Sometimes, after you have sent in your CV, the company sets up a "telephone-screening interview".
Telephone interviews are becoming more common as companies seek to reduce recruitment costs and reorganise the selection process. They are also common when applying for overseas jobs.
The telephone interview is a make-or-break opportunity, and it is important that you make a good impression over the phone.
How convincingly you make your case over the phone determines further interest in you as a job candidate.
Phone interviewing is unique as you can't rely on visual support (such as good looks or power suits), eye contact or body language to assist your presentation. You also cannot rely on visual signals to interpret the interviewer's response.
Your voice is the only tool you have and it says everything about you - the quality, speed and tone of your speech communicate a certain attitude, energy level and enthusiasm. Employers often listen for a relaxed style that expresses confidence, eagerness and intelligence.
The success of a telephone interview begins with mental preparation and setting the stage with the interviewer. You firstly need to establish a clear time frame for the conversation. By agreement, this should be at least 20 minutes when both parties can be free of interruptions and distractions.
If you are currently employed, arrange for a phone interview in the evening rather than during the workday - you never know who might walk into your office unannounced or overhear something by accident.
Before the actual interview, it will be useful to know the topics to be covered and the basic information regarding the position to be discussed. It also helps to practice.
Try to think as the employer. What important information is the interviewer looking for? What questions is he/she likely to ask? What questions do you hope are not asked?
You need to sound like a winner quickly to maintain the listener's interest in you. People conducting phone interviews like to use situation analysis, asking how you would react to an imaginary set
of circumstances.
For example, the interviewer may describe a scenario involving an unhappy customer who has a problem and ask you to explain how you would solve the problem. This is done to see what kind of thinker you are and to assess how well you communicate.
Phone interviewers also take note of the consistency of your answers - does the job candidate seem solid, or is he/she changing the responses according to what he/she thinks the interviewers wants to hear?
After a telephone interview, the interviewer will know the answer to this question.
You also need to prepare for possible situations that might unfold. If the interviewer asks questions that make you feel uncomfortable, how would you handle it?
If he/she doesn't allow you to sell yourself, how do you delicately take control of the conversation and focus on the important issues?
Finally, you should always remember to clear a work area near the phone and to keep handy those "tools" that will assist you during the telephone interview, such as:
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