The Working World
How to Turn a Phone Interview into a Face-to-Face
When time and budgets are tight many employers start their interview process with a phone interview. Though it may sound like a lower hurdle than an in-person meeting, that’s not necessarily true. There are things you need to know to get you to a meeting with the hiring manager—and eventually, to a fantastic new job.
DO
Be positive and energetic. Remember that the person interviewing you can’t see any body language and can only read the inflection of your voice. Practice this if you need to—and if you have trouble with it, put a mirror in front of you to watch your face as you are talking on the phone.
Show you’re listening. The occasional “I see,” “Yes,” “Great,” make for a better conversation—as do any positive vibes you can give during pauses.
Use a landline rather than a cell phone, if possible. As we all know many cell phones can have bad reception from time to time and it can be very disruptive to have a call dropped in mid-interview.
Make sure you have the title and full name of the person you are talking to and the job description in front of you. Some candidates get so excited that they have an interview they forget to ask what position they are interviewing for and who will be conducting the phone interview.
Have five to 10 solid questions ready to ask. See examples at 5 Questions You Should Ask an Interviewer.
Ask at the end of the phone interview “Have I demonstrated enough value that you feel my candidacy should move forward to the next step?” If the answer is yes, the follow up question is “What is the next step? My availability to come onsite is xyz date.” You want to ask for the onsite interview because you know that nobody is going to make a hiring decision based on phone interviews. If the interviewer says no, you must address any concerns right then and there or your candidacy is over.
Send a thank you e-mail afterwards that reiterates your interest in the position and emphasizes that look forward to coming onsite to meet the rest of the team.
DON’T
Talk salary during a phone interview. Last January I had a potential candidate call me for help. As we got further into the screening process he told me that he’d had nine phone interviews and not once was he invited in for a face-to-face. I told him I had never heard of such bad luck. When pressed the common denominator in all the interviews, he said he “had trouble with the salary question.” His usual answer to the salary expectation question was: “I need $55,000 to pay the bills and nothing less.” This killed him every time. Why? It showed his lack of flexibility and concern about dollars instead of showing value. When pressed on salary during a phone screen it is vital to focus on opportunity: “I am more concerned about opportunity than money.” If they follow up with, “I really need to know if you are in our salary range,” you can say “I’m sure an organization such as yours will make a very fair and competitive offer for someone with my skill set.”
Never conduct your phone interview while driving. You need a quiet place with zero distractions. If you are going to be traveling and not available during the day, most company representatives are used to doing phone interviews in the evening.
Jay Hofmeister, Co-Founder of The Resume Bay has taken the pain out of the job-hunting process for hundreds of job seekers just like you (from entry level to executive level!) Now, Jay invites you to go to http://www.theresumebay.com and get a resume that will get you noticed in this employer driven market and complete job interview coaching that will help you ace the job interview. Also you can gain career insight by listening to “The Job Prospector” hosted by Jay Hofmeister at www.webtalkradio.net.
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6 comments for “How to Turn a Phone Interview into a Face-to-Face”
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Great tips, Jay. Your single best piece of advice: Do. Not. Use. A. Cell Phone. Poor reception will put you at a psychological disadvantage; even if the interviewer isn’t focusing on the poor reception, he or she will perceive you to be distant, remote, or hard to read.
Re: “Send a thank you e-mail afterwards that reiterates your interest in the position and emphasizes that look forward to coming onsite to meet the rest of the team.” I would add: include in the e-mail not only your interest in the position but briefly, in bullet points, recap why you are the best person for the job and why they need you.
One additional tip: stand during the entire interview and move around; gesticulate as you talk. This gives you energy that both you and your interviewer will feel, energy that you simply can’t generate/replicate if you’re sitting.
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Two tips I would add:
1. Prepare for a phone interview the same way that you would for an in-person. Study the company, read the management bio’s on the web site, understand what the company does, etc.
2. ALWAYS wear a headset! You don’t want that phone sliding off your shoulder. You also want both hands to be free for writing or looking through any notes you might have in front of you.
[...] How to Turn a Phone Interview into a Face-to-Face By Jay Hofmeister ⋅ 11:20 am November 2, 2009 ⋅ 4 comments [...]
Phone interviews are generally about the salary (and paying you as little as possible). It’s unfortunate that as applicants people have to pretend that finances are not an issue when the potential employer is pressing for a number.
Be smart – Ask for (about 20%) more than what you hope to make, that way if asked you can show you are willing to negotiate.
You can also try asking what value the company places on the position before throwing out a dollar amount. If they seem set on getting a number from you, give them something because if you don’t the interview process is basically over.
Don’t bother with a range. Saying I’m looking for opportunities in the 35-48 range is useless because you’ve basically just said you’ll take 35.