Telephone interviews are increasingly used by companies as a way to narrow down candidates for a traditional face-to-face interview. It is a way of quickly and easily evaluating if an applicant is suitable for the role and determining whether to keep them in the recruitment process or not. If you have never had a telephone interview before you may be wondering what the protocols are and how you should prepare. In this article, we share our top tips and techniques for a telephone interview to help you prepare.
Research
As with any interview, it is crucial to have researched the company beforehand. You should know several key details about it, such as it’s size, structure, products and services, and the markets and industries it’s involved in. The employer’s website will usually have most of this information. But searching beyond the company’s own website is always a good idea. You might be able to find reports on growth and expansion online through news articles or journals. Also make sure to have a look at some competitors, to give yourself more context on the industry.
If you know who is going to interview you, it is worth googling their name and finding out about them, such as checking their LinkedIn.
You will also need to know the skills and experience that the job specification requires of you. Make sure to scan through your CV and highlight key experiences that you can as examples in the interview if you are called on to demonstrate a certian skill.
Write Down Your Questions
As in in-person interviews, a phone interview is an opportunity for you to find out more about the job and the company. Interviews go both ways; you need to know as much as you can about the role and company to know if you want to take the job. Have some questions written down, as they will ask you at the end if you have any. It is a way to show the employer that you are interested and enthusiastic about the role.
The questions can be about the culture of the company or opportunities for progression. Really ask yourself what you want to know when brainstorming. If you want some more ideas, here is our guide to the best questions you can ask. Resist the urge to ask about the salary, benefits, and holidays. If the interviewer hasn’t mentioned any details about the next step in the process, you should ask them about what to expect.
Have Your CV at Hand
You should have your CV next to you and be prepared to talk through it. They will often ask you about your experience at the start and having your CV to hand as a point of reference will make this easier. Practice talking about three or four key experiences from your past that exemplify certain skills you know will be relevant to the position. Having these stories at the ready in the interview will better prepare you when they ask about your CV.
Be Ready for Competency Questions
Competency questions will often ask about soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and leadership. For graduate jobs teamwork, adaptability, and being able to learn quickly are popular skills.
A possible example is: “Describe a time when you were put under a lot of pressure at work. How did you cope?”
The best technique to use to prepare for this is the STAR technique. STAR is an acronym of situation, task, action, and result. Preparing stories in this format will provide a strong and coherent structure to your answers. This will mean your responses to the interviewer will come off prepared, confident, and professional. You can read more on the STAR technique and how to use it here.
Establish a Personal Connection
The most successful interviewees are the ones who are able to make a personal connection with the interviewers. Always remaining professional, ask the interviewers how they are once the call begins. Make the interviewers laugh and show genuine interest in them as people beyond their roles in the company. Establishing a personal connection early on will impress the interviewers and get them on your side for the rest of the call. It is this social connection that will work in your favour if you are up against equally qualified candidates.
Practice
As with most public speaking, practicing helps lower nerves and strengthen your responses. Ask a family member or friend to give you a practice run. Have your CV and research ready in order to make it as close to the real interview as possible. If you are practicing solo, record yourself giving mock answers to see how you sound and how you come across on a phone.
Find a Quiet Spot
Find somewhere with strong signal and make sure your phone or laptop is charged. Double-check who is going to be calling and at what time and be ready 15 minutes beforehand. You should be in a quiet room where you can talk freely, a place where nobody is going to barge in unexpectedly. If there are family members around, let them know not to bother you for the next hour.
Sit at a desk or table and not slouch on a sofa or bed. Make sure the only things on the desk are relevant to the interview. Make sure there are no apps on your phone that are likely to disturb the call with notifications, and of course, turn off any distractions such as a TV or radio. If you are easily distracted, you might not want to sit near a window where something might catch your eye.
Finally, do not eat anything during the interview. Drinking water is absolutely fine, especially if your mouth dries from nerves, but make sure you have eaten well beforehand.
Listen Actively
Listening is crucial in any interview. But make sure you listen carefully. Active listening is more than just keeping silent while another person talks. Listen to fully undertstand their questions. Take notes. The interviewer will want to know that you are attentive and that you pay attention to the details. If anything sticks out as important, write it down. Ask a question related to it when you can. You will come across as agile and thoughtful doing this.
Listening also helps you to not dominate the conversation. Interviews are two-way conversations, and you do not want to come across as rude or oblivious. You need to find out about the employer, and the interview is the best time to do so. Ask questions. Listen to their responses. Always allow the interviewer to control and guide the conversation.
Do Not Interrupt
This should not come as a surpose, but never interrupt the interviewer. You are trying to impress them. While interviews are often about competency, hiring managers are looking for social and cultural fit too. Interrupting them will not help you give a good impression. Make sure to let them finish what they’re asking, and do not jump in too early just because you think you are ready to answer the question. Be polite and allow them to have the dominant role in the conversation.
Smile
Though the interviewer cannot see you, it is still important to smile. It helps boost your mood, lower anxiety, and will help you sound more enthusiastic and alert. You might be surprised how simple this trick is, especially for how big an impact it can have. You do not want to come across as bored or uninterested in the role, so make sure your body language reinforces the attitude you want to express.
Don’t Sound Bored
As how smiling can affect the way you sound and the mood you’re in, so can boredom. Allowing yourself to be distracted or letting boredom slow your thoughts will come across in the way you speak. If you feel your attention moving away from the call during your interview, snap yourself back into it. Interviews aren’t always exciting, but they’re important and you need to sound engaged the entire time.
Be Professional
You are not having a casual chat, so your speech should reflect this. Do not use informal phrases or slang and try to maintain a professional tone.
When the call, answer the phone promptly. During the call make sure you are aware of the speed of your speech. Often in interviews candidates are nervous and speak too quickly, so avoid rushing your responses to come across as more relaxed and confident. Be concise and to the point.
Allow a few seconds after a question has been asked to respond, to avoid talking over the interviewer and to have some time to think. Having a brief pause will also let the interviewer know that you are considering the question and not just saying whatever comes into your head.
You also might want to dress as if you were going for a face to face interview. This will help you get into the right mindset and reinforce a professional attitude. It will be harder to take it seriously if you haven’t changed after waking up.
Be Confident
Most important of all, keep confident. At this point you have prepared for the interview, you have your research, you’ve practiced your responses, you know what the role is and what kinds of skills the interveiwers will be asking for. You have no reason to be nervous because you’ve done all that you can to prepare. So now just breathe, remind yourself you are fully capable and a strong candidate, and let that confidence come out as you speak.
Ask About Next Steps
As the call winds down the interviewer should mention what the next steps are in the interview process. This includes when you can expect to hear back if you will move forward. If they don’t bring it up on their own, ask. This is routine and will show you are invested in the interview process and want the role.
Conclusion
Succeeding in a telephone interview requires many of the same things as succeeding in a face-to-face interview. Do your homework, prepare answers, and practice. The more you do the more confident you’ll come across. Refer to this guide whenever you need to, but if you are still struggling and want more support we are here to help. We offer 1-to-1 interview coaching to help you nail that next telephone interview.
Featured Photo by Hassan OUAJBIR from Pexels
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