Preparing for a Phone Interview
Tuesday, October 12th, 2010Chris Wellington “The Recruiting Guy”, President, The Wellington Group
What is the predominate first step in this day and age of interviewing with a potential new employer? The telephone! Call it whatever; Prep-call, Pre-interview, Phone-screen, Telephone-interview, Video-interview…etc. The simple fact is that it has become easy and cheap for companies to hold telephone interviews or even video (like Skype) interviews before bringing on-site or in-person the final round of people.
With that said how are your telephone interviewing skills? Are you preparing well, in a location of minimal distractions and ready to sell yourself? Below are a few quick tips to help you better prepare for that next telephone interview.
Telephone Interview Tips from The Recruiting Guy:
- Have a copy of your resume and the job description with you on the call or video call. In addition, have a note pad and a couple of pens ready as well for points of interest and questions during the call, and to capture any name(s) and contact information for follow-up thank you note(s).
- Thoroughly review the job description and any associated information you have about the job for which you are being considered. Write out any areas you have of strength, add in some specific examples in case you are asked to elaborate. For any areas you are not sure about or are “rusty” do your research or decided how you are going to respond (so it’s not off the cuff). Example, “I don’t know that particular piece of email software, BUT I would love the chance to put my computer skills to work and learn about it quickly.”
- Do your homework on the company. Check out their website, fan pages on social media, latest 10k reports or other financial reports, the management team close to the job (if not the person interviewing you) by reviewing their LinkedIn or ZoomInfo profiles. What do you have in common?
- Write out the questions you would like answered by the interviewer. REMEMBER, this is an initial interview in most cases so don’t control the time with your questions, be specific and brief.
- Prepare for the right phone presence. Even though you are not in suit on the other side of the desk with this person, be mindful of your personality, tone, enthusiasm and articulation of both questions and answers.
- Take or make the call in a place of minimal distractions and if possible on a land line and not a cell phone. You want to ensure all information is promptly communicated in a professional manor with no dropped calls or noisy background traffic.
In many cases the telephone interview is your first, and can be your last, introduction to a company. Use this time and opportunity to prepare well, and to put your best effort forward! This is the chance to “sell yourself” and the skills, knowledge and experience you bring to this job and the company.
Good luck with your next telephone interview!
Chris
For questions or help on this and many other ideas on how to make your career search more effective contact the staff at The Wellington Group @ info@thewellington-group.com or visit The Career Store.


