| Topic Name: |
Phone Interview |
| Message Name: |
just went through this |
| Date Posted: |
08/18/2004 |
| In Reply To: |
1. fix a convenient time for the call when you know you can be undistracted. take half a day off from work if required.
2. be available ten minutes before the appointed time and answer the phone yourself!
3. make sure you're in a quiet area...without music/ traffic/passing trains/bawling kids/ screaming friends/barking dogs in the background.
4. dress well (!), sit straight and 'put a smile in your voice' as you talk. it affects into how you sound on the phone. if you're wearing boxers and glugging beer on the couch as you talk, it comes through too.
5. put a face to your interviewer's voice and tell yourself you're in a face to face situation. but remember that gestures like nodding cannot be seen. think of alternative ways to convery the same things.
6. if the interviewer is a foreigner whose accent you don't understand, feel free to politely repeat the question and confirm if 'that' is what they said.
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| Message: |
I'm interviewing with an out-of-state company, and I've had many conversations over the phone where I've had to sound very professional - and where I haven't always succeeded in weeding out the distractions.
if the interviewer has your cell phone number and you two have NOT set an EXACT time to call, DON'T pick up their call unless you're in a good place to talk. I.E., not when you're in your car, not when you're walking home from the supermarket.
Have a pen and pad of paper handy. Think of how many times this would have been useful in a regular face-to-face interview! The interviewer is going to make points (what they are looking for) that you can note and come back to later as you wrap up your pitch as to why you are the best candidate for the job.
VERY IMPORTANT! Have a list of as many interview questions as you can think of - and your answers to them. Everything from "why did you leave your last job?" to "what is your preferred work style?" to "what initially attracted you to our company?" to "what did you like least about your last boss?" This way, you'll have talking points ready, and won't be caught off-guard. I believe you can find sample interview questions somewhere on this site; if not, troll the internet for a list of them, and as MANY AS YOU CAN FIND, HAVE THEM PREPARED!!!
seriously...this is almost like being able to take a test with your books open. That said, don't sound over the phone like you're scrambling for the sheet of paper where you wrote your answer. The very exercise of researching your questions-and-answers will have you more prepared...what you have written down will just be talking points.
good luck!
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