5 Tips for Nailing your Telephone Interview

karlmontgomery • November 13, 2017

The dreaded telephone interview, the extra step, the screening process, the middleman between the CV and face to face interview. More employers these days are opting to implement a telephone interview into the recruiting process to screen their potential new hires. This allows them to sort all the candidates without committing to the expense and time needed for face to face interviews.

To help you through this step and to make sure you get through to the next stage of the recruiting process, we have compiled our top 5 tips to make it to the face to face interview.

1. Get rid of all possible distractions

You need to make sure you have your A-game for the telephone interview, so eliminate any possible external noises or distractions. Make sure you’re by yourself, get everyone out of the house or make them aware that you’re not to be disturbed, hell, put a sock on the door if needed.

Make sure your phone is fully charged, nothing screams no preparation like your phone cutting out mid-interview. Get all utensils you require in front of you on a desk, so, whether that is your laptop open on the company website, a pen and some paper or even a stress ball, just make sure it is there for when you need it.

2. Preparation 

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. There is nothing truer when it comes to the telephone interview, do your research! Find out everything you can about the company, look on their website, check them out on LinkedIn, has the company been in the news lately, what clients do they work with, have they won any awards, the list goes on but I think you get the point. This will help show them that you have an actual interest in the role. Have the job description in front of you so you can get in as many of the keywords off that into the conversation, the job spec describes the perfect person, use that to your advantage. Have the questions you want to ask written down, this is your opportunity to find out about the job, the team, the working environment and the company, so ask as many relevant questions as you can.

3. Make the most of the environment

In an interview, whether it’s a telephone interview or face to face, you need to make the most of any advantage possible. One of the main benefits for the telephone interview is the invisibility factor, there is no way for the interviewer to see what resources you have in front of you. So, get information about the company, about the interviewer, have your CV and the job description in front of you. Get any beneficial information to hand, this a great opportunity to really impress them and show how prepared you are.

4. Stand up

A downside to the invisibility factor is the fact that you can also not see the interviewer. You will not be able to see any of their nonverbal reactions and changes, such as facial expressions and body language. So again, it is key to make the most of any possible advantage you can. Research has shown that your project yourself better when you’re standing up, so make sure you have the space to walk around and get that chair out of the room.

5. Follow up

If you’re truly passionate about the role and really want the job, the follow up is a key part of making sure that the company and interviewer are aware of this. 24 to 48 hours after the telephone interview is the perfect time to send an email to the person who interviewed you. Thank them for their time, briefly outline what you discussed in the interview and reaffirm your interest in the position and working for the company.

As we all know the telephone interview can seem a daunting task, here at Recruit Mint we work with yourself at every step of the recruiting process, so you’re never by yourself. We will help prepare you in any possible way. So, if you’re struggling to find a new role, then gives us a call and let us help get that new position.

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