Long gone are the days when virtually every job candidate was granted 30 – 60 minutes with the hiring manager to discuss employment. In today's economy almost every company needs to find ways to cut costs, and one way is to reduce face to face interview time for every qualified candidate.
Not long ago telephone interviews were used to primarily rule out inferior or unqualified candidates. Nowadays, they have become the norm and it's not unheard of for a company to wait until the third phone interview to finally appropriate a significant amount of time for a personal meeting.
When you are asked to schedule a phone interview, though, don't think you're being let off easy! This is the real thing.
Here are some simple but important rules to remember before scheduling any telephone interview. Each and every point below needs to be adhered to or you could find yourself in the unemployment line longer than you envisioned.
• When you are contacted to schedule the telephone interview (by phone call or email usually), make certain you know which position you'll be interviewing for! If you don't keep track of the jobs you apply to, you could end up trying to interview for the wrong one! It's OK to confirm with the caller if you have any doubt at all.
• Write this down on your calendar. It's disturbing how many people forget! I have personally scheduled hundreds of telephone interviews over the years and it never ceased to amaze me how many people were caught off guard when the phone rang. They didn't get a second chance, believe me.
• Make certain you understand who is supposed to call whom. You don't want to find out later on that the reason you never heard back was because the manager was waiting for you to call.
• Schedule a time when you know it will be interruption free. If that is difficult, then make sure any interruption can be handled by someone else. Whether the dog needs to go out or your baby wakes up from a nap – you can't interrupt an interview to take care of these things.
• Remember – this is a real interview. Be prepared to have a detailed discussion of your background and experience as it relates to this particular opening.
• Research the company and be prepared to ask plenty of relevant questions. You need to handle an intelligent conversation about their products and services and how you plan on fitting in.
• Watch your tone of voice and manner of speech. It's common practice to be more casual on the phone than when we are sitting in front of someone. And don't get too chatty! Remember – less is more. You are still trying to impress this company. They don't need or want your life story. If you are asked, "So, tell me why you decided to become a systems engineer?" don't go into any detail about how your father died and you needed to find a way to take care of the family. Simply say you were always interested in engineering because you like solving problems. They aren't interested in the truth; they are interested in how you present yourself.
• Get dressed! You'll do much better in normal work clothes talking to your new boss than if you are sitting there in your pyjamas.
• Do not use the bathroom while you're on the phone! There is nothing more disturbing to an interviewer than hearing a toilet flush in the background!
• Sit at a table with a pad of paper and a pen to take notes. Have your resume and a list of questions ready. You can't be lounging on the couch and expect great results.
• Turn off all distracting background noise. No television, no radio, no video games on. No exceptions.
• If you plan on using a cordless phone or a cell phone, make certain it is fully charged. You don't want to get cut off just as you hear, "So, when can you…."
• At the end of the interview make sure you understand what the next step will be. If you are told, "We'll be in touch", ask when that might be. If the only thing you hear is something like, "Thank you for your time", again, ask what the next step will be. Even though this sounds like a brush off, many times it's not.
• No matter what, ask if it's OK to follow up with the person who called by perhaps email. I love email simply because you aren't putting someone on the spot. The interviewer can read your question or comment and think about a proper response.
• Send a thank you note via email (if possible) within a few hours. This serves two purposes. It's always in your best interest to thank someone for their time and interest, and reiterate how qualified and interested you are in the position (even if you're not!). The email also provides the opportunity to open an ongoing dialogue with you and the interviewer; a nice way to further build rapport.
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