Tips for a Telephone Interview

Category: Tips and Advice Publish date: 06/03/2017

"Fail to prepare and you prepare to fail” - Benjamin Franklin

Initial interviews by telephone are more common than they used to be. It's a way to screen candidates in the initial stages of a recruitment campaign. The recruiter may just be looking for a confident manner and intelligent responses to some set questions. But don't take anything for granted. You may find you are on the phone for an hour and a half and are expected to answer detailed questions about previous roles and achievements.

Preparation

The level of preparation you do for a face-to-face interview is exactly the level you should be doing for the telephone interview. It is important to find out as much as you can about a company, and a job role, before any type of interview; a telephone interview is no exception. You may receive some information from your prospective employer, but make sure you also visit their website, competitor websites, read relevant press and keep aware of current industry updates. It is also useful to investigate who will be interviewing you if dealing directly with the hiring company? LinkedIn is a good tool for this.

Have a copy of your CV and the job description to hand as well as a pad with some questions you would like to ask during the interview.

Prepare questions for your interviewer before the call, using your research. Remember this is your chance to stand out and shine against all other candidates so show what can you give to them, sound interested in what they do, ask questions about the team, the environment and the job. Also prepare as much as possible for the types of questions you may be asked by the interviewer; 

• What are you looking for in your next job?
• What is your greatest weakness?
• What is your greatest strength?
• How do you handle stress and pressure?
• What motivates you?
• Tell me about yourself?

Location

This is key to successful phone interviews. Don’t pick a noisy cafe where all the interviewer will hear is screaming children or rattling china. Try and pick a quiet room at home and evacuate any noisy people to make sure you aren’t interrupted.

Taking the call

Make sure you smile when answering your phone. If you force yourself to smile, you physically become more relaxed and your voice will sound more confident, friendly and assertive. If you do this, you will come across much better when speaking. It helps ensure you sound upbeat and according to research, people can actually hear you smile.
Standing up, rather than sitting down, can be a good way to keep your confidence and enthusiasm levels high.

Listen

Undoubtedly the most important thing to do. A telephone interview isn’t just about showing your social skills, but also your listening abilities. Listen intently: not only to the questions but also to the gaps in between so you don’t interrupt or talk over them. Take on board all elements of their questions and make note of anything that seems of particular importance, just in case they refer back to it later.

Ending the call

Before you say goodbye, ensure you’ve expressed your interest in the role. Confirm with them what the remaining recruitment process is, how long before you hear from them, and if you haven’t heard then may you call them. Make a note in your diary to follow this up.

Above all else, thank them for their time and say that you look forward to hearing from them.