A phone interview is the first step on the way to your dream job. This type of interview is usually a short phone conversation with the company’s hiring manager. That helps to determine if you are, indeed, a proper candidate for the position and willing to take it. During the conversation, they will ask various questions regarding your professional skills and previous experience, to figure out if it is worth inviting you to an in-person interview.
Your first thought might be that the phone interview is a lot easier than the live one. It’s true. Indeed, the phone interview is shorter, and there are more chances to hide your nervousness when no one sees your body language. But don’t take it too lightly.
So here we choose some useful tips to keep in mind to pass the interview successfully.
Table of Contents
If you want to make a good first impression, you must not be late for the interview. The ability to be on time is the first thing that tells about a person’s level of responsibility. To avoid being late, make sure to add the interview to your calendar and set a reminder at least 30 minutes before the beginning. Plan your day to have some free time before the interview to get ready.
Of course, anything can happen. So if you understand that you cannot make it on time, do not forget to notify the recruiter about it and explain the situation. It is better to postpone the interview for a few minutes than be late without notice.
You can be a hundred percent sure that you can keep all your questions for the recruiter in your head. Some people indeed have a remarkable memory, but it can still fail, especially during such a nervous occasion as the phone interview. If you are willing to take the position, you should show interest in it and the company. Get notes with your questions ready before the interview starts. As this is a phone conversation, you can look at them any time.
Find a quiet place where no one will disturb you for the time of the interview. It is better to do it at home. If you do not live alone, move to a separate room and ask everyone not to distract you and do not make any noise. If it so happens that you have to be somewhere out for the appointed phone call, take care of finding a quiet place in advance. Conversation in a noisy place will be uncomfortable, as you can miss important information or a question and seem not to take the interview seriously.
Remember to check the phone battery or make sure you have a place to charge it. You do not know how long the interview will take, so it’s better to keep your phone fully charged.
Don’t talk too fast; it gives out your nerves. Be attentive and ask questions when necessary without interruption. Your interviewer needs to hear everything clearly to make a proper conclusion about you. They might not simply ask you to repeat if they miss some information, so try to keep it slow.
Don’t talk about your personal information not relevant to the job or your qualifications
Recruiters don’t need to know about your personal life. The only information they need to hear from you is the facts relevant to the job experience and your qualification. The phone interview itself is short, so you should lay out just the information that represents you as a professional to get through to the next round.
It is impolite and inappropriate to make your interviewer hold on the line while you’re chatting with someone else. They found the time for you and arranged the interview, so this conversation should be your priority. The other things can wait. If something urgent and unexpected happens, tell them about it, apologize and ask to postpone the interview.
It so happens that you leave your previous job on a bad note. However, your new employer doesn’t need to know about it. The recruiter will surely ask about your job experience, so try to avoid all the sharp edges and negative emotions. All the things must stay between you and your previous employer. If you decide to spread negativity, it may look as if you can do it about any employer or job.
If you do sound bored, the interviewer will catch it. The only conclusion will be that you are not interested in the position. Controlling your voice is easier than your body language. Try to sound cheerful. And even if during the conversation you realize that this is not the job you are looking for, you should be polite and do not sound indifferent or bored.
The Q&A is a great chance to ask everything you wanted. You may have some questions prepared which are not answered during the interview. What if there are some details that will completely change your opinion on the job?
Make sure to ask everything before going to the next round to avoid surprises.
Even if recruiters cannot see you during the interview, they will definitely notice if you are preoccupied with something else and not paying your full attention to the conversation. Of course, multitasking is a great skill, but it is not the best way of showing that you have this ability. So leave your to-do list for later and stay focused.
If you are not sure that the place you are staying for the interview has a good connection, it is better to check it in advance. Due to a bad phone connection, you will put yourself and recruiters in an awkward position. You will surely miss half of the conversation, which will not leave a favorable impression on the interviewer. So, to be on the safe side, make sure the connection is good, and you can hear everything properly.
If you talk a lot about money and benefits, it may mean for an employer that you are not so interested in the job itself. Of course, it is important to know these things. But the main goal of the phone interview is to prove yourself as a proper candidate motivated not only with money. Companies nowadays want to have people that genuinely like their job.
Manners matter for the phone interview as well. Eat and drink before or after the call. People don’t really like it when someone talks to us with their mouth full. So the interviewer doesn’t want to hear a person chewing gum, sipping coffee, or having a tasty lunch while they are telling you about your possible career. The phone interview is as important as the live one, so put the lunch away for the conversation.
Your phone interview should end with some future agreements. Ask a recruiter what will be your next step. Arrange a meeting in person or another call if needed. In case you’re invited to the next round, specify all the details. Like when and where do you need to come? What should you bring, and what will be the format of the interview? Also, don’t forget to thank your interviewer for the conversation.
