Whilst your interviewer – or interviewers (yes – sometimes you may be on speaker phone to more than one recruiter!) – can’t see your surroundings, they can certainly hear them. Follow these three tips to ensure your telephone interview runs as smoothly as possible without any noisy interruptions:
- Warn your housemates that you have a telephone interview scheduled and ask for some peace and quiet. Bribe them with sweets if needs be (Gobstoppers would work wonders!). You could also put a note on your door so they don’t forget and barge in mid-way through your perfected STARS answer!
- Turn off your TV, disconnect your house telephone and put all other devices on silent or mute so you don’t distract yourself or the employer.
- Whilst telephone interviews allow you to have notes in front of you – make sure you spread them out on a table in front of you or stick them to a wall so you’re not rustling paper down the telephone.
Other top tips to remember for an interview over the telephone…
- Make sure you phone is fully charged and you set up camp somewhere that has good signal – you don’t want to lose the call half way through or struggle to hear the interviewer through crackling
- Answer the phone professionally – first impressions count! “Good morning, Jane Doe speaking…” and try not to be monotone. As body language cannot be seen here it is important to ensure your voice comes across enthusiastic and positive where appropriate. Try smiling as you speak – it can actually come across!
- Have a glass of water available in case mouth does go dry – however slurping and munching would not go down well mid-call, neither would a loud rumbling tummy for that matter! Make sure you are well fed and watered before you take the call (and have made a trip to the bathroom!)
- Have the job description and a copy of your CV/ application to hand so you can refer to it if need be – saying this, ensure you are fully familiar with the role and job description prior to the call, as well as fully researching the company!
- Prepare some questions to ask the interviewer at the end of the call – you could also have these written down somewhere nearby
And finally… practice makes perfect! Book an interview preparation session and mock interview with us for further coaching on how to prepare and to practice your skills in a safe environment. All our appointments can be conducted over the telephone – so you can even practice your telephone manner!
Recent Comments