Telephone Interview Preparation
The three things that our client is trying to determine about you during a phone interview:
- Do You Have the Technical Competence
· You should have a list of 10-12 accomplishments from your career that are related to the field of the position you are interviewing for.
· Have this list written and in front of you, even just a handwritten note with 10-12 points to remind yourself of accomplishments to cover during the course of the phone interview is a big help.
· When talking about your accomplishments go into brief descriptions of the situations and scenarios involved and the bottom line impacts you made – Cost Savings, Reducing Downtimes, Making Processes More Efficient, Customer Satisfaction, Employee Morale, Profits or New Business gained, etc.
· Ask questions and more questions. Remember that he who asks the most questions controls the interview!
o Define what their problems are and relate how you have solved similar problems in the past. Always remember the story of the man who goes down to the hardware store to buy a drill. Is he going there just because he wants to buy a drill? No, he has a hole that he needs to make and the drill is the solution.
o Find out the key things that the interviewer/hiring manager needs you to accomplish within the first 6 months and relate what you can do to solve those problems
- Can I Relate to this Person? Is There a Good Rapport with This Person?
· Lighten up some while talking with the interviewer, use some humor that’s in good taste and be friendly.
· Show energy and enthusiasm. Stand up and move around during this interview, it helps you come across with more energy while on the phone.
· Remember if you are talking with the hiring manager that this is going to be one of your potential bosses, so start things right.
· Ask the hiring manager about his background, how long he has been in this position, what he likes about working with this company.
o Ask the hiring manager about some of his goals and what he wants to accomplish at this company, this will give you even greater insight to how you can help him.
- Are You Easy to Manage?
· You want to relate that you are not a “pain in the butt” or someone that requires constant direction.
· Tell some stories about how you took initiative in tackling additional duties or helping other associates or bosses solve problems or even initiating programs of your own.
The one thing you are trying to determine from this interview:
Is This Position Worth A Day of My Life To Go Do a Face-to-Face Interview?
· Answer these questions for yourself while doing the phone interview:
o Can I do this job without a lot of extra training or guidance from my new boss?
o Is the work involved with this position really interesting to me?
o Would I enjoy working with this hiring manager?
· If you can answer yes to the previous questions then this position should be worth the time to go interview face to face, so if that is true then ask for the next step. Ask what the procedure is to get this job. Ask what the hiring managers timeline is and when you could schedule a face to face interview