CAREER MARKETING CONSULTANTS
60 Colonial Way
Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974
908-665-7983  LloydFeinstein@yahoo.com

PROVEN SOLUTIONS…..POWERFUL RESULTS

Five Strategies for Outsmarting the TELEPHONE INTERVIEW:
Critical First Hurdle in Landing a Job

Quick Initial Evaluator

The only purpose of a telephone interview is to do a quick screening of possible candidates before bringing them in for a face to face interview.  Since the cost of travel is considerable these days, it is probably a valid approach.

Remember, you only get one chance and making a good impression over the phone is harder than in person because both parties are missing all those visual cues.

Your goal is to be invited in for an in-person interview.  Therefore, try your best to keep the call as brief as possible.  Yet, keep in mind that another of your goals is to sound smart.

Many candidates are unknowingly eliminated early in the hiring process because of unintentional errors committed during a brief phone screening interview.

Prepare In Advance

The success rate of advancing from phone to personal interview is approximately 30-40%.  You can increase your odds by planning for the call.  Think about what your goals would be if you were the interviewer and then prepare yourself to meet them.

Research the company on the Web beforehand and study the position specifications.  The preparation you need to do about the company is the same as if you were going there.

Do not use a cell phone or an older model cordless phone.  Use a late model cordless phone with a new battery or a landline with a long cord.  If you have a poor or noisy phone connection, ask the interview for her or his number and offer to call them back.

Minimize distractions.  If you will be at home find a quiet place, away from distractions.  You must be totally focused on your interviewer.

It is important to be organized.  Have your resume out on your desk and review it before the call comes in. 

Make a list of the areas you feel you would like to cover and check them off as you are able to communicate them.

Reasons Candidates Are Eliminated After Phone Screenings

The phone interview can be a giant killer.  Candidates who are perfect fits for great jobs are being eliminated after phone calls of only twenty or forty minutes duration.  Some of the typical feedback heard from hiring executives are that candidates

  - lack enthusiasm
  - unable to articulate themselves
  - fail to ask relevant questions
  - seem disinterested
  - awkward or uncomfortable
  - gum chewing, smoking or eating

Remember that you also need to connect with the administrative assistant of the client.

Strategies For Improving Your Phone Interview

Sharpen verbal skills.  Learn to describe your value and accomplishments briefly but effectively and to the point.  Be able to create “word pictures” for your interviewer to support their lack of seeing you.  The best way is to use the Problem - Action -  Result communication methodology.  Also, numbers create excellent visual images.

Be honest.  Be upbeat.

Take the interview in a standing position.  Sitting during a telephone interview is not a good idea because your conversation will tend to lack energy.  Walk around when you are on the phone.  Being able to gesture will make you come across as more forceful.

Just as when you are speaking to a large audience, you may have to force yourself to speak a little slower than normal, more clearly and perhaps even a little louder.

Practice being brief.  Practice your elevator (10 second) speech.  Practice stating a brief summary of how you impacted a business and why it was better for you having worked in it.

Listen carefully to your interviewer’s questions.  Answer the question asked.  Provide amplification only when asked.

If you answer a question and the line falls silent, give your interviewer the opportunity to process your last statement and take some notes.  Unless you have a question, let them ask the next one.

Be willing to email and share work samples, and then review them together during the call.

Show interest, but don’t show desperation.  Politely ask your interviewer what the next step might be and when you may next hear from them.

Remember, during each phone interview, you are a Sales Representative.

End Game – Follow-up and Practice

After a phone interview, send a thank you that recaps your best selling points.

If the phone interview does not lead to a personal meeting, try to analyze the call and look for ways to improve your presentation for the next one.

Anything you do a lot of, you will get better at, even pitching your services over the phone.  It is, like so many things, one of the skills we have to build to be good at job search, so don’t avoid it or dread it.  It is all part of the game.

Final point:  The face-to-face interview won’t happen if you don’t treat a phone interview with the same gravity.

Copyright: Lloyd Feinstein, 2008

Note: Career Marketing Consultants offers a free consultation which includes a detailed resume critique.  If interested, please call to schedule a convenient time to meet.

Lloyd Feinstein
Murray Hill(New Providence), NJ 07974

www.careermarketing101.com
LloydFeinstein@yahoo.com
908-665-7983  Office Phone