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If you don‘t like surprises, follow these preparation suggestions to reap applause for your telephone performance.
Keep your telephone well stocked
Keep one telephone stocked with all your interview essentials. Must-haves include the following:
- A list of answers to anticipated key questions
- A list of points, such as specific skills and achievements, that you want to mention
- A calendar, with all scheduled commitments
- A folder for each company you‘ve applied to -- put any correspondence in this folder
- A notepad, pen, and calculator
Make telephone appointments
Whenever possible, don‘t answer questions when the
call comes in, but schedule an appointment for your telephone interview
so that you can be ultra-prepared -- you have to take your child to
Little League, you‘re repainting your apartment, or something. Find a
reason to be the one who calls back.
If a recruiter insists on calling you back, do what
you would do for any other interview: Be ready early. This may sound
surprising, but as a reminder to interview as a professional, change
out of your jeans and into the type of dress you‘d wear in a
face-to-face business meeting.
How do you sound?
Recruiters rely on your telephone presence in
deciding whether to call you in for a face-to-face, so make the most of
your vocal graces:
- Speak loudly enough that you can be easily heard.
- If your voice is high-pitched, try to lower it a bit.
Most importantly, put warmth in your voice.
Smile. You should sound energetic and enthusiastic. A few rounds with a
tape recorder will help finesse your vocal performance.
The screening script
When the oh-so-important call comes, follow these tips to get yourself off the telephone and into the interviewer‘s office:
- If you have a home office, use it because it‘s businesslike.
- Gather essential information -- At the start of the conversation, get the caller‘s name, title, company, address, and telephone number. Read back the spelling.
- Be a champion listener -- Prove that you‘re paying attention by feeding back what the interviewer says.
- Expect challenges -- Some telephone interviewers ask candidates to join them in an improvisation.
The interviewer sets up a job-related scenario
for a role-play. The interviewer may, for example, play a boss asking
why a deadline was not met, a vendor trying to change the terms of a
contract, or a disgruntled customer; your challenge is to try your hand
at acting out the situations in the pretend problem. Interviewers say
they‘re looking for creativity and a cheerful spirit. They downscore
you if you run out of talk early in the exercise or refuse to go along
with the game.
- Be coachable -- If the interviewer
criticizes one of your role-play answers, don‘t get defensive. The
interviewer is testing you. Instead, recognize the objection and try to
understand it. After you get a handle on your weakness, revise your
answer to show that you understand and that you‘re willing to take
direction.
- Provide feedback and ask for it in return -- After making a statement, inquire, Is this the kind of information you‘re seeking? Or Have I sufficiently answered your question about my managerial experience? Be sure that the interviewer is listening and that you say things the interviewer wants to hear.
- Don‘t rush -- Make a heroic effort to feel relaxed and speak exactly as you would in an interviewer‘s office.
- Divert important questions -- Tickle
interviewers‘ interest by answering most of their questions. Then, when
they ask a particularly important question, give them a reason to see
you in person. Tell the interviewer that you can better answer that
question in person: That‘s an important question -- with my skills
(experience) in _____, it‘s one that I feel I can‘t answer adequately
over the telephone. Can we set up a meeting so that I can better
explain my qualifications? I‘m free on Tuesday morning -- is that a good
time for you?
Decide beforehand which questions can best be put off. You can use this tactic two or three times in the same conversation.
- Push for a meeting -- As the call winds to a close, tell the interviewer, As
we talk, I‘m thinking we can better discuss my qualifications for
(position title) in person. I can be at your office Thursday morning.
Is 9:30 good, or is there a better time for you? Remember, what you want is an in-person meeting. Assume you‘ll get it and give the interviewer a choice as to the time.
- Say thanks -- Remember to express your appreciation for the time spent with you.
- Remember to write a thank-you letter --
Just because the interview was via telephone doesn‘t negate the wisdom
of putting your thanks in writing (fax, postal mail, or e-mail).
Remember, telephone interviews can screen you out of
the running in the first leg of the race. Avoid getting skunked by
stating only the positive and eliminating the negative.
The salary question
Telephone screeners often ask you to name an expected
salary. Play dodge ball on this one. You don‘t know how much money you
want yet because you don‘t know what the job is worth. If the
interviewer persists, flip the coin and ask the interviewer to identify
the range for the job for someone with your qualifications. If pushed
to the wall, give an estimated salary range with a spread between
$15,000 and $20,000.
Psychological readiness carries the day
Are you psychologically ready to work a telephone
interview as effectively as you would an in-person discussion? You have
the same challenge to establish a rapport with the caller and
communicate effectively.
Be ready to use stories, examples, and anecdotes to
prove your skills and sound believable about the contributions you can
make. Have a list of your own questions ready to ask the recruiter.
Preparation makes the difference in whether you‘re invited to take the
next step in the selection process.
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