How to excel in Phone Interviews
Telephone Interviews have become a very effective technique for interviewing long distance candidates or doing an initial screening. More often than not, if you don't do well in the first interview than most likely you will not get a call back. That first interview tends to be a phone interview, that's why it's extremely important.
Here are some tips:
-Treat the phone interview as if it was a real one-on-one face-to-face.
Just because it's over the phone doesn't mean they can't see you. you don't need to see someone to detect what they're doing. We are a walking book. There are many ways to read us.
-If you can practice beforehand, do it.
Go through a mock interview with a friend. Recruiters tend to be very handy with this. They can prep you. DxDt recruiters offer this service free of charge.
-Voice control- speak well
Make sure that you speak in a clear and hearable manner. Select the best phone set in your home and use that to talk. Don't shout but don't whisper either.
-Think before you speak
Get the interviewer early on to get a feeling of your pace. When she/he asks a question, take a moment and pause, then answer the question in a clear and concise manner after you've thought about what you'd like to say. After the first couple of time the interviewer will understand your pace and will adapt.
-Memory management
"Hello this is john calling you regarding the scheduled interview we have right now" he said.
"Oh Hi Steve, I've been expecting your call" you said.
Write down the names and titles of every person interviewing you. If you don't know them beforehand then ask for them in the beginning and have them in front of you, especially if there's more than one.
-Don't interrupt
This is one of the most annoying issues with interviewers today. Listen until the end of the question, then answer.
"I wanted to ask you regarding your educational background. What kind of....." she said
"yeah, yeah. I got a BS in Engineering." you said.
"actually, I was about to ask you regarding your certifications"
-Smile
How often can you tell if someone is not smiling with an un-enthusiastic tone? I know our search consultants at DxDt can tell ALL the time. The words and expressions that you speak when you're smiling and excited sound very different from when you're not and experienced interviewers will pick up on it faster than lightning.
There will be another part of Phone interviews. Check back to read it.
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