Ten Tips on "How Too Handle A Telephone Interview".

Telephone interviews are quite common in today’s job market. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone! They are offered for a variety of reasons including cost savings, screening of candidates and out-of-town applicants. To successfully navigate the phone interview, it is important to have a solid game plan in place for preparation. Many job hunters still get that adrenalin rush even with the phone interviews. But following the tips and advice in this article will help you master the phone interview and get you to the next step - the face to face interview

1. RESEARCH

Find out as much as you can about the company and the job description. If your telephone interview has been arranged by a third party, you should receive much of this information from them. But in any case, do your own researches - company websites are one of the best sources of information. Find out about the size and structure of the company, its products and its markets.

Try to find out who will be interviewing you. Will there be multiple people on the call? If possible get their names and titles. Become familiar with these before the call and you will have one less thing to worry about during the call. Try and get some background on the interviewer. Any insight you can gain about him/her will allow you to better tailor your responses to make the best possible impression.

2. HAVE A CLEAR MIND.

Make a list of your accomplishments, goals and strengths. On another list write out your weaknesses and what you are doing to overcome them. On a third sheet write down why you are interested in the company. Think carefully about all of these items as they often come up in interviews.

3. TAKE TIME TO PRACTICE.

Never forget that a telephone interview is still an interview. Take time to practice interview questions with friends or family. Ask them to provide honest feedback so you can improve your responses. Mock interview questions can easily be found on the internet or the book store. If you get stuck on a question, sample answers to these questions are often provided as well. Telephone interviews can be tricky because you can’t see facial expressions or body language. So, the best thing to do is to make sure that you are very high energy, upbeat, you use a lot of inflection in voice, and, because that’s all you has to make that great first impression is your voice. So that really needs to sell you in a phone interview and also find out from the employer what again is it that they’re really looking for in terms of this position so that you can maximize the time you have with them on the telephone to really sell yourself to specifically what their objectives are.

4. SOUND CHECK.

During the mock interview, have your friend ask you questions both over the phone and in person. Make sure that he/she listens not only for content, but also tone, rate and clarity of your speech. If possible, record yourself speaking. Are you speaking slowly and

clearly? Can you easily be heard? Is your voice portraying you as a confident and enthusiastic candidate? If not continue to practice until you are comfortable.

5. FIND YOUR LOCATION

Stake out a quite space to occupy during your interview. Ideally, there should be a comfortable place to sit as well as a table to lay out your papers. Try and find a low traffic spot where members of the household are un-likely to disturb you.

6. PREPERATION.

Preparation for a telephone interview is as important as preparation before any other form of interview or meeting. The impression you create in the opening moments, and the manner with which you present yourself will determine whether or not you will be successful.

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Make a note of any questions you would like to ask. Ask about things if they are important to you, especially if your decision whether to proceed depends upon the answers (for example: will I have to relocate? (if that is something you don’t want to do!). Otherwise, ask broad questions such as ‘What training will be given?’, ‘What opportunities are the for advancement?’ Have these questions written down.

Prepare mentally, or better still in writing, a very brief ‘potted history’ to answer the demand ‘Tell me about yourself.’ Managers ask this not because they want the information (they already have your resume!), but because they want to listen to you, to find out how communicative you are, and how you sound.

Example: I left college and decided to get into sales within the Information Technology field, but I needed a job straight away, so I took a temporary job as a clerk in a local solicitor’s office. I hadn’t intended to stay so long, but there weren’t many opportunities in my area for the sort of job I was looking for. After about six months however, I got a chance to join X-Company as a telephone sales person, selling IT supplies, and I’m still there now. I wouldn’t be looking for a new job except that there are no opportunities in my company to progress into field sales. This is why I’m particularly interested in joining your company Mr. Jones.

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7. COLLECT YOUR PEN AND PAPER.

Place a notepad and several pens or pencils on the table. These will be helpful in writing down notes, questions and most importantly your interviewer’s names. Have a copy of your resume and cover letter close at hand. Take out those lists you made while organizing your thoughts. In addition keep any notes related to the company that you feel may be helpful during the call. Spread these items out across your table so they are easy to access. Only keep what is truly necessary. Too much paper can be a distraction

8. ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS

As the appointed hour draws near, make sure that the television and the radio are turned off. Exit your email and turn off your computer screen. If possible, disable your call-waiting. Let your family or roommates know about the timing of the interview so they do not accidentally disturb you. Place a do not disturb sign on your door as a gentle reminder.

9. MANAGING THE TELPHONE INTERVIEW.

Try to reschedule surprise interviews. Say that you have a conflict and suggest a time you can call back. When you call back, be prepared for the call just as you would for a full-dress interview.

Tone of voice. This is the most important aspect of this form of interview. The detail is of very little importance - the manager has your CV, so they know exactly what you’ve done, and in all probability wouldn’t be talking to you if they weren’t essentially interested.

The main rules are:

• Think about how you normally answer the phone at home. When you answer the phone, do so by announcing your name, in an enthusiastic style: ‘John Pickles, Good Morning!’ If this is not your natural style, change it!
• Sound interesting/interested, energetic and enthusiastic
• Be succinct (don’t waffle)
• Ask open-ended questions (beginning with whom, what, when, why, where, how: these all ask for information, and keep the ball in the other person’s court). Be prepared that they will do exactly the same!
• Don’t use jargon
• Don’t swear or use colloquialisms (local phrases: ‘I covered the whole of London on Shanks’ pony’)
• Be polite: speak to Ms (not Miss or Mrs. - even if you know their marital status), or Mr. Jones. If you are invited to use their first name, then use it. Use their title if you know they are for example, a doctor.
• Use the other person’s name regularly throughout the conversation (but not all the time). Also, use the company name a few times.

10. CLOSING THE TELEPHONE INTERVIEW.

Part of the purpose of the telephone interview (from the hiring manager’s perspective) is to find out how keen you are and (especially in the case of sales jobs) whether you have natural closing ability.

As soon as it seems appropriate during the conversation, ask for a date to meet for a face-to-face interview. Say something like ‘Well, this certainly sounds like just the job I’m looking for Mr. Jones. I’m sure I can contribute a lot to your company. I’d really like to visit you to show you what I can do for you. When can you meet me?’

You may have to be content with the response ‘I’ll call you’, but at least you can ask ‘When am I likely to hear from you?’ If the manager hedges, decide upon a reasonable time scale, and suggest ‘Well, I’m very keen to know if I’ve got a chance with you Mr. Brown, so if I haven’t heard from you by next Friday, would you mind if I call you then to find out?’

This approach is particularly important if you are applying to sales jobs, as you are expected to demonstrate your natural salesmanship. But even in the case of other jobs, most people will appreciate your keenness and enthusiasm. If they don’t, and you lose the job on account of being ‘too pushy’ (most unlikely) well, is it the sort of job you wanted anyway?

By following these 10 basic tips, you are making a great impression and on your way to the onsite interview. Remember, the phone interview is very important and you should plan and prepare for it carefully.