Telephone interviews are fast becoming one of the most popular forms of interviews because of the ability to easily communicate between employer and candidate. They also allow you to be in a different location than your interviewer which gets rid of the hassle of travelling to and from the interview. This telephone interview makes it easier for employers to get to know their prospective employee in the initial stage before meeting him or her in person.
Take It Seriously
It is vital that you take your telephone interview as seriously as an interview in person. Make sure that when that telephone call arrives you are ready in every sense of the word.
Have your notes ready, have your research already done and focus on giving the best telephone interview you have ever given.
Total Focus With No Distractions
Even when you are waiting for the telephone call, you need to be entirely focused on it, and this means staying ‘undistracted’.
Move into a room that is away from everyone else if you can, give yourself some time to prepare and set your mind on the task at hand.
If this is your first telephone interview or if you have had dozens before you will know that trying to do two things at once whilst your interview is asking you questions really doesn’t work out well.
Take the call somewhere you can hear and somewhere you won’t be distracted like a study or into your bedroom.
Do Your Research Before Your Interview
It is always better to do some research about the company or the organisation to whom you are interviewing for. Find out about any of their latest mentions in the newspapers, take a look at their website and research all the services they offer so you have notes to discuss in the interview.
This can help if you have applied to more than one company so in that moment your mind is solely focused on the job at hand.
These talking points can help you to ask questions, mention relevant information and show off your knowledge of the company.
Listen Carefully
When you give your telephone interview, it is vital that you carefully listen to the person at the other end, and do not dominate the conversation. You should never turn the conversation into a one-sided monologue.
Moreover, it will be better if you keep a pencil and paper with you and jot down your questions and notes which will be useful in the end. Your notes will help you ask questions and do more research after the interview is over.
If you are used to doing telephone interviews then you may be confident on the phone but you should also give the interviewer time to talk and ask you everything they want to ask.
Take Your Time
Taking your time to answer each question will give you time to think on the question, and then answer accordingly. Moreover, it will be unlikely that you answer incorrectly if you have thought about your answer.
It is imperative that you take your telephone interview seriously, and prepare yourself just as you would do for your interview in person.
