it anyway. During the phone call: No smoking. No gum chewing. No eating anything. Banish pets, children, adults from the room for the duration of the call. Turn off the stereo, the TV, and anything else that makes background noise. Turn off your computer’s speakers.
A few minutes before the interview is scheduled to start, get up and walk around. Go up and down a flight of stairs a few times if you’ve got stairs handy. Physical activity will pump up your energy and burn off any pre-interview jitters.
The Big Event
When it’s time for the interview to start, sit upright in your chair, smile, and remember you’re talking to the person who you will be working with closely, if you’re selected for the job. The interview is a time for you to find out if this is someone you want to spend the majority of your waking hours talking to and working with. Do they have a nasty personality? Maybe you don’t want them to be your boss, after all.
You, on the other hand, have your best party manners on. Spend a minute or two asking the interviewer how their day is going, talking about the weather, and getting a read on their personality. Then dive right in with a summary of who you are and why you think you’re a good fit for the job.
When the interviewer asks questions, rather than imagining you’re being grilled by a judge and jury, take the attitude that your best friend is asking you what you have done in your career and how you might solve a problem they have. If you “flip the script” in your mind and imagine that the interviewer is your friend, you will come across as someone the interviewer wants to work with, a collaborator rather than a minion.
I can’t stress how important it is to be friendly and approachable in your phone interview. When I interviewed people via phone, my biggest turn-offs were people who were taciturn or even downright rude. Answering questions with a plain “No!” or a grunt (I’m not kidding) caused me to terminate the interview immediately. If you’re in a bad mood at the time of the interview and feel you can’t “fake it till you make it” you might do better to answer the phone, tell the interviewer something has come up, and ask to reschedule.
Closing The Deal
At the end of the call, most interviewers will say “do you have any questions for me?” This is the time for you to mention some of the research you did on the company and ask questions about what you found. Definitely don’t mention pending litigation. Here are some questions you can use instead:
- What do you view as the most challenging part of this job?
- Why is the last person who held this position leaving?
- How would you describe the company culture?
- What is the typical work week? Is overtime expected? How about travel?
- What are the opportunities for advancement with the company?
- Is there anything else can I tell you about my qualifications?
- What are the biggest challenges facing the person in this position?
When all your questions have been answered, thank the interviewer for their time, and if you’re interested in moving forward, ask what the next steps will be.
After The Call Ends
While the interview is still fresh in your mind, take a few notes on what was said and think about any additional questions you might have. Some jobs I’ve interviewed for in the last year have required five or six phone interviews with various people on the team, and referring to my notes from previous interviews for the same job really came in handy. In one case, it led to an offer, because I had taken what one interviewer had said was a concern, and mentioned it to the next interviewer down the line. They thought I had great insight into their situation, when all I had done was parrot back to them what they told me.
Summary
Here’s the top tips for your phone interview:
- Learn all you can about the company so you can speak intelligently about their business.
- Be friendly towards the interviewer, because no one wants to work with a jerk.
- Prepare your interview space so there will be no distractions or background noises, because who knows how those noises will be interpreted on the other end.
- Ask questions at the end so you appear interested in the job and the company.
- Smile!
Image source: Wikimedia commons
