Telephone interviews can be one of the most uncomfortable parts of the job-seeking process.  Many employers use them regularly in their hiring process as a way to reduce costs and save time.  Most often they are used to disqualify candidates early in the process before further time has been invested by all parties.

There are usually 2 types of phone interviews:

The “screening call”.  Quite often the HR department needs to learn additional information about candidates before forwarding their application to the Hiring Authority. Although the initial contact can be quite unassuming, HR is most likely trying to “short-list” a stack of potentials for the position.

The “committee” telephone interview. Sometimes several hiring authorities or department staff will get together on the interviewing process so that they can share their conclusions afterward. This rarely happens when the company is still early in the process.  Rather, it usually occurs when there are too many qualified candidates for face-to-face interviews.

Depending on the nature of the person conducting the telephone interview, these calls can be either quite pleasant or extremely uncomfortable.  In either case, there are certainly several ways to best prepare yourself for a successful call:

1. 1. The person on the other end of the phone may be just as uncomfortable as you. Concentrate less on your feelings and more on how to make the other person feel at ease.

1. 1. Smile over the phone. Believe it or not, smiling while you talk will help you sound more friendly and open.
   2. You are not judged by the same criteria used at an in-person interview. For example, eye contact can be an excellent barometer when meeting face to face.  However, on the telephone, you’ll be judged by a more subtle set of factors such as the sound of your voice, your tone, your level of friendliness, and enthusiasm.
   3. Speak succinctly about your past experience and accomplishments. Many professionals launch into long, drawn-out answers to telephone interview questions.  Remember, you do not have your interviewer’s eye contact or other body language cues to monitor.  Clear, short responses will keep the person on the other side of the line engaged (and not put them to sleep)!
   4. Utilize “dead air” during a conversation; don’t fear it. Have a list of prepared questions about the company or position when caught in one of those spots. Although good communication is theoretically up to both of you, dead air is typically your responsibility to fill.
   5. Focus on your listening skills. You’ll find that your nerves will sometimes make this very difficult.  Simply close off all thoughts about whatever is going on around you and concentrate on the words and voice of the interviewer.  Take notes while you listen, if it helps you focus.

1. 1. Situate yourself properly before the call.  Because so much of your success in this situation is determined by your comfort in the surroundings, plan the interview for a time when you can speak privately, comfortably, and without distraction. Or, if the caller takes you by surprise, ask for five minutes to get organized, get their phone number and call them back.

1. Don’t talk about issues related to compensation, company benefits, or any negative issues with your current employer. This is solid advice for any first-interview situation.  This initial touchpoint is to make enough of a connection to get to the in-person interview phase.

Do you have any tried and tested tips for phone interviews?

Need help preparing for your next Skype Interview?  Check out our Skype Interview Tips.

Whenever I have an interview coming up, I go through my preparation process.  By the time the interview arrives, I know exactly what I want to say, at least to the standard interview questions I’ve encountered before, and I’ve prepared questions to ask – if the topics don’t come up naturally.

However, it’s also a good idea to make a clear list of the subjects you would rather not discuss, and how you will handle the situation if and/or when these topics do arise.  Here are some ideas from the recruiters at Artisan Creative about things to avoid on your interview – and some positive alternatives:

Talent Manager, Laura Burns:

• Avoid saying anything negative about your former employer. Rather, plan to talk about a good relationship you had with the company and how that helped you do a better job.
• Don’t talk about your personal life, even if the interviewer does. It is very easy to get caught following their lead. Try to steer the conversation back to the workplace.
• Don’t talk about salary or benefits right at the start. If you’re working with a recruiter, let them discuss those items for you. They can probably get you a better package and will most likely have more experience negotiating than you do.

Creative Recruiting Manager, Jamie Grossman:

• Don’t take credit for a whole project – even if you think it sounds better. Instead, discuss your accomplishments and how you worked with all those involved in the project. Employers like to know that you are a good at collaborating, too.

Sr Account Manager & Recruiter, Carol Conforti:

• Instead of “I hated my last boss,“ say “I did not share the management philosophy.”
• If you didn’t get along with someone try “my coworkers and I had different ideas about how things should be done.”
• Don’t look for a promotion before you get hired. However, you can say “I feel very capable of doing a great job; is there a career path for this role?”
• Instead of “When can I get a raise?” try “What is the review process here?”
• Avoid asking “Do people work hard or spend long hours here?” If you want to know, say, “What is a typical day like here?”
• Always have a question ready. Even if you don’t really have any, try, “What are the next steps?”

And a recent addition to the team, Account Manager & Recruiter, Melinda Geniza:

• Always put a positive spin on your challenging experiences and talk about lessons learned.
• Don’t be too modest about your achievements or contributions on certain projects: Avoid statements like “this was just a little thing I did…”
• Generalities when describing your work are not as effective as specifics. Use technical language and details when talking about your process.
• Don’t come across like you aren’t interested in the job. Even if it’s not your dream job, you must be interested or you wouldn’t be at the interview. Interviewers can pick up on your lack of enthusiasm through body language and eye contact.

I hope you got the theme in these answers. As the song says, “Accentuate the positive!” Prepare yourself to talk about your previous employer, your experience and your hopes for working in the future in a positive light and your interview is sure to go well!

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

 In doing research for this article, I went back to basics.

What is a Behavioral Interview?

A Behavioral Interview is one in which the interviewer asks questions about past behavior in the hope of being able to predict how you would handle a situation at their company in the future.

An example of a behavioral interview question would be: Tell me about a time when you set a goal & achieved it.

This and other behavioral interview questions are the perfect opportunities to tell a great story. We have talked before on our blog about telling stories and here is where those stories come in handy.

During your general interview preparation, write out a few stories about specific events or projects which were very successful or fulfilling for you. Even something that didn’t work out perfectly can make a good story if you can talk about what you learned from it.

If you have been preparing for interviews very thoroughly, you will have compiled a list of stories from which to choose and can focus on a few for each interview. Read the job description again and see if any of your stories involve any aspects of that job and practice telling them.

Many people use a technique known as STARR to prepare for these kinds of questions. STARR provides an outline for your answer which ensures that you will hit all the important points and stay on track while telling your story. STARR stands for:

• Situation – be specific about where you were and what you were doing.
• Task – what you were trying to accomplish.
• Action – what you did to accomplish the goal you were working toward.
• Result – the outcome of your efforts.
• Reflection – what you learned from your experience.

Practice moving from one of these elements seamlessly into the next. Be sure to point out positive results and reflections.

If you are prepared with a few relevant stories, you will never again be thrown by behavioral interview questions!

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative