Congratulations, on your invitation to phone interview. Interviews are always hard, but among them, Interviews conducted through calls are extremely hard to pass. The reason for its toughness is there is no proper understanding in the telephonic interview. Today in this article we will see How to handle telephonic interviews? What are the Ultimate job interview preparation checklists? And some basic telephonic interview tips. So without further adieu let’s get started.
What is a telephonic interview and why is it hard?
Telephone interviews are the interviews that are conducted through phones, but nowadays they are also conducted through video calls, Skype, or through any other website’s communication channel. The main reason for these interviews is to screen the candidates who have applied. It is an initial stage interview by which the recruiter checks the facts in the CV or resume. And in some cases, the companies conduct these interviews if they are planning to hire candidates across the world. There is a rare chance to get to know each other in the telephone interviews. The applicant can’t get the recruiter’s expectations and at the same time due to poor connection, the recruiter also can’t get a clear answer from the candidate. The main merit in the telephone interview is it can cover different geographic areas and it’s cost and time effective. But on the other hand, it also has its drawbacks. Usually they are made in uncomfortable times like while having dinner or bathing, poor connection affects the process and it’s hard to observe other’s behavior and mindset.
Tips to succeed in Telephone interviews:
From the above details you should have got the basic details about the job interviews and why they made, now as a professional resume writer and career advisor, I will discuss some tips to succeed in telephonic interviews,
Make it clear: Once you got the invitation for the job interview get clear with the following details:
- Date and time of the Interview. ( If you’re are dealing with an international company or client then make sure of the time zone, because they vary across the world)
- The names of the person you’re going get interviewed. It is better to get to know about the recruiter and his position in the company this will help you with the preparation.
- Ensure the number of the person conducting the meeting. This will help you to prepare accordingly. Think of it while answering the question if someone suddenly asks another question you will be panicked. So it is better to know the number of the person attending.
- The number through which they are contacting and to which of number(if you have one or two numbers)
If you are not clear about the above-said information then it is better to make mail to the company about the details, don’t hesitate in this. And if you can’t make it at the time, ask for a reschedule through email.
Prepare a Cheat list:
After your interview is fixed, start doing your research. Get clear information on how to handle telephonic interviews. Go to the job company’s Official website, LinkedIn page, or some other sites to get information about the company. And also check the job description to get the information about what the recruiter needs and also get updated about the latest news, motive, and objective of the company. Make these as a list and arrange them in an order based on the importance. As a telephone interview is an initial stage only basic questions will be asked, so list the answers of them first.
Get prepared:
Before attending the interview keep prepared yourself with all the documents you added with your resume. The main plus is the telephone interview is that we can answer it by seeing the answers. So make all the things needed to attend the interview like your certificates, data you collected about the company, and the cheat list.
Settle on a quiet place:
The reason many get failed is due to the poor connection and busy sound made by the environment. So select a good place, but also remember closed places will create an echo effect that will also cause a disturbance in the communication. And also don’t select the open environment the airflow will create a woozy sound and make you inaudible to the receiver. If you can’t find a quiet place then ask your family members and roommates to maintain silence. But it is better to select a separate place because the presence of other persons will disturb your conversation.
Get technically prepared:
You should technically prepare if you’re attending the meeting through the phone, then check the battery of your phone, in the case of a laptop check the working of the camera and other plugging. And also ensure to stop the background process happening in your system, because unfortunately sometimes the system crashes during the interview due to overload. Use headphones to make the conversation clear and effective. Get ready with the pen, paper, printed copy of your resume, water bottle, calculator, and other equipment that may help you during the interview process. You can also have any toy or gadgets to control your nervousness. If you are attending the interview then get prepared with the candle or torchlight to meet the unexpected blackouts.
Make a trial:
It may look like over-preparing but I promise you the trial you practice will help you. Many of us use phones but we are not aware of how our voices are heard by others. So you can try a sample interview with your friends and record the conversation. This will help you to adjust your sound, speed, and pitch. And you can also check your environment sounds and phone battery capacity and others. And this trial will help you to develop confidence.
Remember this during the conversation:
Start with Greetings and introducing yourself. If you can differentiate the words of the interviewers then wish them separately before answering their questions. Keep calm and listen carefully. Answer professionally don’t just read by seeing. Give them time to interrupt you and try to ask some intelligent questions. Don’t rush to the business and try to develop conversation, but remember to maintain it formally. Show your interest in the company by your voice. But also remember to talk slowly and give a gap between the contents.
If the interview failed:
There is always bad luck, though you prepared well sometimes your conversation may get disconnected. Don’t be depressed by this, it is a challenge for you by nature (even sometimes the recruiter will do it to check your interest). You can call again if it doesn’t work you can send an apology email with the genuine reason and ask for rescheduling.
Contact if you didn’t get a response:
Some recruiter to check your interest and sincerity will not send the reply email after your interview. If you didn’t get a proper response from the company side after one week (or any period they mentioned) you can send a request email to convey the decision they made.
End with Greetings:
As like in the start, end your conversation with greetings, you can also ask “Sir, Do you have any other questions for me?” Don’t rush and talk about the salary. As the telephone interview is the initial stage don’t take the salary topic unless they ask. Don’t hang your phone before they hang it. They may also notice it.
I hope these telephonic interview tips help you get the information you need. These job interview tips applies for most jobs. You can check our blog top 20 most common interview questions and answers to get prepared for the final interview.
All the best.
