Employers are increasingly using phone interviews to thin the herd of job applicants who apply for each opening in this weak economy. For these applicants, phone interviews present a different set of challenges — and a different set of opportunities — than traditional in-person interviews.
Examples: There’s no way to make eye contact during a phone interview, which makes it more difficult to establish rapport and pick up nonverbal signals. However, applicants can consult notes during phone interviews, effectively turning them into open-book tests.
How well applicants handle the unfamiliar nuances of phone interviews often determines whether they have any shot at landing the job.
Before the phone interview
Don’t treat phone interviews casually just because they take place in the comfort of your home. Prepare just as diligently as you would for an in-person interview, plus…
Talk to a picture. Search for a photo of your interviewer on LinkedIn.com or the employer’s Web site. Expand this photo to a reasonable size on your computer, print it and pin it up in front of you at your desk. We tend to sound more comfortable and natural when we’re talking to a human face than a faceless voice.Helpful: If you cannot find a picture of the interviewer or don’t know who the interviewer will be, select a photo of someone you respect but do not fear — perhaps Abraham Lincoln or a business leader you hold in high regard.
Eliminate distractions. Select or create a clean, spartan room in your home for the call. Remove all projects and messes from this room. Lock the door before the interview, and ask family members to remain quiet and keep their distance. Postpone any landscaper visits scheduled for that day. If deliveries are expected, post a note on the door asking that packages be left without ringing the bell. If you have a dog prone to barking or whining, ask a friend to take the dog elsewhere during the interview, or at least put it in a part of your home far from where you will be taking the call.If you’re given a choice between placing the interview phone call or receiving it, opt to receive. Having the interviewer place the call can foster a subtle sense in the interviewer that he/she is pursuing you, not the other way around.Take the call on a landline. A poor-quality connection is more likely on a cell or cordless connection and can be distracting. Turn off the call-waiting function before the interview to eliminate another potential telecom distraction. If your landline has multiple extensions and there will be someone else in the home, tape notes to the extensions asking that they not be used.If you cannot avoid taking this call on a cordless phone or cell phone, at least make sure it is fully charged.
Dress professionally. Some job applicants conduct phone interviews in jeans or bathrobes. Dress as if it is a face-to-face interview. The interviewer can’t see you, but you can see yourself, and you are more likely to feel and sound professional if you look the part.Hang notes about the company and your qualifications on vertical surfaces near the phone. Documents to post include a copy of your résumé … a list of questions to ask the interviewer… key facts and statistics about the company and its industry… and a list of the position’s requirements and how you meet them.These notes can provide useful reminders of what you wish to say and allow you to supply a level of detail that you likely could not if you were working from memory.
Posting these notes on walls and other vertical surfaces is better than laying them on a desk because it reduces the odds that an important page will get covered and lost… it prevents the interviewer from hearing pages ruffle… and it allows you to sit upright — good posture encourages a strong speaking voice.
Take a lozenge or a teaspoon of honey one hour before the interview even if your throat feels fine. Phone interviewers cannot see us, so they tend to form a mental image of us based in no small part on our voice. Using lozenges or honey increases the odds that the mental image your voice projects will be one of strength and vibrancy.Also: Read a newspaper story out loud or sing a song prior to early morning phone interviews to stretch your vocal cords. Place a cup of water beside the phone before the call in case your throat begins to feel dry.
Call to confirm the interview 24 hours before the scheduled time. This shows professionalism and responsibility. It also puts your name on the interviewer’s mind for an additional day, making it more likely that you will be remembered at the end of the interview. And it lets you hear your interviewer’s voice — or at least his/her assistant’s voice — prior to the interview, humanizing this person and reducing your tension.During the phone interview
When the interviewer calls, answer the phone on the second or third ring. Answering on the first ring conveys a subtle sense of desperation, and answering after the third ring makes you seem unprepared. When you pick up…
Say “Hello,” not “Hi.” “Hi” sounds unprofessional.Pursue small talk for up to 90 seconds. This can build rapport. Possible small-talk topics include the difference in weather between the interviewer’s location and your own (check that city’s forecast online before the call)… or a positive recent mention of the company in the press.Examples: “I wish I were down there today. I see it’s 75 degrees” or “I saw that article about XYZ Co. in The Wall Street Journal yesterday.”
Skip the “ums,” “ahs” and “you knows.” They make job applicants sound nervous. If you are prone to them, gently bite your tongue as you mentally prepare responses to phone interviewers’ questions. There’s nothing wrong with pauses of as long as two to three seconds.Speak in sound bites. Nervous job applicants sometimes ramble on the phone, but concise answers sound more professional.Helpful: Watch the evening news on TV, and listen to the people interviewed — their responses usually are no more than a sentence or two. Strive to make your responses just as concise. It is OK to follow up some of these concise answers with longer examples that illustrate your points, however.
As the interview draws to a close, ask, “Is it OK if I contact you later if I have additional questions?” Receiving permission to do this decreases the odds that the interviewer will be annoyed later when you make contact with him to keep your name on his mind.A day or two after the interview: Send the interviewer a three- or four- paragraph e-mail summarizing what you spoke about during the phone interview. Focus on how you can help the company make money or save money.
Three to four days after the interview: Send a handwritten thank-you note. This note should thank the interviewer for his/her time, not discuss the job. Use high-quality paper and a professional-looking stamp — no flowers or animals… flags are best.
