Phone interviews can be exciting. At the same time, they can be confusing and disappointing too.
Is there a way to keep them from going wrong?
Is there a way to breeze through them and make it to the face-to-face round?
Phone interviews play an important part in the recruitment processes.
They are like those mini puzzles that you have to solve to find the golden sword.
The only difference in this case is that the golden sword is an even more complex puzzle -- it's your final face-to-face interview that will decide whether you get the job or not.
How do you make sure that your phone screening impresses the recruiter?
Here are some tips for you to get started with:
Ambience
Look for a room that is away from the noise and chaos.
For a phone interview, you need to arrange for a place where you can sit and speak comfortably.
Since you will need to think, concentrate and speak at the same time, the place where you give the interview must be calm and relaxing.
Do not attend a phone call at a public place such as a coffee house or a metro station.
These places are not fit for either conducting an interview or giving one.
Tone
First things first, keep your tone flat.
It is understandable that you are excited and nervous.
You might also feel negative emotions like anger or frustration. But in all situations, whether positive or negative, you have to keep your tone flat.
Expressing too much means giving out too much.
Say what you have to by choosing affirmative words, instead.
Etiquette
Chewing gum or munching is disrespectful while giving the interview.
It is also disrespectful to interrupt the interviewer.
Etiquette calls for speaking slowly yet being audible.
You should always keep a bottle of water close to you to avoid feeling uncomfortable if the interview extends too long.
Answers
Your answers should be spot-on, short, and impressive.
There should be an element of truth and integrity in them.
Do not try to be over-smart with the answers that you give.
Remember that those who are evaluating you on the phone are the HR experts.
They can tell when you are bluffing just by listening to you speak on the phone.
Prepare
A lot of cross-questing happens during phone interviews.
The experts want to know whether everything that you have mentioned on your resume is cent per cent true.
The best way to deal with this is to keep your resume in front of you while giving the interview.
Another way in which you can prepare is to tell your friend to conduct a mock interview of yours and give feedback.
The activity will bring out the extent to which you are prepared for the interview.
As per an article published in The Wall Street Journal, "Job seekers should prepare for a phone interview as seriously as they do for an in-person one. When asked about your qualifications, for example, you can craft a better answer by asking what the company wants and why."
Phone screeners are becoming a tougher nut day by day.
The interviewers are getting extremely specific.
You have to be very thorough in your preparation to breeze through.
Image: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
