Phone Interview Tips That Will Help You Get Hired
While you’re job searching, it’s important to be prepared for a phone interview at a moment’s notice. Many companies start the interview process with a phone call to discuss the job opportunity with a prospective employee, determine whether the candidate is a good fit, and to gauge his or her interest in the position. In some cases, a phone interview may be the only interview you’ll have.
In many cases, your interview will be scheduled in advance by email or phone. In others, you may receive a surprise phone call asking whether you’re available to chat about the job.
You never know when a recruiter or a networking contact might call and ask whether you have a few minutes to talk, so always answer the phone professionally, especially if the number is unfamiliar.
You should also make sure that your voicemail message is professional.
Interviews Are Your Chance To Sell Your Skills And Abilities
They also give you a chance to find out if the job and company are right for you. Follow the tips here to ace your interviews.
Review common interview questions. Practice answering them with someone else or in front of a mirror. Come prepared with stories that relate to the skills that the employer wants, while emphasizing your:
- Strengths
- Willingness to work and flexibility
- Leadership skills
- Ability and willingness to learn new things
- Contributions to the organizations in which you have worked or volunteered
- Creativity in solving problems and working with people
Figure out in advance how well you qualify for the job. For each requirement listed in the job posting, write down your qualifications. This can show you if you lack a particular skill. Plan how you will address this in the interview so you can convince the interviewer that you can learn the skill.
Make a list of questions that you would like to ask during the interview. Pick questions that will demonstrate your interest in the job and the company. This might include commenting on the news you learned from the company website, and then asking a question related to it. Also ask questions about the job you will be expected to perform, like:
- What are the day-to-day responsibilities of this job?
- How will my responsibilities and performance be measured? By whom?
- Could you explain your organizational structure?
- What computer equipment and software do you use?
- What is the organization’s plan for the next five years?
Plan Your Journey To The Job Interview
When preparing for a job interview one of the most important things to consider is how you are going to get there. A failure to plan is a plan to fail. If you are planning on driving to the interview, make sure you fill your car with fuel the night before. You dont want to be filling up on the way dressed in your suit.
Make sure you arrive on time, or better yet, at least 15 minutes early. Ensure this by knowing the address and if you can, have a trial run a couple of days before. The morning of the interview, check the traffic reports and have a backup route planned just in case. If you are travelling by train or bus, make sure you check the weather report the night before and keep an eye on the public transport websites for any delays. Look out for track works or traffic conditions that can potentially delay your train or bus trip.
Go to bed early the night before and wake up early to give yourself plenty of time.
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Get Ready Ahead Of Time
Don’t wait until the last minute to pick out an interview outfit, print extra copies of your resume, or find a notepad and pen. Have one good interview outfit ready, so you can interview on short notice without having to worry about what to wear.
When you have an interview lined up, get everything ready the night before.
Not only will planning out everything buy you time in the morning, it can help reduce job search anxiety, and it will also save you from having to make decisions, which means you can use that brainpower for your interview.
Make sure your interview attire is neat, tidy, and appropriate for the type of firm you are interviewing with. Bring a nice portfolio with extra copies of your resume. Include a pen and paper for note-taking.
If you’re interviewing virtually, have all the technology set and ready in advance. Do a trial run to be sure everything is working properly, and you’re comfortable with it.
Tips For After The Interview
When the interview is over, give yourself the best chances of moving forward by doing the following:
20. Ask about next steps. After your interview, it is appropriate to ask either your interviewer, hiring manager or recruiter about what you should expect next. This will likely be a follow-up email with results from your interview, additional requirements like an assignment or reference list or another interview.
21. Send a personalized thank you letter after the interview. Ask for the business card of each person you speak with during the interview process so that you can follow up individually with a separate thank you email. If you interviewed in the morning, send your follow-up emails the same day. If you interviewed in the afternoon, the next morning is fine. Make certain that each email is distinct from the others, using the notes you took during the conversations.
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The Employer Asked Questions That Seemed Out
If an interviewer asked anything that seemed odd or wasnt really related to work, or the job, it could be a bad sign. Examples:
- Do you always wear ___?
- Do you normally ___?
Im not talking about making small-talk.
Its fine if they asked whether you played sports, whether you knew so-and-so at your last company, whether you had hobbies, whether you enjoyed the college you attended, etc.
But, if you did something out of the ordinary and they asked about it, then it might be because it concerned them. It might not ruin your chances at the job, but its another sign that the job interview might have gone badly.
The Interviewer Didnt Ask Much About Your Skills Or Experience
Some of the first questions in an interview are typically intended to judge your motivation for job searching, your personality, etc. But after that, an interviewer will typically want to discuss your background, recent responsibilities, etc.
So it can be a bad sign if you mainly hear interview questions about your general motivation to job hunt, what youre looking to do next, and why, such as:
If you give a bad answer to one of these early questions it could be a deal-breaker and could prevent you from moving on to discuss further topics.
If an employer is worried about your motivation, work ethic, and whether youre serious about wanting to work for them, they arent going to care as much about your specific skills and experience.
So if you dont satisfy them with these first few interview questions above, then the interviewer might go light on the experience-based questions because theyve already made up their mind that youre not someone they want to hire.
Make sure you practice these common questions above.
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The Interviewer Didnt Smile And Seemed To Have Low Energy
Usually, if an interviewer or hiring manager is excited about what youre saying, theyll smile a bit, nod their head, and show interest.
Thats a good way to know you gave a great interview answer.
So if they seem bored and uninterested, it might be a sign your interview went badly, or your interview answers missed the mark and didnt show the hiring manager what they wanted.
If thats the case, theyll likely choose someone else to hire.
No Connection Or Affinity With The Interviewer
Another clear sign that your interview didnt go well is that you were unable to establish a connection with the interviewer. Obviously, there are times when a person is hard to read or hard to connect with, so youll be in doubt. But Im talking about the vast majority of interviews. In an interview where there is a good connection, it is like playing pitch and catch there is a good back and forth of questions and answers, and it seems like more a conversation. When this occurs in an interview, you can be certain that youll be called in for the next round. When it doesnt happen, you can assume things didnt go so well.
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Your Work Environment Is Toxic
If you’re in a toxic work environment, it can impact both your personal happiness and work performance. Evaluate what’s happening at work. Is there excessive office gossip? Do you have a bad relationship with your manager? Are people stabbing co-workers in the back in order to keep their jobs? Are others treating you, or someone else, inappropriately?
These are only a few signs of a toxic work environment, and all of them can be reasons why you’re miserable at work. If any of this sounds like your current workplace, first try to address it with the main offender in private. If it’s affecting your work performance, you need to make that clear. They might not be aware of how their behavior is affecting others.
If the issue persists, mention it to management. And if it still continues, you might want to consider looking for a new job elsewhere.
Life is too short to be miserable at work. Don’t wait another year to be happy! Evaluate your situation and take steps to improve it today.
If you decide that you’ve had enough at your job and need help looking for a new one, Work It Daily can help!
The Interviewer Told You They Have Concerns
It doesnt get more obvious than this sometimes the interview will tell you outright that they have concerns about your experience or answers you gave.
Dont panic if this happens mid-interview though. If they told you, it means theyre giving you a chance to explain or provide more info.
But if you failed to do this, and the interview ended without you addressing some of the concerns they brought it, its unlikely youre going to get a job offer, and its definitely a sign the interview ended pretty poorly.
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Tips For Great Job Interviews
From researching the company to handling certain key interview questions, make sure you make a great impression and ace your next job interview by following these 20 tips.
Want to ace your next interview and land thatopen job youve been seeking? Here are 20 tips to help you prepare.1. Research the industry and company.An interviewer may ask how you perceive his company’s position in its industry, who the firm’s competitors are, what its competitive advantages are, and how it should best go forward. For this reason, avoid trying to thoroughly research a dozen different industries. Focus your job search on just a few industries instead.
Getting Ready To Interview
Wear appropriate interview attire. It can be awkward if you show up at a job interview overdressedor underdressed. Always dress appropriately for an interview, so you make the best first impression.
Go light on the perfume or cologne. Some people have sensitivities or allergies to fragrances. Others have strong reactions to scentsand not always positive ones. Make sure the interviewer can focus on your qualifications, not your perfume selection.
Avoid sweaty palms. Nobody wants to touch a slimy, wet hand. If you can visit the restroom on the way to the interview, wash and thoroughly dry your hands. When thats not possible, use a tissue to make sure your hands are dry.
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Find A Quiet Environment
Find a quiet space where youll be able to hear the interviewer loud and clear. This will make sure you listen to everything they have to say and that you get all of the information you need.Turn off the television or music, and close the door to the space youre using for your interview. Remove any background noise and interview in a quiet space to demonstrate your professional courtesy and let your interviewer know youre taking this job interview seriously.
Listen And Ask Questions
Interviewees can get so caught up in what they plan to say that they can forget to listen when the interviewer speaks.
Often an interviewer will provide information about the company or the role throughout the interview.
This could include information that you may have mentally planned to ask about at the end of the interview. And the last thing you want to do is to ask a question that the interviewer has already covered.
Make sure you listen, or write notes if necessary. Then take the opportunity to ask any unanswered questions at the end.
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Be Ready For The Small Talk
Getting the small talk right can have big consequences. Its a way for people to build rapport and affinity, and start to generate that elusive, intangible quality of chemistry that characterises all effective business relationships.
So as part of your interview preparation, its a good idea to think ahead to some likely topics that might come up, so as to help keep the conversation flowing smoothly. The key is to come up with topics where you have a shared interest, so that youre able to both ask and answer credible questions.
For example, if you see a picture of your interviewers family, perhaps you could ask about them and be ready with a family anecdote of your own. Or if youre a sports fan and you spot signs that your interviewer is too, perhaps you could ask a suitable question that youve also got an interesting answer to .
Think, too, about topical themes. For example, has your potential employer been in the news recently? Or could you ask about the potential impact on the company of a recent development, such as Brexit or falling share prices or a serious malware attack? In each case, make sure you have an interesting thought of your own to contribute too.
Your Internal Interview Assessment
This is how to know if an interview went wellyou feel good when it’s over. Not “good” as in relieved, but good as in awesome. Want to have that feeling more often? Join Monster for free today. As a member, you’ll get interview insights, career advice, and job search tips sent directly to your inbox. From the finer points of company research to constructing smart answers to common interview questions, Monster has a plan to get you through your next job interview with flying colors.
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Reacquaint Yourself With Your Resume
It’s likely that the interviewer will ask questions based on what they’ve read on your resume. Before your interview, study your resume again to refamiliarize yourself with what’s on there. Especially if you have a lengthy work history or have had a lot of responsibilities in a previous position, it can be easy to forget what accomplishments you’ve had and, therefore, not focus on them during the interview process. However, by reviewing your resume again, you can highlight the key achievements you’ve had that relate to the role you’re applying for.
Interview Was Shorter Than The Allotted Time
One of the signs your interview didnt go well is if it was shorter than the scheduled time. Most interviews are 30 minutes long with the occasional forty-fiver, but they normally dont go beyond this. At some companies, you might do an initial 15-minute screening, but that is as short as they get. Anyhow, when you are invited to an interview, you will receive the calendar invite email or something similar from the company. In this invite, you should see how long the interview is i.e. 1:00 1:30 PM.
So, say your interview was scheduled for 30-minutes, and after 10-minutes the interviewer is trying to wrap things up, this might be a sign the interview went badly.
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Strategies Of Effective Interviewing
The executive engaged in the normal conduct of business devotes much of his time to interviewing. However, there is an appalling lack of effort given to systematic attempts at building improvements into this age-old process. Interviewing remains one of those activities which we think we know all about merely because we have been doing it so long we have been lulled by habit. It seems apparent that a modest effort aimed at an analysis of our interviewing techniques would yield generous returns.
In the broad sense, interviewing is the process whereby individuals exchange information. The individuals may be concerned with a job opening, a promotion, a special assignment, a product sale, information for intelligence purposes, a proposed merger, or other questions. The information exchanged need not be limited to facts. In business, particularly, such products of an interview as meaning and understanding are oftentimes more significant than objective factual statements.
- The proper kind of preparation for the interview.
- Value of such procedures as having an outline of points to be covered and taking notes.
- Use of questions and questioning techniques.
- The kind and amount of control that the interviewer should exercise over the discussion.
- Analysis and evaluation of information obtained.
Why Companies Use Phone Interviews
Employers use telephone interviews as a way of identifying and recruiting candidates for employment. Phone interviews are often used to screen candidates to narrow the pool of applicants who will be invited for in-person interviews. A phone call is a relatively quick, low-effort way to determine whether a candidate is suitable.
They are also used to minimize the expense involved in interviewing out-of-town candidates. For remote positions, a phone interview may be the only option.
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