Ace That Phone Interview

18 Ways to Improve Your Telephone Performance

Feb 22, 2007 Cheryl Lynch Simpson

More and more employers are interviewing candidates by phone rather than face-to-face. In this article, you'll learn 18 simple tips to help you ace your phone interviews

You may have noticed that phone interviews are on the rise these days. No longer simply used for screening candidates, many phone discussions are actually full-blown one-on-one or group interviews.

There are, however, some definite pros and cons to doing phone interviews. Here are some tips that will help you to take advantage of the pros and limit the damage the cons can do to your candidacy for the job:

Since you cannot be seen through the phone, take advantage of your anonymity by setting yourself up for success:

• Prepare and organize all of your notes, research, questions, and interview responses ahead of time. Make sure everything is at your fingertips and that you know right where everything is located.
• Feel free to refer to your notes during the phone interview – just don’t read them.
• Take notes during the interview – just don’t allow your notetaking to interrupt the interview or distract you in any way.
• Manage your body’s needs in advance of the interview if at all possible. If you need to take a sip of water during the interview, have one ready. Ask permission to take a momentary break so you can put down the phone to drink, then thank the interviewer when you get back on the line.
• Write down the interviewer’s name (verify the spelling) and title. Ask them how they would like you to send your thank you letter, and collect the contact information necessary to make that happen.
• Surround yourself with images that inspire confidence in you.
• Call a friend before the interview and have them cheerlead you and get you pumped up and enthused.
• Have your opening and closing statements prepared in advance. Do not read them or memorize them, but feel free to refer to them as needed.

Remember that 90% of all communication is body language. Without the input that body language provides, phone interviews can be tough to manage. Make sure you go out of your way to communicate effectively through the telephone line:

• Vary the tone, pitch, and speed of your speech throughout the interview. No one likes to listen to a monotone voice.
• Pause after you stop speaking and before you begin answering so you can avoid being interrupted or interrupting your interviewer. If you inadvertently interrupt, quickly apologize and allow the interviewer to continue speaking.
• Smile on the phone at any moment that you would likely smile in person. Smiles definitely communicate through the phone line and help your personality to transmit, so use them frequently.
• Sit while you listen to the interviewer so you can take notes. Stand when you talk so you can marshall your energy and share your enthusiasm more readily. Standing will also help you to breathe from your diaphragm, thereby projecting your voice more confidently.
• Use the interviewer’s name (first or last, whichever they have invited you to use; if in doubt, ask) frequently in the interviewer. But don’t overdo it!
• Match your voice to the interviewer’s as much as possible. For example, if s/he gets a little philosophical and lowers her/his voice, then match them in tone and softness when you first start to speak.
• Be alert to any commonalities between you and the interviewer, and be sure to comment on them.
• Place an empty chair near you where you are interviewing. When you speak, direct your answers to the chair as if the interviewer was actually sitting there. This may seem silly, but it helps you to project your personality to the real person on the other end of the telephone line.
• Try to be aware of when you would use punctuation if you were writing, and use your voice to indicate the pauses, stops, and emphasis that punctuation provides. For example, slow slightly where you would normally write a comma in a sentence, or stop momentarily where you would normally write a period. Inflect your voice at the end of a sentence where you would normally include a question mark. All of these little inflections and pauses will help your listener to follow along as you speak.
• Use concrete examples and numbers wherever possible. You’ve surely heard that resumes and cover letters need to be as specific as possible. Well, the same is even more true of interview responses, especially phone interviews.

With a little ingenuity and preparation, your phone interview performance can be as strong as your face-to-face interviewing skills. Good luck!

The copyright of the article Ace That Phone Interview in Career Advice is owned by Cheryl Lynch Simpson. Permission to republish Ace That Phone Interview in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.