A phone interview is like an elevator pitch. Why? Simple; you have on average 10 minutes to sell yourself to a recruiter before they decide whether or not you’re right for the next round of interviews. Are you feeling the pressure yet? Believe me, we understand how you feel, we’ve been in your shoes many times. Read on to see what you can do to prepare and how to best do it.
This is a no brainer for any interview, but don’t think for a second that you should treat a phone interview with less care, research or preparation than an in-person interview. Without a strong phone interview there is no opportunity for an in-person interview, as simple as that.
Look into what the organization does, what they value, and how they describe their culture. By looking into those three parts will tell you more about the kind of people they want working with them. Knowing this information will help you prepare for common questions such as: how do you describe your ideal employer? Ideal culture? Why do you want to work for us?
Now that you understand what the company does, it’s time to dig in and understand the role you’ve applied for. Of course, the job description is great but try to find more detail on what others in this position do at the company. Use LinkedIn to look up employees in the same position that you’re interviewing for and read up on how they describe what they really do and what their responsibilities entail.
May be there’s part of the job that completely turns you off, this will help create questions around some of your concerns for the position. Remember, it is just as important for you to picture yourself happy and engaged in the role as it is for employers, otherwise, what’s the point?
Next, create a cheat sheet by matching your skills and experience to the job description. This is where you should highlight all of the things that you have done and know how to do to the job’s requirements.
This will be extremely helpful when you get nervous and might forget your words. No problem, just refer to your cheat sheet and you’ll be safe! This is the one big upside to a phone interview, that you can have notes right in front of you so take advantage!
Phone interviews are typically between 15-30 minutes, tops. In most cases, you only have 10 minutes to sell yourself and highlight the relevant experience to the position, the rest of the time is allocated for the recruiter to tell you more about the company, position, and give you a chance to ask your questions.
In other words, don’t talk about your experience as car salesperson selling cars, if you’re applying for Project Manager role, unless of course you’re highlighting your outstanding people skills! You have to seriously consider the main and most important highlights of your resume to bring up, given the limited time. Hit the job requirements with your past experience and then touch on your soft skills if you feel that’s important to bring up for the role.
Prepare your answers ahead of time - and have a cheat sheet if you need to, why not? Remember that the questions in your phone interview will unlikely be as complex as the ones asked in person.
The recruiter has a busy job to get through hundreds of resumes and may be speak with just as many people to narrow it down to just 5-10 candidates to move on to the next stages. Needless to say, recruiters save the complex behavioural and technical questions for an in-person or virtual interview.
Don’t be that person that asks two closed-ended questions and that’s it. This is your potential future employer too, ask away, but also keep in mind the time limit you have for the interview.
Ask the questions that are important to you, while keeping in mind that the interviewer might not have all of the details and specifications that the hiring manager might.
Make sure to ask what the hiring process looks like and the timeline. You will notice that many recruiters don’t let you know about this unless you ask.
This is important to know if you are concurrently interviewing with other companies, you should know their process and how long they will take to make a decision.
That’s right, you can feel when someone is smiling over the phone, just think about that next time you’re speaking to someone over the phone. Typically, your tone and attitude give it away.
This is extremely important because it may be the only way your awesome personality will shine before an in-person interview. So, make it count. Be positive and bring the energy to your phone interview, trust us!
I have a 3.5lb Yorkie that goes nuts for any outside noise, not much I can do there, but I do close the door and try to keep her calm before an important phone call. Worst case, I have to apologize for her barking during the call. Believe me this is not the worst thing that can happen and will not impact your candidacy. What will be, is you taking a call while driving, being outdoors, not paying attention, or other general distractions around you that clearly don’t help you focus. Find a quiet place, may be at home, or somewhere else (preferably with a door that you can close), and eliminate any potential distractions.
We have a tendency to speak faster when nervous, especially when we remember that we only have 10 minutes to sell ourselves. Don’t let the nerves dictate how you speak and present yourself. I know, I made it sound simple but it’s not and I agree.
Take a deep breath while the recruiter is speaking and remember to breath before answering too. It is quite common for us to forget to breath during an interview, sounds funny huh? Unfortunately, this is true for many people.
Remember, take your time and breath, you will do much better, your responses will be clearer, and your confidence will increase too.
You may hear them mention something that relates to your experience or skills and you’ll want to jump right in to let them know, but try to hold off until they finish speaking. Instead, take notes of what they are saying and what you might want to bring up.
When the recruiter has finished make sure to bring this up, saying something like: “I’m glad you mentioned experience working with X software, I’ve actually spent two years at ABC company using the software for….” You get the idea. This is a golden opportunity to sell yourself! Again, have a note pad handy to take notes on key skills and experience, as well as general information on the company and role.
Given that you’re invited for the next interview, this information will be highly valuable to you then too. Additionally, when you write a follow up thank you email, you can again highlight and summarize why you are qualified for the role based on referencing the information shared with you during the phone interview.
This is straightforward, like with any other interview you should always follow up with a thank you email. Leave a positive impression by thanking the interviewer for the opportunity to speak with you and reiterate your interest in the position, while expressing your fit for their company and position.
As mentioned before, recruiters often have hundreds or phone screens and interviews to do, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t get a reply after you send a thank-you email. In fact, it is completely normal to hear nothing from the company until a decision has been made about your candidacy.
There you have it, 10 Tips to acing your next Phone Interview & Securing a 2nd round interview! I hope you’ve found this helpful and I’m looking forward to you implementing these tips for your next phone screen. Good Luck!!
At CareerHD we help you ace your interviews by teaching best practices, providing practical feedback, and mock interviews practice, as many as you want! Get in touch with us today and schedule your first Interview Coaching session with one of our Interview Coaches! info@careerhd.com.
