Telephonic interviews are used by most of the employers, to find and recruit potential candidates for the employment from a big pool of applicants. Finally, the candidates who are selected for the phone interview are selected for a face-to-face interview. Telephonic interviews are a very easy way to screen the applicants because they are inexpensive, save time and do not need much of prior planning. Candidates from different parts of the globe can be screened in no time and decision for a personal interview can be taken quickly. Moreover screening the resumes and talking to the person directly makes a lot of difference.
Whatever may the way of interview either telephonic or face-to-face, it is crucial for you to get to the next stage of
the hiring process. Therefore, you should follow a systematic approach to avoid confusion and achieve your goal of getting your dream job.
Even for the telephonic interview, you should get thoroughly prepared like in the regular interviews. You should know your resume to full length. Know your strengths and weaknesses and be able to present them in a more pleasing and positive manner that it adds to your interview. You should design the objective of the resume in such a way that it articulates with the job description of the position you are being interviewed. You have to highlight your prior experiences and achievements so as the suit the current position and prove you the most suitable candidate for the current job position.
In telephonic interviews, as the call is expected any time suggested by you on your resume, you should be ready to talk to the interviewer at any time. Confirm all the details ahead of time including the date, time, and with whom you will be talking. Be sure you know whether the interviewer is calling you or if you need to make the call. Do not make the mistake of taking an appointment for two different telephone interviews on the same day and time. Before the interview, you have to make sure that you attend the interview in a quiet place where there is no sound pollution or disturbance from the external environment (evacuate your friends, family members, pets from the interview room). Have enough charge and minutes on your phone so that the interview is not cut abruptly, it creates a sort of negative opinion upon you. Make sure that your call waiting is switched off.
Telephone interviews are very different from regular interviews. Therefore, it is good to rehearse how you sound on the telephone. You practice well talking on the phone, record your voice, listen to it, and correct all the unnecessary prompts. Be very clear in pronouncing the words. Keep your voice audible; avoid speaking at too loud or too low pitch. Adjust your voice to the frequency of the interviewer, so that he can understand the message you wanted to convey him. Do not eat, chew, drink, smoke or talk to others during the course of the interview, try to keep yourself, free from any distractions. If you do, any other thing not related to the interview it shows that you are very casual about the interview and have little or no interest. In some rare situations like weather conditions, if the line is not clear you need not continue the interview with difficulty.Y ou are always welcome to explain the situation to the interviewer and ask for another appointment for the interview. You need not speak to the interviewer continuously; you can have brief pauses at intervals. Collect your thoughts and express them in a good manner. Mumbling and rumbling show your lack of confidence and confusion and leads the interviewer to ask more questions. Keep a glass of water handy, you can have a sip whenever necessary. Talking with a slight smile would create a positive impact on the interviewer and show that you are friendly and confident.
Before the interview, keep a briefed resume posted to the wall in front of you, so that you can answer the questions without any hesitation with great ease. Shortlist your accomplishments and review them during the interview. Keep the company’s website opened; it would help you to answer few questions. Use the person’s title Mr. or Mrs. and their last name; use the first name only if asked to do so. Never ever, interrupt while the interviewer is speaking. Wait until he finishes, listen to what he speaks, and reply to the central idea of the interviewer.
Have a list of commonly and more
frequently asked questions in the telephone interview and prepare well for the most common telephone interview questions like, what interests you about this job? What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them? Why are you leaving your job? What are your salary expectations? What do you know about this company? What can you do for this company? Are you willing to travel? What can you contribute to this company?
Finally, it is very important to give a thank you note at the end of the interview. You have to express as follows “Thank you for your time and consideration and looking forward to hearing from you”. This shows your interest, politeness, and concern for the job. You have to keep a pen and paper ready to jot down the content of the discussion so that it helps you to ask few questions to the interviewer at the end of the interview and you can emphasize how you can benefit the company. This shows that you have actively and attentively got involved in the discussion and made the discussion so interesting and lively.
If you follow all the above suggestions, you can enhance your chances to land in the final interview and consequently win the job.
