Telephone interviews are becoming more and more popular as the first step in a recruitment process. A valuable tool for both company and candidate, they can be a great introduction face to face interviews, or can help you quickly assess whether or not this role is one worth exploring more in person. Don’t overlook the preparation though, after all this telephone call is your first impression, so make it count.
Top 10 tips for mastering a telephone interview
1. Prepare for the telephone interview like you would for a face-to-face interview. Research the company, know who their competition are and make sure you re-read the job description
2. Ensure that you are somewhere where it will be easy for you to talk, free from distractions or background noise. Limiting distractions will help you to stay focused on the interviewers questions.
3. Speak confidently and clearly, you won’t be able to dazzle your interviewer with you smile over the phone, so ensure that your tone comes across friendly.
4. Ask open-ended questions (beginning with who, what,where,when,how) as these all ask for information and keep the conversation flowing. Write down your questions before the call, and have a pen and paper handy to take notes
5. Have your CV to hand, your interviewer may open the interview with questions around your experience and having your CV infront of you will ensure you don’t get muddled on dates etc.
6. Think about what questions might come up and practise your answers to them. Frequently asked questions include; Tell me about yourself? What do you know about our company? What are you looking for? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What else would you like to know about our company?
7. Make sure you are ready to take the call at the designated time and answer the phone in a professional manner
8. Be clear and concise with you answers, don’t waffle.
9. Listen carefully to your interviewer and don’t interrupt them. Not having hem there in person means it can be harder to pick up on cues such as body language, so just make sure that you listen extra carefully.
10. Ask what the next steps are adn when you can expect to hear back.