Phone Interview Tips: Don’t Phone It In!
With the heyday of remote interviews upon us, many job seekers are familiarizing themselves with video interview best practices.
But many companies still use phone interviews as a preliminary or even final interview!
So if you want to be prepared for any great opportunity that comes your way, it’s important to be prepared for phone interviews, too!
In today’s article, we’ll discuss the best tips for handling phone interviews as a job seeker — so you don’t have to phone it in! Let’s take a look!
Smile
Every telephone salesperson can tell you that a smile has a sound. So if you want to sell yourself better at your next phone interview, don’t forget to smile!
Casually smiling while on the call has two benefits.
First, it actually changes the way you sound. By activating your facial muscles, you can project and enunciate more actively.
Second, smiling can trick your brain into being more positive, which helps you stay upbeat and friendly on the call.
Have Confident Posture
Just like smiling has benefits for your voice, maintaining a good posture has benefits for your body and mind, too!
If you are sitting, sit up straight and make sure you can breathe relaxed — so that you sound more relaxed on the call.
Standing is also a good idea, as it can keep your energy levels higher. But try not to pace around or get distracted (or make unnecessary noise) by moving from room to room.
Avoid Background Noise
Just like you should clean up your space before a video call, be sure to remove any possible sources of noise or interference from potentially impacting your phone call.
This could involve going to a room where you can be alone, and letting family or roommates know that you need quiet for a certain period of time.
It also means turning off any notifications on your phone (and nearby devices) that might cause vibrations or other noise that will distract you or the recruiter.
Don’t Babble
In ANY interview setting, it is best to go in prepared.
That means rehearsing your answers beforehand so that you don’t babble on while you improvise a reply on the fly.
Sometimes you may be asked a question you didn’t see coming. If this happens to you, remember that it’s okay to say something like:
“That’s an interesting question. Please let me think about the best way to answer it for you”.
Then simply take a brief pause to think through a good answer before speaking.
Dead air on a phone call can make us feel uncomfortable, but if you show that you take time to think before you speak, it shouldn’t make things uncomfortable — it should make you appear more confident!
Keep Notes
Write down any questions or talking points that you don’t want to forget and have them handy when you do your interview.
Keep in mind, you don’t want to sound like you’re reading a script. It’s best to just write bullet points to remind yourself about certain topics you want to address, instead of full sentences that you might be tempted to read verbatim.
Additionally, you should be taking notes while you discuss the job with the recruiter. If they give you important information like next steps in the application, or crucial dates and deadlines, then you don’t want to have to awkwardly call them back later to have them remind you.
Picture The Other Person
One of the things that happens with audio-only calls, whether we realize it or not, is we sometimes forget (or act like we’ve forgotten) that there is a real human on the other end of the line.
It can really help you to picture the recruiter as though they’re standing or sitting across from you while you talk.
Or, picture a friend you enjoy talking to! Talk to your recruiter with the same excitement and upbeat tone that you would talk to your friends with.
Conclusion
The best way to prepare for any interview is to get 1-on-1 support!
At META, we offer interview workshops, mock interviews, and — of course — helpful articles like these!
To get help perfecting your phone interview skills, book a free 1-on-1 appointment today!
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